Rolex watches have been a status symbol for collectors and casual wearers for decades. In recent years, however, the market for the luxury timepieces appears to have cooled, but new analysis from some horological industry experts indicates that now might be the best time to buy a Rolex.
A recent Morgan Stanley report outlined by Yahoo! Finance details the current watch market landscape. The findings were made using the WatchCharts Overall Market Index, which tracks prices for 60 different luxury Swiss watches from 10 brands on the secondhand market. For the ninth quarter in a row, the index fell once again in the second quarter of 2024.
According to the report, prices have been falling since early 2022, and prices in Q2 2024 fell 2.1 percent from the first quarter. When it comes to getting your hands on certain types of Rolexes, the wait times for a new one have been steadily decreasing.
"The results of the analysis indicate that the Submariner, GMT-Master II, and Explorer collections all saw an improvement in waiting times so far this year, compared to 2023. Furthermore, the GMT Master II and Explorer waiting times appear to have trended down since 2022," the report said.
Related: Rolex Going Back to Basics With New Watches
On top of that, analysts believe secondhand Rolex sales by so-called "flippers" have been steadily decreasing. That smaller secondhand market, combined with shorter wait times for new watches, could be pointing to a decreasing overall demand for Rolexes across the board, despite there being more supply on hand now.
"We think there is generally greater [Rolex] availability on the primary market, and that primary market demand is waning as a result of both decreased speculative purchasing and decreased organic demand," WatchCharts founder and CEO Charles Tian told Yahoo! Finance.
If you're interested in getting a Rolex for a good deal, now might be the time to get your finances in order.
