Rolex as an investment: hammer prices compared

Selected Rolex references: real hammer prices, returns and a comparison against the S&P 500, MSCI World, Bitcoin and gold.

How much does a Rolex return as an investment? This page shows the real sale prices of 5 references, the yearly return calculated from them, and how they performed next to the major asset classes. The figures are based on 467 recorded sales from public auction archives.

Auction results, not the dealer market. These are hammer prices from international auction houses, including the buyer's premium. Most watch trading happens through dealers and platforms and is not covered here — and auctions tend to feature the better examples. Every dot in the chart is a price someone actually paid at auction — not an estimate and not an asking price.

Rolex vs. the markets

Real hammer prices for selected references against the S&P 500, MSCI World, Bitcoin and gold. All lines indexed to 100 as of 2024-07-11, logarithmic scale.

Period 2024-07-11 to 2025-06-30. Positions are picked by the number of recorded sales, not by return. Prices are hammer prices including the buyer's premium; seller's commission, taxes and holding costs are not deducted. All references in detail

Data note 1

Price index for this asset class

No index is computed for this class, deliberately. The same reference number, but condition, original parts, papers and service history differ considerably. Weaker than with cars, but the same problem at heart.

Data note 2

Rolex Submariner 5513 · 1962–1989

179,103 $ last recorded sale · 2026-05-30

70 recorded sales9 years

1 year -16 %
3 years -38 %-15 % p. a.
since start -26 %-4 % p. a.

Last 10 sales of 70 recorded

Most recent recorded sales
DatePrice
2026-05-30179,103 $
2026-03-1813,840 $
2025-12-0657,150 $
2025-11-2121,167 $
2025-11-2127,679 $
2025-05-2326,051 $
2025-05-10153,480 $
2025-04-0113,970 $
2025-03-1913,840 $
2024-12-0710,160 $

70 sales recorded, compiled from public auction archives.

Rolex GMT-Master 1675 · 1959–1980

31,193 $ last recorded sale · 2026-05-09

143 recorded sales17 quarters

1 year -52 %
3 years -42 %-17 % p. a.
since start -28 %-8 % p. a.

Last 10 sales of 143 recorded

Most recent recorded sales
DatePrice
2026-05-0931,193 $
2026-03-1829,308 $
2025-12-0635,560 $
2025-10-0238,100 $
2025-09-1715,468 $
2025-05-2316,282 $
2025-05-2326,051 $
2025-05-2337,449 $
2025-05-2329,308 $
2025-04-0124,130 $

143 sales recorded, compiled from public auction archives.

Rolex Explorer 1016 · 1963–1989

11,397 $ last recorded sale · 2026-05-30

27 recorded sales3 years

1 year -0 %
since start +24 %+11 % p. a.

Last 10 sales of 27 recorded

Most recent recorded sales
DatePrice
2026-05-3011,397 $
2024-11-2368,385 $
2023-05-13113,604 $
2022-12-1022,680 $
2022-06-1118,900 $
2022-05-2717,769 $
2022-05-2738,769 $
2021-11-2519,385 $
2021-11-0524,434 $
2020-11-0724,434 $

27 sales recorded, compiled from public auction archives.

Rolex Daytona 6263/6265 · 1969–1987

82,086 $ last recorded sale · 2026-05-09

161 recorded sales17 quarters

1 year -19 %
3 years -21 %-8 % p. a.
since start -2 %-0 % p. a.

Last 10 sales of 161 recorded

Most recent recorded sales
DatePrice
2026-05-0982,086 $
2026-05-0973,878 $
2025-11-08229,488 $
2025-11-08110,787 $
2025-06-07215,900 $
2025-05-23138,397 $
2025-05-1064,461 $
2025-05-1076,740 $
2025-05-10184,175 $
2025-05-10306,959 $

161 sales recorded, compiled from public auction archives.

Rolex Daytona 116520 · 2000–2016

25,400 $ last recorded sale · 2026-06-13

66 recorded sales9 years

1 year -26 %
3 years -19 %-7 % p. a.
since start -34 %-5 % p. a.

Last 10 sales of 66 recorded

Most recent recorded sales
DatePrice
2026-06-1325,400 $
2026-05-3052,103 $
2026-05-3035,821 $
2026-05-3022,795 $
2026-03-0521,092 $
2025-11-2139,077 $
2025-11-2165,128 $
2025-09-1729,308 $
2025-03-1921,167 $
2024-11-2319,538 $

66 sales recorded, compiled from public auction archives.

Data note 1