Rolex Appreciation Beat Other Investments Over Past Decade

With 10 years of sales data to draw from, the team at Bob’s Watches, an e-commerce retailer of pre-owned Rolexes and luxury watches, analysed how Rolex values have performed in the secondary market over the past decade compared to stocks, bonds, real estate, and gold. When the results came in, Rolex watches outperformed them all.

“We were surprised by how much the values have appreciated,” says Paul Altieri, founder and CEO of the California-based Bob’s Watches, during a recent interview, noting that few online sources have access to a full decade’s worth of sales data. “We were hoping to come up in the top three, so we were happy that it was number one.”

Evaluating percentage increases for gold and real estate, based on inflation-adjusted values for gold from macrotrends.net and median sales price data for houses sold in the U.S. from the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) database, Rolex watches significantly outperformed both.

When it came to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, based on values from macrotrends.net, returns were comparable over the decade, but Rolex produced significantly higher appreciation percentages over the past five years.

According to the data, the average price of a used Rolex watch rose from less than US$5,000 in 2011 to more than US$13,000 by the end of last year. Intriguingly, the appreciation of Rolex watches since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020 is nearly equal to the total price increase over the preceding five years.

“Demand is driving that, of course, inflation as well—but inflation only accounts for maybe 20%,” Altieri says. “The vast majority is overwhelming demand. Supply has been constrained and demand just keeps surging globally.”

He added that strong economic growth around the world, and particularly in China and elsewhere in Asia, over the past five years has also helped drive up values.

“Rolex has been a huge benefactor. I would say the same for Omega, Patek Philippe, and Breitling. A lot of brands have had tremendous success the last 10 years, especially the last five, and Rolex is certainly at the top of the list.”

Bob’s Watches also evaluated appreciation by Rolex model. Not surprisingly the brand’s purpose-built sport and tool watches account for eight of the top 15 reference numbers (including the top three positions). While the stainless-steel Submariner 16610 is the single best-selling Rolex reference over the past decade and its two-tone steel-and-gold sibling Ref. 16613 comes in second, Daytona is number one when it comes to the highest-appreciating model with an average pre-owned price topping US$30,000 last year.

“Daytona has always had a broader appeal, a stronger demand,” Altieri explained. “There is at least a five-year waitlist to purchase the new Daytona at retail. It’s a more complicated watch and it has always been a popular model with a higher value.”

As an example, he cites the Ref. 116500 Daytona with a white dial, which sells for around US$38,000 in the secondary market when the official retail price is about US$13,000. “That is the ultimate example of demand and supply being out of sync with each other,” he says.

To illustrate the dramatic shift that has taken place, he said that when Bob’s Watches entered the market in 2010, prices for pre-owned watches typically ran 25% to 40% below full retail in a store. Now, for some models, the pre-owned prices are dramatically higher than retail prices, because those new hot-ticket models are so hard to come by in a store.

Altieri points out that the imbalance has been growing over the last five to 10 years, and he doesn’t predict a correction any time soon. “I don’t see Rolex increasing production substantially to satisfy demand, so quantity will remain limited,” he says, adding that Omega is also surging in demand with unit sales almost doubling last year compared to 2020.

“Watches as a category are really popular today and growing,” he says. “Barring some major recession, I don’t think you will see any change. I know it seems unsustainable, like a bubble, but I just don’t see it changing.”

The marketplace has spoken and, at least for now, it’s showing preference for hybrids and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) over battery electrics. That makes Toyota’s foot dragging on EVs (and full speed ahead on hybrids) look fairly wise, though the timeline along a bumpy road still gets us to full electrification by 2035.

Italian supercar producer Lamborghini, in business since 1963, is also proceeding, incrementally, toward battery power. In an interview, Federico Foschini , Lamborghini’s chief global marketing and sales officer, talked about the new Urus SE plug-in hybrid the company showed at its lounge in New York on Monday.

The Urus SE interior gets a larger centre screen and other updates.
Lamborghini

The Urus SE SUV will sell for US$258,000 in the U.S. (the company’s biggest market) when it goes on sale internationally in the first quarter of 2025, Foschini says.

“We’re using the contribution from the electric motor and battery to not only lower emissions but also to boost performance,” he says. “Next year, all three of our models [the others are the Revuelto, a PHEV from launch, and the continuation of the Huracán] will be available as PHEVs.”

The Euro-spec Urus SE will have a stated 37 miles of electric-only range, thanks to a 192-horsepower electric motor and a 25.9-kilowatt-hour battery, but that distance will probably be less in stricter U.S. federal testing. In electric mode, the SE can reach 81 miles per hour. With the 4-litre 620-horsepower twin-turbo V8 engine engaged, the picture is quite different. With 789 horsepower and 701 pound-feet of torque on tap, the SE—as big as it is—can reach 62 mph in 3.4 seconds and attain 193 mph. It’s marginally faster than the Urus S, but also slightly under the cutting-edge Urus Performante model. Lamborghini says the SE reduces emissions by 80% compared to a standard Urus.

Lamborghini’s Urus plans are a little complicated. The company’s order books are full through 2025, but after that it plans to ditch the S and Performante models and produce only the SE. That’s only for a year, however, because the all-electric Urus should arrive by 2029.

Lamborghini’s Federico Foschini with the Urus SE in New York.
Lamborghini

Thanks to the electric motor, the Urus SE offers all-wheel drive. The motor is situated inside the eight-speed automatic transmission, and it acts as a booster for the V8 but it can also drive the wheels on its own. The electric torque-vectoring system distributes power to the wheels that need it for improved cornering. The Urus SE has six driving modes, with variations that give a total of 11 performance options. There are carbon ceramic brakes front and rear.

To distinguish it, the Urus SE gets a new “floating” hood design and a new grille, headlights with matrix LED technology and a new lighting signature, and a redesigned bumper. There are more than 100 bodywork styling options, and 47 interior color combinations, with four embroidery types. The rear liftgate has also been restyled, with lights that connect the tail light clusters. The rear diffuser was redesigned to give 35% more downforce (compared to the Urus S) and keep the car on the road.

The Urus represents about 60% of U.S. Lamborghini sales, Foschini says, and in the early years 80% of buyers were new to the brand. Now it’s down to 70%because, as Foschini says, some happy Urus owners have upgraded to the Performante model. Lamborghini sold 3,000 cars last year in the U.S., where it has 44 dealers. Global sales were 10,112, the first time the marque went into five figures.

The average Urus buyer is 45 years old, though it’s 10 years younger in China and 10 years older in Japan. Only 10% are women, though that percentage is increasing.

“The customer base is widening, thanks to the broad appeal of the Urus—it’s a very usable car,” Foschini says. “The new buyers are successful in business, appreciate the technology, the performance, the unconventional design, and the fun-to-drive nature of the Urus.”

Maserati has two SUVs in its lineup, the Levante and the smaller Grecale. But Foschini says Lamborghini has no such plans. “A smaller SUV is not consistent with the positioning of our brand,” he says. “It’s not what we need in our portfolio now.”

It’s unclear exactly when Lamborghini will become an all-battery-electric brand. Foschini says that the Italian automaker is working with Volkswagen Group partner Porsche on e-fuel, synthetic and renewably made gasoline that could presumably extend the brand’s internal-combustion identity. But now, e-fuel is very expensive to make as it relies on wind power and captured carbon dioxide.

During Monterey Car Week in 2023, Lamborghini showed the Lanzador , a 2+2 electric concept car with high ground clearance that is headed for production. “This is the right electric vehicle for us,” Foschini says. “And the production version will look better than the concept.” The Lanzador, Lamborghini’s fourth model, should arrive in 2028.

Rolex Appreciation Beat Other Investments Over Past Decade

Why invest in the stock market when you can invest in your wrist.