Used Rolexes, Pateks Are Bright Spot in Struggling Watch World

The market for used luxury timepieces recorded its best half-year performance since early 2022, providing a bright spot in an otherwise grim landscape for high-end watches.

The Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index, which tracks the 50 most-traded timepieces by transaction value, gained 5.3% in the first half of 2025 — and extended that recovery in the third quarter. Rolex’s gold Daytona 116508 and Patek Philippe’s Aquanaut 5167A were among the top performers.

The rebound is modest compared with the pandemic-era boom, when housebound consumers, flush with cash, splashed out on fancy timepieces. Still, it comes as new watch sales face US ...