Dear IWS friends, welcome back to our magazine. Today, we will delve into one of the hottest and most debated topics of the entire 2023 in the watchmaking world. For those who haven’t guessed what I’m referring to, we’re talking about the much-discussed Rolex Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) program that, just over a year ago, shook the foundations of our industry, launching us into countless possible conjectures.
And if, until that moment, it was only about conjectures, a year after the announcement, we can try to analyze the reality of the phenomenon and draw some conclusions, as the program has been extended to some selected Italian boutiques as well.
Let’s now discover, within this article, the progress and some of the proposals of this program at the Italian level.
Il Programma Rolex CPO
For the past year, the crowned house has offered enthusiasts of the brand the opportunity to purchase, at authorized dealers, second-hand timepieces certified and guaranteed by the maison itself.
It’s an initiative we’ve talked about since its launch, within a dedicated article, and that has left room for not a few discussions among enthusiasts and collectors. For those who haven’t heard about it yet, it’s a program that certifies the authenticity of second-hand Rolex watches by an authorized dealer.
A novelty that, on one hand, has allowed the Maison to get involved in the secondary market and, on the other hand, has opened up the possibility for enthusiasts to purchase second-hand Rolex watches with great reliability and safety.
Prices in the Rolex CPO Program
Within this Certified Pre-Owned program by Rolex, it’s possible to find various models for sale from the crowned house. These are watches verified by Rolex watchmaking experts and accompanied by a two-year international warranty. While all this may appear, undoubtedly, as an advantage for the buyer who can bring home an authentic watch in every respect, on the other hand, it translates into market prices higher than those of “resellers.”
This much criticized aspect, can easily be justified by the fact that, in addition to paying for the watch itself, you are also paying for a service that guarantees the product’s authenticity. Certainly, a not negligible aspect nowadays where many counterfeit watches are unfortunately passed off as authentic.
Thanks to Rolex’s program and its certified dealers, this last risk is completely eliminated thanks to the competence and careful analysis that watchmakers place on used watches that are then put up for sale.
As for market prices, taking as an example a reference that has been much talked about in the world of collecting, the 16610LV, corresponding to the green bezel Submariner produced in honor of the model’s fiftieth anniversary, the average price of such a timepiece within the CPO is about 16,500 EUR.
Despite not being the much-coveted “fat four” version, we are facing a price that, compared to other sales platforms and the “traditional” secondary market, is higher by several thousand euros, as of today.
Considering one of the most recent steel Daytona references, the 116520, even in this case, we find a watch that, unlike the secondary market, in the Rolex CPO program presents a significantly higher price.
However, it must also be specified that some references are exempt from this phenomenon. For example, a yellow gold Zenith Daytona ref. 16528, is offered at similar prices both on the CPO program and in the traditional secondary market. Therefore, I find that, especially in these cases of similar values, the choice to rely on the official network for the purchase of used watches is undoubtedly the wisest and most sensible choice.
At the same time, however, I must admit that paying a slightly higher price than the secondary market may be considered the best thing in terms of reliability in what you buy to be completely sure of having an authentic watch in your hands.
With this, I do not mean to imply that it is wrong to continue to rely on the “traditional” secondary market because, as always, there are highly specialized sellers who can likewise guarantee the product’s authenticity, also leading to savings in economic terms.
It is definitely a purely personal and subjective choice and that, above all, does not create competitions between one used market and the other. What many feared at the beginning, in fact, was the possibility that Rolex’s guaranteed used would disrupt the secondary market formed by many sellers present for several years in the square. This, to date, we can say has not happened as we continue to witness the coexistence of the two markets without one compromising the other.
Rare or Common Watches?
Another interesting aspect to consider in this context is also the type and, above all, the rarity of the watches that are offered for sale through this new Rolex project. The first question we asked ourselves when we heard the news was immediately “will only the standard and more common watches like Submariner, GMT, and modern Daytonas be found, or will dealers also be able to attract, and therefore propose, a more niche offer?”
After all, it is well known to every enthusiast that the world of Rolex collecting is made up of small details and particulars that allow differentiating two apparently identical watches and making one incredibly rare and sought after.
If we consider the reference 16520, for example, corresponding to the Daytona of the ’90s, we could say that basically we are in front of the same watch, throughout the production course. In truth, during the production time frame, the maison introduced dials and bezels with small different details.
Andando ad osservare tale referenza sul CPO in Italia, possLooking at this reference on the CPO in Italy, we can notice that some of the rarer variants of such Daytona are present, as well as those considered less rare by collectors. The curious thing is that, unlike being named with the jargon now widespread by the world of collecting used also by traders, these watches are only called by their official reference, almost hiding the difference between one variant and another.
However, it must be said that, in economic terms, these rarer variants have a higher price and therefore it is only a difference in nomenclature compared to the traditional secondary market and the world of collecting. After all, these are not official names given by the parent company but coined by enthusiasts and collectors.
Without considering these particular and rarer Daytonas compared to their counterparts, surely to date, there are still no models of exceptional rarity present in Rolex CPO, at least in Italy. This might not surprise even because, from the beginning, the crowned house specified that the program would only be applied to “more recent” models.
Final Thoughts
With this new guaranteed pre-owned system, which is increasingly becoming the norm for all luxury watch brands, maisons can certainly offer a significant additional service.
Indeed, I think that having the possibility to place complete trust even in the purchase of used watches is definitely a great advantage that secures any enthusiast and collector. On the other hand, the premium applied might discourage some buyers who will continue to prefer uncertified second-hand.
Surely only time will fully reveal if this system will bring benefits to the world of collecting and if it will be followed by enthusiasts who wish to rely on the purchase of used Rolex through the official network.
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