Rolex, the biggest luxury Swiss watch brand, has raised prices on some of its most popular models after gold values surged in 2024.
The Geneva-based company, controlled by a Swiss foundation named for its co-founder Hans Wilsdorf, began the year by hiking prices as much as 8 per cent on some models made from precious metals.
A yellow gold Day-Date with a 40mm black dial costs €44,200 ($73,700) as of January 1, up from €41,000, according to Rolex’s website in France. A yellow gold GMT-Master II costs ¢44,600, up from €41,300.
Rolex typically raises prices once a year on January 1. Price increases can be indicative of the demand for premium luxury products, the cost of materials and labour as well as inflation. Gold recorded its biggest annual price increase in 14 years in 2024, soaring 27 per cent.
A Rolex spokesperson in Geneva declined to comment on the price changes.
This year’s increases are larger than last year’s. Rolex raised prices on some precious metal models by about 4 per cent in the UK at the start of 2024.
Country-specific prices for timepieces can also be seen as an indicator of a nation’s economic strength. The world’s top luxury watch brand produces more than one million watches a year, with sales above 10 billion Swiss francs ($17.7b), according to analyst estimates.
Price hikes in 2025 for steel models were less aggressive. A steel Cosmograph Daytona now costs €16,000, up from €15,500 in 2024. The price of a Submariner dive watch without a date rose by about 1.6 per cent to €9500.
While the latest price increases may relate to the rise in gold, currency fluctuations have been a driver in the past. Rolex raised prices twice in the UK and Europe in 2022 as the Swiss franc soared against the British pound and the euro.
Bloomberg
https://thewest.com.au/business/retail/rolex-hike-watch-prices-after-gold-soars-c-17271816
