Used Rolexes, Pateks are bright spot in struggling watch world

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

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The Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index, which tracks the 50 most-traded timepieces by transaction value, gained 5.3 per cent 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 tariffs—including a 39 per cent levy on Swiss exports—and stubbornly low demand in Asia.