Every published guide to luxury watch value is written by somebody holding stock. This is our standing reference for what watches actually ask on the open market, which families are deep enough to sell quickly, and where the numbers come from.
How we price these, and what the figures are
Every price on this page is a pre-owned asking price, not a sale price and not a valuation. Asking prices are the only watch figures reachable without a paid license, because the independent indices that could check them, WatchCharts and Chrono24, both refuse automated requests. Every number below therefore traces to a dealer, and the dealer is named each time. Rolex publishes no public service tariff at all, only a service interval, so any overhaul figure you see anywhere is an intermediary’s.
1. A Median Breitling Asks $4,795. A Median Audemars Piguet Asks $39,245. Six Swiss Brands, Priced.
Priced against each other on the same day, six Swiss brands span a factor of 8.2: a median Breitling asks $4,795 and a median Audemars Piguet $39,245. Prestige rankings do not survive being given prices. Read the full piece and its sources.
2. What a Pre-Owned Rolex Costs, by Family: $7,595 to $40,495
Across eleven Rolex families and 256 listings the range runs $7,595 to $40,495, and the listing depth per family is the part nobody quotes. It is what decides how quickly you can sell. Read the full piece and its sources.
3. The Best Rolex for Boating Is Not the Yacht-Master. It Asks $2,500 More for a Third of the Depth.
Ranked for use on water rather than for the name, the Yacht-Master asks about $2,500 more than the Submariner for a third of the depth rating. The nautical name is the most expensive part of it. Read the full piece and its sources.
4. Gold Fixed at $4,336 on 2026-08-07. The Record High Was $5,405, Six Months Ago.
Every price on this page is a price in money, and money is not a fixed rule. The LBMA has published a gold price twice a day since 1968, and the record high across that whole series is $5,405. Read the full piece and its sources.
5. Five Swiss Watches Ask Under $10,000. The Cheapest Is a Third of a Submariner.
The entry point is not a $15,495 Submariner. Five families ask below $10,000, including two Rolex families: the Air-King at a median $7,595 and the Datejust at $9,995. Read the full piece and its sources.
6. A Rolex Submariner Costs 3.57 Ounces of Gold Today. A Daytona Costs 9.34.
The same $15,495 Submariner ask, divided by the gold price on the day both were read, gives what a Rolex costs in the asset it is always compared to. The article is mostly about why that figure has a shelf life of weeks. Read the full piece and its sources.
Sources
Asking prices and reference numbers were read from Bob’s Watches, a dealer holding the stock it prices, on 5 August 2026, and that conflict is stated on every piece that uses them. Depth ratings are the manufacturers’ published specifications. Medians, ranges and the cross-brand multiples are our own arithmetic on those listings, and each article shows the sample size it used. Where a figure could not be sourced without an intermediary, we say so rather than print a range we cannot stand behind.
Frequently asked questions
What does a luxury watch cost to own, beyond the purchase price?
Servicing at the manufacturer’s stated interval, insurance as a scheduled item on a policy, and the gap between what you paid and what the watch asks when you sell. That last figure is the largest of the three and the only one this desk can measure independently: across eleven Rolex families and 256 listings read from Bob’s Watches on 5 August 2026, pre-owned asks ran from $7,595 to $40,495.
Which luxury watch brand holds its value best?
Resale ask is measurable; resale certainty is not the same thing. Priced on the same day in August 2026, a median Audemars Piguet asked $39,245 against $4,795 for a Breitling, but the Breitling sat in a far deeper pool of listings. A high median on a thin market can be harder to sell than a low one on a deep market, so this desk publishes listing depth beside the median rather than a single value-retention score.
Why does this site not publish a Rolex service price?
Because Rolex does not publish one. What Rolex does publish is a recommended service interval of about ten years for a watch in normal use, and the numbers you find quoted for the overhaul itself all trace to a dealer or an independent watchmaker rather than to the manufacturer. That distinction matters more here than on most sites, because the same problem runs through the whole subject: WatchCharts and Chrono24 both refuse automated requests, so there is no independent index to check a dealer’s figure against. Where the only available number comes from a party with stock to move, this desk names that party or prints nothing. The prices we do publish, such as the $7,595 to $40,495 range across eleven Rolex families read on 5 August 2026, are asking prices from a named dealer and are labelled as such every time.