Watch Depreciation Explained: Which Luxury Watches Depreciate Least

Watch depreciation is the gap between what you pay for a watch and what a dealer will pay you for it later. For most luxury watches that gap opens the day you leave the boutique and never fully closes; for a short list of references it is small or, in good years, negative. The watches that depreciate least are steel sports models from Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet that are rationed at retail, unchanged in design for decades and easy to resell: the Submariner, GMT-Master II and Daytona, the Nautilus and Aquanaut, and the Royal Oak. This guide explains why depreciation happens, how much to expect by tier, which references hold value and which do not, where the first drop lands between new and pre-owned, and how to buy so that the loss stays small. Bizak & Co. sources to order; the Submariner collection is where most low-depreciation conversations start.

Last reviewed on September 22, 2026 by Filip Biczak. Prices are dated observations, not quotes.

What is watch depreciation and why does it happen?

A new watch carries three costs that a second owner will not pay for: the retailer's margin, the sales tax, and the value of being the first owner with a fresh warranty. When you sell, a dealer must buy below what they can sell for, and their selling price must sit below what a new one costs at retail unless the watch is scarce. Stack those and a watch bought at retail for a brand with open availability typically resells to a dealer at a substantial discount within the first year. Depreciation then slows: a five-year-old watch and an eight-year-old watch in the same condition often trade at close to the same price, because the market has stopped pricing the "new" premium and is pricing the object.

The exception is scarcity. When a reference is rationed at retail and demand exceeds supply, the secondary price sits above retail, and the buyer who paid list price has no depreciation at all. That is the whole story behind the references in the next table.

How much do luxury watches depreciate?

These are directions rather than promises; the number for a specific watch depends on the dial, the year, whether the set is complete and who is bidding that month. The Rolex price guide gives dated bands by model.

Which luxury watches depreciate least?

The common thread is retail rationing plus a stable design. Rolex's steel professional models have been in the same lineup since the 1950s and 1960s, which means every buyer knows what they are and every dealer can price one without research. Liquidity is what keeps depreciation low: a watch that ten dealers will bid on this week cannot fall far.

Which luxury watches depreciate most?

The largest losses fall on watches that combine open availability with a narrow audience: precious-metal dress watches, complicated pieces from brands without a strong secondary market, unusual dial colours, and limited editions whose limit was larger than demand. Diamond-set watches from the factory also depreciate more than plain ones because the stones add a large amount to retail and a small amount to resale. Watches bought at a heavy grey-market premium during 2021 and 2022 depreciated the most of all, not because the watches changed but because the premium did; a Nautilus 5711 bought at the peak and sold in 2024 lost far more than one bought at retail in 2015. If a watch is easy to buy new, assume it will be easy to buy used, and price it accordingly.

Rolex depreciation by model

• Submariner. The no-date 124060 and the 126610LN sit at or a little above retail on the secondary market in 2026; the green-bezel 126610LV and the two-tone 126613LB carry their own premiums. Pre-owned examples a few years old trade below new ones by roughly the value of the remaining warranty. See the 124060 guide.
• GMT-Master II. Current bezels hold above retail; discontinued bezels move on nostalgia. The Jubilee versus Oyster bracelet choice changes the ask. See the 126710BLNR guide.
• Daytona. Largest premium and largest swings; the steel 116500LN lost the most of any Rolex from the 2022 peak yet still sits well above retail.
• Datejust and Oyster Perpetual. Available at retail with patience, so pre-owned examples trade below list; specific dials (the Wimbledon, the mint green, the Tiffany-blue OP) hold up better than plain ones.
• Day-Date. Gold retail prices are high and secondary prices sit well below them for common dials; rare dials and the 36 mm versions hold better than the 40 mm in plain configurations.

Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille depreciation

Patek Philippe has the widest spread between its best and worst performers. The steel Nautilus and Aquanaut trade above retail; the Calatrava and most complicated dress models trade well below it, and a new owner should expect a substantial first-year loss on those. Audemars Piguet follows the same pattern: the Royal Oak in steel is strong, the Royal Oak Offshore in precious metals and the Code 11.59 line are weak on resale. Richard Mille is its own market. Prices are high, the client base is small, and while the sought references have historically sold above retail, the difference between the price a dealer asks and the price a dealer bids is wider than for Rolex, so a forced sale costs more. Our Richard Mille price guide, Patek Philippe price guide and Audemars Piguet price guide cover each brand.

What decides how much a specific watch depreciates?

• The set. Box, warranty card and papers matter more as the watch ages. A watch-only Rolex trades below a full set by a clear margin, and Rolex does not reissue cards.
• Warranty remaining. A watch inside its five-year Rolex or two-year Patek warranty sells for more than one just outside it.
• Polishing. An unpolished case with sharp chamfers holds value; a polished one is discounted, and heavily polished vintage pieces are discounted hard.
• Service parts. A replaced dial, bezel insert or hands on a vintage watch removes a large part of its collector value.
• Configuration. Dial colour and bracelet choice move resale. The wrong dial on the right reference can be the difference between a premium and a discount.
• Bracelet stretch and clasp wear. Cosmetic to a wearer, expensive to a buyer who wants it corrected.

New or pre-owned: where does the first drop land?

For rationed references there is no first drop to avoid, because the retail buyer is already below market. For everything else the first drop lands on the retail buyer, and the second owner starts from a lower base. On 22 September 2026 our sourced catalogue listed the Rolex Submariner 124060 at US$15,990 brand new and at US$10,415 pre-owned, a difference of roughly a third for a watch that is mechanically the same, and the Datejust 41 126334 with a blue dial from US$13,129, all sourced to order. Those figures describe what we saw that day and will move, but the shape is consistent: a pre-owned example in good condition with a card has already absorbed most of the depreciation the first owner paid for. The pre-owned collection lists what we can seek.

Buying checks that limit depreciation

• Choose a liquid reference. If several dealers would bid on it today, it will not fall far tomorrow.
• Buy the common configuration. Black dial, Oyster bracelet and standard bezel resell fastest; exotic dials are a taste you pay for twice.
• Insist on the full set. Card, box and receipts; for older watches, service history.
• Check the case is unpolished and the bracelet is tight, and that no service parts have replaced originals on a vintage piece.
• Compare the ask with a dated band from more than one dealer for the same configuration; overpaying is depreciation you chose.
• Keep everything. Boxes, links, tags and receipts cost nothing to store and add real money on resale.
• Use a dealer who inspects the movement. Our authentication process describes what we check before dispatch.

Quick answers

Which luxury watches depreciate the least?

Steel sports models that are rationed at retail: the Rolex Submariner, GMT-Master II and Daytona, the Patek Philippe Nautilus and Aquanaut, and the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. Bought at retail, these have typically resold at or above cost.

How much does a Rolex depreciate?

Rationed steel professional models have little or no depreciation from retail. Datejust, Oyster Perpetual and gold models typically resell to a dealer below retail, with the size of the discount depending on dial, bracelet and set.

Does a Patek Philippe hold its value?

The steel Nautilus and Aquanaut have held value well; most Calatrava and complicated dress references trade well below retail on the secondary market.

Do watches depreciate like cars?

Most do, with the largest drop in the first year and a flattening afterwards. The difference is that a handful of watch references appreciate because supply is rationed, which no mass-market car does.

Is it better to buy new or pre-owned to avoid depreciation?

For rationed references, buy new at retail if you can. For everything else, a pre-owned full set a few years old has already absorbed most of the first owner's loss.

Request a sourcing quote or a cash-buy assessment

Tell us the reference, dial and condition you want, plus your budget and timing, through our sourcing enquiry form. We confirm the specific watch, photographs, card and final price before you commit. Catalogue entries: Submariner 124060 new, Submariner 124060 pre-owned, Datejust 41 126334 blue dial; browse the Submariner collection, the pre-owned collection, or sell or trade your watch. For retail context, Patek Philippe's Nautilus page and Audemars Piguet's collection pages list current models, and Sotheby's watch department publishes results for the references that reach auction.

Related reading: Rolex price guide · Submariner price guide · How to sell a Rolex · Best first Rolex.