Yes, Watch Prices Are Falling: Rolex, Patek Philippe, Plus a Few Watches That Don't Lose!

Watch prices are falling in late 2022; Rolex watches are at the center of a fast-moving marketplace. As stocks, collector cars, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs surrender their bubble economy value, certain luxury watches are experiencing their first major depreciation in years. No watch embodies this trend more than the Rolex GMT Master II 126720VTNR. Regardless of which nickname you prefer, the Rolex GMT "lefty" is a microcosm of today's declining luxury watch marketplace. Rolex released its first ever left-handed GMT Master II in March of this year. The Rolex 126720 also marked the arrival of the first green-and-black Rolex GMT bezel. Watch collectors nicknamed it the "sprite," the "lefty," the "destro," and the "Green Lantern," but mostly, they just called it "expensive." The Rolex GMT 126720 has a retail price of $11,050 in US dollars, but aftermarket speculation and early buyers looking to flip watches pushed the asking prices close to $50,000 in April and May. Initially, preowned watches actually did change hands for transaction prices in the mid to high $40,000 range. Then came interest rate hikes. And quantitative tightening. And a war-driven energy crisis in Europe. Suddenly, paying the price of a new BMW for a mass-produced Rolex watch ceased to make sense. That's not to say the market for the green-and-black GMT Master II has collapsed, because it hasn't. Current market prices for the watch range from $25,000 to $35,000, and actual transaction prices likely range