Inside the gravity-defying rise of luxury watch prices
To understand inside the gravitydefying rise of watch prices, look at auction blocks and retail counters at once: timepieces have climbed across gold models, independents, and mainstream brands, with Phillips's June New York sale hitting $75.8 million and Rolex raising prices four times since January 2025. Collectors feel the squeeze, yet the market keeps absorbing hikes driven by rising costs, currency swings, and deliberate premiumization.
Key Takeaways
- Watch prices have increased on everything, everywhere, seemingly all at once—not only at auction or on gold models.
- Phillips's June New York auction totaled $75.8 million, including 16 watches above $1 million and a record $13.9 million F.P. Journe.
- Rolex has raised prices four times since January 2025, while brands cite gold costs and a weaker dollar.
- Premiumization is pushing brands toward ultra-high-end pieces, with some collectors pivoting to independents.
- William Massena warns a $250,000 tourbillon now rivals the price of an average U.S. home.
Why Have Watch Prices Risen Everywhere at Once?
Watch prices have gone crazy, seemingly all at once. According to Robb Report, increases are hitting the high-end, the primary market, steel references, and gold models alike—not one isolated corner of the trade.
At auction, million-dollar results are no longer rare. Marteau & Co.'s third online sale this month set a world record for Kari Voutilainen when his Regulator Decimal Repeater sold for $1,966,718. Two days after Phillips's $75.8 million New York sale, deputy chairman Paul Boutros admitted he had hoped merely to break $50 million.
What Is Pushing Retail Prices Higher?
Rolex has increased prices four times since January 2025, with the latest hike on gold and two-tone models catching buyers off-guard. At Watches and Wonders Geneva in April, executives blamed rising gold costs and the falling dollar for repeated increases across the industry.
Bertrand Meylan, CEO of MELB Subsidiaries (H. Moser & Cie. and Hautlence), noted a 15% to 18% currency swing in one year—unprecedented for Swiss brands. H. Moser's entry-level Pioneer, roughly $14,500 in 2022, now approaches $18,000.
Since the pandemic, many maisons have pursued premiumization—elevating perceived value to charge a substantial premium, as consultant Oliver R. Müller of LuxeConsult describes it. Post-Covid Swiss watch growth was only marginally organic, he says.
Are Wealthy Collectors Still Buying?
Despite complaints that prices have disconnected from perceived value, the market is bearing increases. William Massena of Massena LAB notes it is easier to sell one $100,000 watch than ten at $10,000. His 10-piece Sylvain Pinaud collaboration at 130,000 Swiss francs each sold out in 56 minutes in 2023.
Yet fatigue is real even at the top. Complecto founder Jason Gong reports affluent collectors pivoting toward difficult-to-acquire independents like Simon Brette or Romain Gauthier over mainstream grand complications. New York collector Joyce Solano has diversified into Tudor and smaller independents.
How Does This Compare to Luxury Real Estate?
Massena puts the scale in housing terms: a gold case alone costs roughly $10,000, pushing retail past $50,000 to $60,000—near the average American annual salary. A $250,000 tourbillon, he adds, is basically the price of an average house.
That parallel lands as luxury real estate listings climb too. Josh Flagg recently listed his renovated 1930s Miami Beach villa on North Bay Road for $10 million—across from the Beckhams—after a studs-up rebuild of the $4.25 million acquisition. Seven showing requests arrived once construction finished.
Massena's warning may already be reality: watch collecting is becoming a rich person's sport. The open question is whether remaining collectors and brands chasing them can sustain a trade built on inevitably costlier years ahead.