Rolex Opens New Market Opportunities With Certified Pre-Owned Program Revision

Rolex, the leading Swiss watch brand in terms of sales, has taken a significant step in rewriting its market strategy. The brand has revised the rules of its Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) program, now allowing authorized dealers to vend two-year-old Rolex watches, which were previously ineligible. The change comes in response to the swelling demand for second-hand Rolex timepieces.

The Geneva-based company, owned by a trust foundation named after the brand’s founder, Hans Wilsdorf, has dialed back on the minimum age of watches that can be included in their CPO initiative. As of May 2025, all pre-owned Rolex watches, as long as they are at least two years old, can now bear the sought-after CPO tag.

While Rolex initiated its CPO program in 2022, the agitation has been palpable among its authorized dealers— who have enjoyed charging a premium on officially certified watches that carry an additional two-year guarantee. Data compiled by WatchCharts reveals that during the second quarter of 2025, Rolex CPO dealers charged a mean premium of 30% over non-CPO dealers for similar pre-owned Rolex models. Some of the most prominent Rolex CPO dealers include Bucherer and Tourneau, both of which are Rolex-owned.

Following the program’s inception in Europe in 2022, Rolex launched the CPO initiative in the United States in 2023. By May 2025, the CPO program had spread its roots worldwide with approximately 8,500 Rolex CPO listings sold by 116 retailers across 227 outlets. It boasts an impressive total sales figure of $120 million in the second quarter of 2025 alone, with an average premium of around 30% compared to similar listings from non-Rolex CPO retailers. Further data indicated that Bucherer retailers in Europe, owned by Rolex, charged the highest average premium for Rolex CPO watches, with prices averaging a 42% premium over non-Rolex CPO dealer prices as of July 5, 2025.

In the domain of pre-owned luxury watches, this revised CPO policy from Rolex represents an enticing push towards a new realm of horological marketing. As the appetite for pre-owned timepieces grows, the iconic watch brand is adjusting its sails to catch the winds of the fast-growing secondary watch market.