Rolex kicks off the year 2025 by increasing the price of its watches

Rolex SA, Switzerland’s largest luxury watch brand, has raised prices on some of its most popular models after the value of gold rises in 2024.

The Geneva company, controlled by a Swiss foundation named after its co-founder Hans Wilsdorf, started the year by raising prices of some models made from precious metals by up to 8%.

A yellow gold Day-Date with a 40-millimeter black dial costs 44,200 euros ($45,809) since January 1, up from 41,000 euros, according to the Rolex website in France. A GMT-Master II in yellow gold costs 44,600 euros, compared to 41,300 euros.

Rolex usually raises its prices once a year, on January 1st. Price increases can be indicative of demand for high-end luxury goods, the cost of materials and labor, and inflation. In 2024, gold recorded its strongest annual rise in 14 years, with a jump of 27%.

A Rolex spokesperson in Geneva declined to comment on the price changes.

This year’s increases are larger than last year’s. Rolex has increased prices of some precious metal models by around 4% in the UK in early 2024.

Country-specific timepiece prices can also be seen as an indicator of a nation’s economic strength. The world’s leading luxury watch brand produces more than a million watches a year, with sales exceeding 10 billion Swiss francs ($11 billion), according to analyst estimates.

Price increases in 2025 for steel models have been less aggressive. A steel Cosmograph Daytona now costs 16,000 euros, compared to 15,500 euros in 2024. The price of a Submariner diver’s watch has increased by around 1.6% to reach 9,500 euros.

While the latest price increases can be linked to the increase in the price of gold, currency fluctuations have already played a role in the past. Rolex raised prices twice in the UK and Europe in 2022, when the Swiss franc soared against the pound sterling and the euro.