Rolex Increases Prices For 2025 (In Steel And Precious Metals)

Inevitable as death and taxes, we can always count on a Rolex price adjustment to kick off each new year (last year we even got a second one in the Summer). Unfortunately for our wallets, the adjusted prices never trend down, but it’s worth keeping tabs on the Crown’s prices each year because it directly affects those who have their names on waitlists. So if you have saved what you think is the absolute exact amount of dough necessary to pick up your dream Rolex, I am here to shatter those dreams. Ok, that was dramatic. Don’t worry, things weren’t too bad this time around…unless you dream about a gold Daytona while you sleep.

Overall, Rolex pricing for steel – well, for non-gold, now that we have RLX titanium in the mix – has been steady, only really rising slightly over the past couple of years. That trend continues this year.

My big takeaway from the pricing adjustments is this: All Rolex models that were under $10k pre-2025, remain under $10k in 2025. That is a big deal to me as there will come a time (hopefully not soon) when a sub-$10k Rolex watch at retail will be the stuff dreams are made of. I am really vibing on dreamy hyperbole today (turns off Fleetwood Mac on the stereo).

So the watches I am referring to are the Oyster Perpetual, the Datejust, the Explorer and Explorer II, the Air-King, and the Submariner (not the Submariner Date). 

Additionally, in a more general sense, all of the steel models — so, adding the Submariner Date, the GMT-Master II, and the Sea Dweller — only increased by a nice, tidy, and uniform $100. Alright, Alright, it isn’t quite that simple. Nothing ever is when it comes to Rolex, which is half the fun.

So, what I should have said above was "everything except the Daytona and the Sky-Dweller." This is interesting, because these are the two steel models (other than the Datejust) that  really sit between the sport and luxury worlds. While both sporty, neither uses the traditional professional Rolex case (the one that the Air-King switched to in 2022), and both represent a different sort of Rolex buying experience than their other steel counterparts. Of course, one is virtual unobtanium, and the other is – frankly – misunderstood. Decades from now we will be kicking ourselves for sleeping on the Sky-Dweller, Rolex’s most complicated watch.

But those two models in steel saw price increases in excess of $100. The Daytona went from a $15,100 MSRP to $15,500 – representing a $400 increase for those lacking basic math skills or don’t have a calculator handy. The Sky-Dweller would have set you back $15,650 on an Oyster bracelet and $15,900 on a Jubilee in 2024, and now costs $16,150 on an Oyster and $16,400 on a Jubilee, representing a $500 increase.

Why were these two models chosen for greater increases in price than the others? Hard to say, but I’ll speculate. It could be the product of Rolex examining what its highest complication should be worth and needing to adjust just slightly more than the rest in order to meet the market. The Daytona had a recent update in 2023 with new movements, new bezel architecture, new case architecture, and new dial design. So there are simply elements of each of these watches that could’ve warranted steeper increases. And let’s not act as though $400 and $500 are not a lot of money. In many cases you can get a rock-solid automatic watch for those prices from a number of blue-chip brands. 

And then there was RLX titanium. Unlike steel, we saw a hefty increase here. The Yacht-Master 42 RLX increased from $14,050 to $14,800 representing a $750 increase in price for a watch a lot of us have really taken a liking to, even if that 42mm sizing is a bit bigger than we would like. This is also a watch that has not appeared much in the wild, so I imagine waitlists for this one are slow-moving. So I am sorry to those who have to shell out just shy of an extra $1,000 if the Yacht-Master was one you were waiting for. I have to think this price change is tied to the process required for Rolex to produce its own titanium – especially in light of the fact the brand is in between production facilities as it waits on new expansion. 

Of course, the big news on the other sites this week was the larger increase in precious metals, especially on the Daytona, which saw increases around 14%. For example the Ref. 126508 Daytona increased from $39,500 to $47,000. Calculators out: that’s a $7,500 increase. That’s $150 more than a 2024 Explorer 36, and is the exact price of a smooth-bezel Datejust 36. Where I said the Daytona increase was the amount of a good automatic Seiko, here you’re talking an entire desirable (arguably 4x more desirable) steel Rolex sports watch. Let that sink in. That’s a real increase. And say what you will about the fact that is is directly connected to the rising value of gold, but I am still entitled to sticker shock.

This is less of an article and more of a prolonged observation, but what I can say is that core steel Rolex offerings remain effectively unchanged (I think that is okay to say with a $100 price increase). This is somewhat immaterial given the desirability of some of these watches — notably the Submariners and GMTs. But it is also perhaps a good sign for those in the market for an OP, a Datejust, an Explorer, or an Air-King. Based on what I have seen, these are becoming much easier to come by at retail.

The Sky-Dweller price change might be steep for some, but keep in mind that this is a watch that still has a niche audience. The Daytona is going to Daytona, not matter the price. And $15,500 is still less than what you’ll find on the secondary market. The increase in gold is a lot; there is no way around that. It will be interesting to continue tracking that in the face of the value of gold going forward. In the meantime, these are our 2025 Rolex prices. Go forth and do with this information what you wish.