One of the biggest news in 2022 for the watch industry is probably the CPO programme launched by Rolex. CPO stands for Certified Per-Owned, meaning that Rolex will sell pre-owned watches certified by them. This is the first time Rolex has entered the market of pre-owned watches.
The CPO programme has started in Europe in major Bucherer boutiques. It will certainly expand to the rest of the world soon. For now we can see only a limited range of models are being sold in the programme and they are mainly watches in the ceramic bezel era.
But how will the CPO programme impact the market? It is still too early to say. 2022 saw watch prices sliding down from its peak in Feb. Some see the CPO programme as an attempt from Rolex to stabilize watch prices. The prices of watches from the CPO programme are around 20-30% higher than market prices now. Whether it can attract clients to buy at their boutiques is still unknown as many shops offer better prices and the certification may not be justified by the premium paid since the market of pre-owned Rolex has been operating for a very long time in an orderly manner.
However, in the long run, the CPO programme may help guarantee that Rolex watches keep their value in a stronger way. As many know, Rolex has price increase at least once a year. That is one of the main reasons why Rolex watches keep their value. With the launch of the CPO programme, there is now an official Rolex price for used Rolex watches. This may serve as a ‘price list’ for used Rolex. This ‘price list’ may well be used as a reference when shops or individuals try to sell their Rolex. In this way, prices of used Rolex will unlikely see a big drop in the future.
That said, Rolex is still subject to economic fluctuations. The grey market for used and new Rolex watches has been operating for many years. As we do not know the scale of the CPO programme, it is hard to say how big an impact it will cause to the market. If Rolex starts buying in pre-owned watches in a large scale, it will definitely help stabilize and raise the value of pre-owned Rolex. However, if the scale of the CPO programme is too small, it may not be able to make an impact big enough in the pre-owned market as the number of pre-owned Rolex in the market now is still way bigger than the number of Rolex in the CPO programme for now.
It is good news for Rolex to finally officially enter the pre-owned market after a few big watch groups. Buyers can buy certified Rolex without having to worry too much as they come with Rolex warranty. This is very positive on the brand’s image and will definitely help people who are new to the world of Rolex. In the long run, more buyers will enter the Rolex market and this is definitely what Rolex is happy to see.