WatchCharts/Morgan Stanley publish latest secondary watch market report
Secondary market data specialist WatchCharts has published its latest watch market report, in conjunction with Morgan Stanley.
The comprehensive 51 page report analyses the performance of the secondary market in Q4 of last year, as well as reviewing its wider health over the course of the whole of 2025.
We’ve picked out some of the key findings, with more in-depth analysis to follow in the February edition of Watch Insider magazine.
Overall Market Growth
Secondary prices rose +1.9% in 4Q25 and +4.9% for the full year 2025, a significant improvement over the double-digit declines seen in 2023 and 2024.
Mixed messaging on prices
For the first time in several years, secondary market prices for Richemont, Swatch Group, and LVMH saw a sequential uptick in 4Q25. Across the board the fourth quarter saw an average price rise of 1.9%, and this was a broad trend, with 21 of the 35 brands that WatchCharts tracks seeing an increase.
However, the year as a whole saw a more mixed bag. The groups mentioned above (Richemont, Swatch Group, and LVMH) saw year-on-year price declines of -1.5%, -6.3%, and -5.3% respectively.
Highlights and lowlights
The ‘big three’ of Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet remain the only brands whose watches still trade above retail on average.
Patek Philippe led the market with a +7.6% price increase in Q4. It reclaimed the top spot for value retention at +10.7%. Rolex prices were flat in 4Q25 but grew +4.6% for the whole of 2025. Its average value retention premium (the percentage over retail price that a model fetches in the secondary market) stands at +6.7%.
At the mid-level, Cartier and Omega continued to outperform brands, with Cartier in particular a clear standout, achieveing +2.3% growth in 4Q25.
On the other hand, LVMH recorded the weakest performance among the Swiss groups in 2025, with prices for all of its brands declining by at least -4.0% YoY.
Life outside of the ‘big three’
Despite the ongoing success of Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet, their collective share of the overall market has actually continued to trend downwards. Their share was an estimated 62% in 2025, down from the peak of 68% in 2022.
This estimate excludes sales from the Rolex CPO programme, more on which below.
Rolex Certified Pre-Owned (CPO)
The still fledgling programme has seen significant growth, with Rolex CPO sales exceeding $500 million in 2025, a significant increase from $300 million in 2024.
A key indicator of the level of success of Rolex CPO is the fact that watches sold through the programme achieved a premium of +25.9% globally compared to the non-certified secondary market.
2026 predictions
The report expects secondary market demand to remain healthy into 2026, with price performance potentially improving across a wider range of brands.
It also anticipates that certified pre-owned programmes (like the aforementioned Rolex CPO) will be critical long-term mechanisms for luxury brands to protect and enhance their brand equity.
