Rolex's pre-owned programme is now a $600 million business

When Rolex launched Certified Pre-Owned in late 2022 the trade's reaction was somewhere between alarm and disbelief. Four years on it is approaching $600 million in annual sales, with 129 retailers running the programme across 246 doors in 19 countries — more than a sixth of Rolex's global retail network. Ahmed Seddiqi in Dubai has been among the businesses driving that growth.

What it actually does

A CPO watch is authenticated by Rolex, given a two-year international guarantee and a new seal, and sold through an authorised dealer. Jean-Frédéric Dufour, speaking at Dubai Watch Week, framed it as protection: a client trading or buying through official channels should not have to worry about what they are getting.

What it changed for everyone else

It ended the argument. For twenty years the industry's official line was that a pre-owned watch was a slightly disreputable object; the manufacture now sells them itself, with a guarantee. That is a permanent shift in how the category is perceived, and it has been good for every honest dealer in the market.

What it has not done is set the price. CPO stock carries a premium over the open market — you are paying for the guarantee, the seal and the retail experience, which is a perfectly reasonable thing to buy. It also covers a narrow band of the market: mainstream references in good condition, three years old or more. It is not where you find a discontinued reference, a full set with matching papers, or anything that needs to be tracked down rather than picked off a shelf.

Which is, more or less, a description of what we do.