How to Sell a Rolex Watch in 2025

Rolex is by far the most dominant brand in the secondary luxury watch market—no other brand comes close in terms of volume, value retention, and recognizability. So if you have a Rolex to sell, then the liquidity of the brand makes it much easier to unload than almost any other watch. Some models even sell pre-owned for more than their original retail price, which is nice–but these days, most don’t. Here are the fundamentals of how to sell a Rolex in 2025.

While there are some general best practices when selling a watch, there are a few brand-specific tips to keep in mind when you’re figuring out how to sell your Rolex.

Know the Model and Age

If you’re selling a Rolex, you’ll need to know the specific model and preferably its approximate age, so we’ll explain how to locate Rolex reference numbers and serial numbers. If you remove the bracelet, you can see the reference number (also known as the “model number”) in between the lugs at the 12 o’clock position. If you have the original paperwork that came with the watch, the reference number will be printed there and you won’t have to take off the bracelet. You can also post a photo of your watch for the Rolex nerds on Reddit or on other watch forums, and you’ll likely get an accurate answer about the model number rather quickly.

The serial number will be in between the lugs at 6 o’clock if the watch was made before 2008. From 2008 on, the serial appears at the bottom of the Rolex rehaut. You can see our chart of Rolex serial numbers to deduce the approximate age of the watch from that–but only for watches made before about 2010, when Rolex started “scrambling” their serials. So if you have an 8-digit “random serial” that includes letters mixed in, all that tells you is that it’s from 2010 or newer.

Especially for older watches, buyers may want to know the serial number to confirm that the characteristics of the watch are correct for its age. Some sellers are perfectly comfortable providing prospective buyers with the full serial number but it’s also very common to “x out” the last 2 or 3 digits. That’s totally a personal call.

Learn more: How to Spot a Fake Rolex

Collect Documentation and Packaging

The market is flooded with fake Rolex watches, so any official papers, warranty cards, boxes, packaging, receipts, service records, insurance papers, or any other documentation can help ease buyers’ worries. If your watch was sized, you’ll also want to ensure you provide all of your Rolex bracelet links, or disclose any links that are missing. Take the time to locate these items (if you have them somewhere) as they can add anywhere from 10% to 20% to the price you can sell your Rolex for.

Learn more: How Many Links Does a Rolex Come With?

Unlike many other luxury watch brands, Rolex does not provide any authentication programs or extracts from the archives. However, if you’ve had your Rolex serviced at an official service center, the service papers will go a long way in affirming your watch’s authenticity.

How to Sell a Rolex Without Papers?

If you’re wondering how to sell a Rolex without papers, don’t panic: it’s a very common situation. New-ish Rolex owners usually hang onto the box, but most vintage Rolexes come “naked”–meaning no box or papers. If you don’t have the box and papers, you’ll get a bit less money for your Rolex, but it’s certainly not catastrophic.

Determine the Value of Your Rolex

Using the reference number, do some pricing research on your Rolex. Finding out how much a Rolex is relatively easy given how popular the brand is in the secondary market. Rolex does publish its manufacturer’s suggested retail prices (MSRP) on its website, however, this is only part of the picture. Make sure you research secondary market values of the watch too — they can be quite different from sticker prices. You can go to watchrecon.com, Chrono24 and even Ebay (completed listings give you a more accurate picture) to find out what comparable models are selling for.

If you choose to trade your Rolex in to a dealer, expect to get about 10%-35% less than its resale market price, depending how liquid the model is. Dealers like Luxury Bazaar can sell a steel Submariner at market price in like five minutes, so margins can be thin–but a random old Cellini dress watch might sit for months, so there has to be more “spread.” And if you sell a $7,000 Rolex on Ebay, for instance, you’ll be losing about 10% of it to fees and shipping anyway.

We have a number of Rolex price guides you can reference:
Breaking Down Rolex Prices: Retail vs. Actual Market for Top Models
Rolex Watch Prices: Historical and Current From Actual Sales Numbers
How Much Can I Get for My Used Submariner?
How Much Can I Get for My Used Daytona?
What is the Price of a Datejust?
How Much Does a Rolex Day-Date Cost?

Should I Service My Rolex Before Selling It?

The rule of thumb is no, if you’re planning to sell a watch, don’t bother paying for a servicing. Services are expensive and the buyer will likely want the condition to be as untouched as possible. If you do service your Rolex, keep it as original as possible. If your Rolex has aftermarket (meaning custom) parts, that significantly diminishes its liquidity–and usually its value as well.

If you’re selling your Rolex watch to a professional grey market dealer, they will take care of any repairs, servicing, or maintenance needed before reselling it anyway. There’s no need to incur that cost yourself before selling your Rolex.

Get an Instant Offer from Luxury Bazaar

With decades of experience in the luxury watch industry and thousands of happy customers, Luxury Bazaar is the easiest way to sell your Rolex watch safely. 

Simply answer a few questions about the Rolex watch you want to sell and receive an instant offer. We’ll guide you through the whole process, which is fast, easy, convenient, and most importantly, risk-free.