Watches

The Top-Selling Rolex Models of the Last 15 Years, According to Bob’s Watches

WatchesJul 16, 2025

The Top-Selling Rolex Models of the Last 15 Years, According to Bob’s Watches

The reseller’s market trends report, based on its sales data, also shows exactly how much Rolex prices have jumped since 2010.

Rolex Datejust ref. 16233
In honor of its 15th anniversary, Bob’s Watches has released 15 years of preowned Rolex sales data. Pictured is a Rolex Datejust, a dress watch the brand introduced in the mid-1940s. (Photo courtesy of Bob’s Watches)
Naples, Fla.—Earlier this month, Bob’s Watches released a detailed, data-based report confirming what everyone knows to be true—the price of Rolex watches has skyrocketed over the last 15 years.

Based on the luxury watch reseller’s sales data from 2010—the year it launched—to 2025, the report outlines the top-selling Rolex models and tracks the increase in sale prices for the brand.

It takes into account both average order value and transaction volumes across Rolex’s various collections.

According to the report, the average resale price of a Rolex watch sold by Bob’s Watches has increased more than five-fold between 2010 and 2025, jumping from an average of $2,050 in 2010 to $13,426 this year.

The average order value for Rolexes sold by Bob’s Watches more than quadrupled between July 2010 ($2,050) and the end of 2015 ($7,185) and increased 24 percent from then until June 2020, reaching $8,897.

What Bob’s Watches described as Rolex “mania” took hold in summer 2020—the beginning of a lucrative couple of years for the entire fine jewelry and watch industry—with average order value for Rolex watches surging between 2020 and early 2022 to peak at $17,206.   
 
Since then, the market for all secondhand luxury watches has undergone a price correction. 

For Bob’s Watches, the report shows that after peaking in March 2022, the average order value for a preowned Rolex watch began dropping, hitting a low of $11,785 in December 2022 before beginning to stabilize this year. 

As of June 2025, the average order value for a Rolex watch was $13,426.

 Related stories will be right here … 

The report also breaks down the top-selling Rolex collections on Bob’s Watches over the last 15 years.

No. 1 is the Rolex Datejust, a dress watch Rolex first introduced in 1945, making it one of the brand’s oldest collections.

According to the report, the most popular Datejust model is the ref. 16233, a 36 mm two-tone watch with a fluted bezel, Jubilee bracelet and caliber 3135 movement.

Rolex produced the Datejust ref. 16233 from the late ‘80s through the 2000s.

Prices for Datejust watches sold by Bob’s Watches have jumped more than 600 percent over the last 15 years, increasing from $1,150 to $8,641.

Rolex Submariner Ref. 16610
The average sale price of a Rolex Submariner has more than tripled for Bob’s Watches over the last 15 years, the company’s sales data shows. (Photo courtesy of Bob’s Watches)


The second most popular collection is the Rolex Submariner, a dive watch introduced in 1953.

The bestselling Submariner is the ref. 16610, a 40 mm watch with an aluminum bezel insert and caliber 3135 movement. The model was produced between 1998 and 2010.

Prices for Rolex Submariners have risen from $4,700 to $17,295 over the last 15 years, a 268 percent increase.

The GMT-Master II sits at No. 3, led by the ref. 116710, a 40 mm stainless steel watch with a black and blue (“Batman) or black (“LN”) Cerachrom ceramic bezel and maxi case.

Rolex GMT-Master II ref. 116710
For Bob’s Watches, the most popular GMT-Master II model is the ref. 116710 with either the “Batman” (black and blue) or all black Cerachrom ceramic bezel and maxi case.


Produced from 2007 to 2019, the model is powered by the caliber 3186 movement.  

Over the last 15 years, prices for Rolex GMT-Master II watches have increased more than 500 percent, from $3,400 in 2010 to $20,595 today, the report shows. 

The three Rolex collections that are the least traded on Bob’s Watches are the Milgauss, the Sky-Dweller, and the Cellini. 

Bob’s Watches is based in Newport Beach, California.

The company has stores in Newport Beach and Naples, Florida, as well as by-appointment-only locations in New York City and Miami.

Bob Thompson started Bob’s Watches as a local business in the mid-‘90s. He sold the company to current owner and CEO Paul Altieri in 2010, who relaunched it as a website focused on Rolex resales.

The company released the Rolex sales report to mark its 15th anniversary.

The full report can be viewed on BobWatches.com.

Michelle Graffis the editor-in-chief at National Jeweler, directing the publication’s coverage both online and in print.

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