If You Think Rolex Watches Are Expensive Now, Wait Till January

Another year, another price increase for Rolex.

In what has become an annual tradition for The Crown, Rolex will be rolling out a price increase across the bulk of its catalog beginning next month. And while Rolex is hardly unique in doing so — rivals like Patek and Omega have also made a recent habit of increasing prices on a yearly basis — the brand’s position at the top of the Swiss watch industry means it will always garner the most attention for its moves.

So, just how much are Rolex prices going up in 2026? And, perhaps more importantly, why are they going up?

Rolex

TLDR; it’s because of tariffs

This year’s Rolex news comes via WatchPro, which scooped the details on Rolex’s latest price increase via a leak of the brand’s 2026 U.S. Master Catalog, which sets the recommended retail prices for Rolex authorized dealers.

According to WatchPro, the catalog shows an average price increase of 7 percent across all product lines. Gold models are increasing the most, with prices going up by around 9 percent, with steel watch prices seeing a more modest but still significant jump of 5.6 percent.

For example, here’s what you can expect to pay for some of the more popular steel models: The no-date Submariner, currently listed at $9,500, will reportedly become a five-figure watch on January 1, with its SRP rising to $10,050. The GMT-Master II “Batman” will see a $700 increase from $11,100 to $11,800. And the steel Daytona will jump nearly $1,000 from $16,000 to $16,900.

Rolex

These watches are all difficult to purchase at retail anyway with their notoriousl years-long waitlists, but these price increses mean that the secondary market prices will go up, too. This increase will also mark the third Rolex price increase in a year. The brand raised prices at the start of 2025, and then did so again in May after U.S. President Donald Trump levied a 10 percent tariff on Swiss goods.

Rolex didn’t apply another price increase when Trump raised that tariff to an eye-popping 39 percent in August, choosing instead to wait out the tariffs and, by some appearances, negotiate directly with the Trump administartion in an attempt to bring them down.

Those unofficial negotiations appear to have worked, perhaps due in part to Rolex inviting Trump to its suite at the U.S. Open and then gifting him a special gold clock (which Swiss lawmakers are investigating as a possible bribe) during a White House visit, with Trump lowering the tariff to 15 percent this month.

But a 15-percent tariff is still high — tariffs on Swiss goods to the U.S. were traditionally around 2 – 3 percent prior to 2025 — and the tariff rate is the main factor driving up Rolex’s price increases for 2026.

Rolex

Another is the continued weakness of the U.S. dollar compared to the Swiss Franc (and other currencies), which is also attributed to the Trump administration’s tariffs and economic policies resulting in global speculation about America’s economy. The third factor raising Rolex prices is the rising cost of gold, which only applies to models containing gold.

So, to sum up, if you’ve been on a waiting list at your local AD for a while now, it might be worth pinging them before the end of the year and seeing if you can make your purchase within the next nine days. Because come New Year’s Day, that Rolex you’ve got your eye on is going to be considerably more expensive.

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