Why Your Rolex Gets More Expensive Every Year (And Why It Probably Won’t Stop)

If you’ve been into watches for a while, you probably remember that moment: you hesitate on a Submariner, tell yourself you’ll “come back next year”… and by the time you do, the price has quietly crept up again. That little sting in your stomach? Rolex has turned it into an annual tradition.

Today, that tradition is very much alive. As of 1 January 2026, Rolex has raised prices worldwide yet again, with increases typically between about 2–6% on steel and up to around 9–10% on some gold and two-tone models, depending on the market. It’s the sort of change you might miss on a price tag, but you definitely feel if you’ve been saving for a while.

From tool to trophy: how we got here

It’s easy to look at today’s price list and say “Rolex is expensive,” but the curve over time is what really tells the story. In 1957, a no-date Submariner cost about 150 dollars. If it had just tracked inflation, by 2014 it should have been around 1,265 dollars; instead, it was closer to 7,500 – roughly six times higher than inflation alone would suggest.

The human side of that is simple: what used to be an aspirational but reachable “one good watch for life” has turned into a long-term goal for many people. Back in the 1950s, an average yearly US income could buy around 11 Submariners; by 2012, that same typical income could only buy about 5.65. A similar pattern shows up with the Daytona – inflation says it should have been about 1,996 dollars in 2012 money, but the real price landed around 11,250 dollars. Rolex hasn’t just become more expensive; it has become less accessible by design.

Fast-forward to January 2026 and you can feel that strategy in your wallet. In Europe, analyses of the new price lists show increases of roughly 2.5–6% on most models versus 2025, with steel sports like the Submariner and Daytona nudging up in that mid-single-digit range. In the US, a detailed breakdown shows steel Submariners up about 5.8%, steel Oyster Perpetual 41 about 6%, and some steel-and-gold GMT-Master II models close to 9–10% in a single step. Gold Day-Date and other precious-metal pieces see some of the steepest jumps, often near or into double digits.

Why Rolex keeps turning the screw

Strip away the mystique and there are a few very human reasons behind those yearly increases.

First, real-world costs do go up. Rolex is a huge industrial operation with Swiss labor, energy, logistics, and R&D bills to pay. Industry breakdowns of recent price lists openly tie the 2022–24 and 2026 hikes to broad inflation and higher operating costs, especially in Europe, where increases of 4–7% have become relatively normal. Part of what you’re paying for is simply the world getting more expensive.

Second, gold has been on a tear. If you’ve watched gold prices lurch upwards and thought, “My Day-Date just got more expensive,” you’re not wrong. Analyses of the 2025–26 increases show gold and two-tone Rolexes taking some of the sharpest jumps, with around 6–10% increases in a single year in some markets. When the metal inside the watch costs more, Rolex will absolutely pass some of that along.

Third, Rolex is managing the hype and the flippers. For years, demand for steel sports models has massively outstripped supply, with prices on the open market often 20–70% above MSRP almost everywhere. In 2022, Rolex targeted those exact watches with the heaviest hikes – about 10–11% on the Submariner and steel GMT-Master II in some regions, versus low single digits on quieter references. That’s not random; it’s an attempt to close the gap between boutique prices and grey-market realities so more value stays with Rolex and its authorized dealers, not just resellers.

Fourth, there’s the quiet work of keeping global prices in sync. If you’ve ever thought, “I’ll just fly to another country and buy it cheaper,” Rolex is thinking about you too. Their increases aren’t identical everywhere: some markets are hit harder when local currencies weaken against the Swiss franc, while others get “catch-up” increases after periods of stability. The goal is to avoid huge arbitrage gaps and keep the experience – and the perception of fairness – relatively consistent worldwide.

Finally, there’s the part nobody at a boutique will say out loud: the crown has enormous pricing power. Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult estimate that by 2023 Rolex had passed 10 billion Swiss francs in sales, with a retail market share of about 30–32% of the entire Swiss watch industry – more than many blue-chip rivals combined. When demand still outstrips supply on key models after several rounds of price hikes, the brand learns a simple lesson: it can push a little more without scaring people away.

The current reality

All of this lands in a very human place: you, saving slowly, looking at a price list that seems to edge away every January. By early 2026, that reality looks something like this:

• A no-date Submariner that was around 150 dollars in 1957 now sits above 10,000 dollars in many markets once taxes are included, roughly six times more than inflation would alone justify.

• Steel Submariners are up about 5.8% in the latest US list, steel Oyster Perpetual 41 references about 6%, while some two-tone pieces push toward 9–10% in a single year.

• Gold Rolexes feel every tremor in the bullion markets, with recent gold surges followed by roughly 6–10% hikes on Day-Date and other precious-metal lines across 2025–26 price lists.

• And above it all, Rolex sits with around a third of the luxury Swiss watch market by value – which means, for better or worse, that the brand effectively sets the tone for the entire industry.

So next time you’re eyeing that Submariner at the boutique – or refreshing Chrono24 for the umpteenth time – remember: Rolex isn’t hiking prices out of spite. It’s a deliberate play to stay at the top of the luxury game, balancing costs, hype, and that unmatched market muscle. Whether you’re racing to beat the next increase or playing the long game on the grey market, one thing’s clear: the Crown keeps its value, no matter what the tag says.