Courtesy of Tourneau Bucherer
- Rolex introduced its certified pre-owned program to US customers on Wednesday.
- Starting this week, shoppers can buy pre-owned Rolex watches from an official Rolex reseller.
- Certified watches will come with the brand's seal of authenticity and a two-year functionality guarantee.
Rolex's certified pre-owned program has finally arrived for American shoppers looking to get their hands on a luxury secondhand watch directly authenticated by the company.
The rollout began Wednesday when the luxury watchmaker announced it would expand its resale program from six European countries to select Tourneau Bucherer boutiques and, eventually, Watches of Switzerland stores in the US, Forbes reported.
"Given that Rolex watches are built to last, they often live several lives, changing hands over the years," the company said in a statement, according to Forbes. "This new program, therefore, attests to the authenticity of these pre-owned Rolex watches at the time of resale by the Official Rolex Jewelers."
As part of the program, the pre-owned watches must be at least three years old and will be examined by the Rolex team to be certified as authentic. They'll then be sold with a "Certified Pre-Owned Rolex" seal with an international two-year guarantee of the watch's functionality by experts, per the official site.
"It provides the assurance of buying certified Rolex products and enables the end customer to benefit from the full know-how and professionalism of the brand's worldwide network of experts," Rolex said in its statement, per Forbes.
As of Thursday afternoon, there's a 1997 GMT-Master II with the Rolex's seal of approval listed for $14,000 on Tourneau Bucherer's site. Similar models of the watch not officially certified by Rolex are listed on other secondhand sites for between $10,000 and $13,000.
Rolex first introduced its secondhand program to the world in December 2022, launching in countries including Switzerland, Germany, and France. Prior to the announcement, American watch collectors had to seek out resellers with authentication programs like Bob's Watches for pre-owned luxury watches.