Rolex
- The secondary market for luxury watches has sunk to its lowest level in over two years.
- The WatchCharts market index and has slumped 32% from an all-time high in March last year.
- Elevated interest rates and heightened economic uncertainties are seen as sapping demand for luxury timepieces.
Since late 2022, Wall Street has been rife with predictions for the Federal Reserve's interest-rate increases to wreak havoc in the US economy and stock market.
But while the broader economy has held up surprisingly well, the monetary blitzkrieg has sparked a downturn of a different kind – a rout in the secondary market for luxury watches.
The WatchCharts Overall Market Index - which tracks the prices of 60 timepieces from top brands including Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet - has plunged 32% from a March 2022 peak. A separate index for just Rolex models fell 27% over a similar period.