Rolex is known to offer some of the most luxurious and prestigious watches on the market. For years, they have been radiating pure luxury offering products that have price tags of the highest caliber. We’ve seen some of Rolex’s top watches selling for millions of dollars. But what if you would want a Rolex for the least possible money? We answered the question, how much is the cheapest Rolex?
The cheapest Rolex watch is the Oyster Perpetual which costs between $5,500 and $6,200 USD. There are cheaper Rolex watches available that are Pre-Owned and could retail from $1,500 USD. You should not expect anything cheaper than that.
Rolex watches are not cheap at all. In fact, the timepieces are some of the highest-priced watches on the market, and purchasing them is special. In the following paragraphs, we mention some of the cheapest Rolex models and want to work it out as clearly as possible, for the best impression.
How much is the cheapest Rolex
When people think of Rolex, they often think of pure luxury watches and that is not for nothing. All Rolex models are relatively expensive and even the cheapest watch they offer has a hefty price tag. But there are some models that are reasonably priced.
The cheapest Rolex collection, as we mentioned is the Rolex Oyster Perpetual which is a descendant of the original Oyster. The watch’s retail price ranges from $5,500 to $6,200 and will vary dependent on the different sizes that the collection offers. They offer case sizes in 28mm, 31mm, 34mm, 36mm, and 41mm. Rolex did produce more models like 24mm, 26mm, and 39mm watches but they have been discontinued throughout the years.
The cheapest Rolex is the 34mm Oyster Perpetual. This model is known to be one of Rolex’s entry-level watches and comes at the most affordable prices. The fact is that the watch can vary in price significantly, this is due to the different sizes, whether the watch is in good condition, and how old the model is. If you do good business, you can get this watch for around $1,500, pre-owned. Retail prices of the latest models will thus cost you around $5,500 and $6,200 which is the cheapest Rolex watch you will get that is not pre-owned.
Additionally to owning a Rolex comes the service cost. Owning a Rolex is not just the purchase price that makes the watch expensive. Keeping your watch in perfect shape is also important and should be added to the exact costs of owning a Rolex. We have an entire article over here that tells you the exact service costs for owning a Rolex.
The cheapest Rolex: Oyster Perpetual
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual is one of Rolex’s entry-level watches that you can get new in the store for $5,500 and $6,200 price range. We wanted to give a little inside information about the watch that is made from Oystersteel. This is a special steel that is established stainless steel.
Oyersteel is a part of the 904L steel that is known to be incredibly resistant to corrosion and is steel that is used specifically for the Rolex brand.
Other than that, the Rolex Oyster Perpetual is small, thin, and light, making it incredible for its wearability. For being one of Rolex’s most affordable collections, it is not a bad watch at all and will be a great watch on your wrist that will certainly not disappoint.
The cheapest (pre-owned) Rolex watches
Now that we know the absolute cheapest Rolex watch, we wanted to discuss some other relatively cheap Rolex watches that are available on the secondary market right now. Rolex offers several collections that all have different characteristics and therefore come with different price ranges. For example, the Rolex Daytona offers some high retail prices and can get up to tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
But Rolex also offers some cheaper models like the Datejust and Oyster Perpetual models that use different characteristics, materials, and heritage, which go for cheaper prices. Another fact is that Rolex watches that are being bought firsthand are way more expensive than the secondary market has to offer.
In the following table, we put together some of Rolex’s cheapest pre-owned watches outside of the Oyster Perpetual collection. Which will thus be some of the cheapest Rolex watches available on the market:
| ROLEX MODEL: | REFERENCE + AVERAGE (PRE-OWNED) PRICE: | |
| Datejust: | 1601 – ($5,500 USD) 6917 – ($2,500 USD) 1603 – ($5,500 USD) | |
| Air-King: | 5500 – ($2,500 USD) 14000 – ($3,000 USD) 5700 – ($4,000 USD) | |
| Rolex Explorer: | 114270 – ($5,000 USD) 14270 – ($5,250 USD) 214270 – ($7,000 USD) | |
| Lady-Datejust: | 6917 – ($2,300 USD) 69190 – ($2,300 USD) 69160 – ($2,500 USD) |
In the table, we can see some of the cheapest Rolex watches on the market available. If we look at the firsthand prices they will lie a little bit higher as these are brand new. So, to answer the question, How much is the cheapest Rolex? You can check out the table for the cheapest possible references that are available as second-hand watches.
Rolex Datejust
The Rolex Datejust is another one of Rolex’s entry-level models. This model is one of the brand’s signature watches that is partly responsible for the brand’s success. This model’s cheapest model retails at around $2,500 – $5,500.
This collection is made and designed for the everyday watch wearer and makes the basics of a Rolex watch. The collection was first manufactured in 1905 and has continued its success for several decades, which is not for nothing.
The watch is known to have a 70-hour power reserve which is outstanding for the watch industry. Other than that the watch could also be up for a good potential investment.
Rolex Air-King
Another watch collection that has been launched in 1945 is the Rolex Air-King. This watch is known as the pioneer of flight. This watch, second hand is relatively cheap and can be picked up for around $2,500 – $4,000. The collection is known for its unique style of watches and for its near-perfect wearability that is available for men and women.
In 2014, Rolex took the decision to stop producing the collection and made another collection come into the markets, namely the Oyster Perpetual. In 2016, the Rolex Air-King came back with a new and innovative design and look that gave the watch its own identity.
Rolex Explorer
The Rolex Explorer is another collection that belongs to some of the cheaper options when it comes to the Rolex brand. Although this watch is a little more expensive than the Datejust or Air-King models, it still comes down to less than $7,000 USD when buying it second-hand.
The price of this collection second-hand comes down to an average of $5,000 – $7,000. Which is quite a bit above the average retail price of some of the cheapest collections and models.
The Rolex Explorer is known to be a sports model that has a solid movement and case that can withstand rough occasions. This model is also known to have a relatively simple design and stay accurate.
Rolex Lady-Datejust
The Lady-Datejust is part of the Rolex collection that is mainly focused on women. With its elegant design and luxurious appearance, the watch is known to be incredibly popular among women.
This collection is also one of the cheaper options when buying it second-hand. With a price range of around $2,300 – $2,500, the watch belongs to some of the cheapest options available on the Rolex market.
The cheapest new Rolex watches
Additionally to this article, we also wanted to add the cheapest firsthand Rolex watches and their price ranges. There is a difference between second-hand watches and firsthand watches. This is because of the age of the model, but also because of how the model is being used. Models also evolve over time and come with more expensive materials. A model that has been used for several decades is worth way less than a brand-new Rolex, although, this is when the demand is lower than the available supply.
The fact that Rolex watches are good investments is usually because of the supply and demand of these watches. When the demand is higher than the supply, the models seem to develop some kind of extinction over time. This extinction causes the watches to be rarer and therefore increase in value.
Some of Rolex’s cheaper models decrease in value, likely because the demand is lower than the available supply. This hens why most of the Rolex watches mentioned above decrease in value after they leave the store.
In the table below, we put together some information on how much the cheapest firsthand models will cost you:
| ROLEX MODEL: | AVERAGE (RETAIL) PRICE: | |
| Air-King: | $7.350 USD | |
| Rolex Explorer: | $9,290 USD | |
| Oyster Perpetual: | $5,570 USD |
Some of Rolex’s newest models have bumped up their price ranges drastically. This hens why we left some of the other models like the Datejust and Lady-Datejust out of this table. As we can see, the cheapest watch that you can get firsthand is the Oyster Perpetual and it will cost you around $5,570 USD.
Why is Rolex so expensive
Although all of these watches that we’ve mentioned are relatively cheap when it comes to Rolex watches, it is globally known that Rolex watches are incredibly expensive. These watches are no longer seen as just looking at the time. But they are seen as incredibly luxurious items that contain a hefty price tag and an amazing mental value.
The first and most important reason for the high price tags that Rolex offers are the fact that the watches are hand-made and contain incredible expertise which takes time. Hand-made watches have a way higher manufacturing time than watches that are mass-produced.
The fact is that the time to manufacture a Rolex watch is incredibly long and this time needs to get paid for by the consumer. While this might not sound like the biggest issue, you don’t only pay for the time that the watchmaker takes to make this watch. You also pay for additional costs like rent, bills, etc.
Another important reason that Rolex watches are so expensive is because of the (incredibly luxurious) materials that are used in the timepieces. With materials like 904L steel, Gold, and Platinum, it is hard to keep your retail price under a certain price point. This isn’t particularly a bad thing as these materials contain incredible quality and belong to the most precious materials out there. But the manufacturing cost will rise drastically.
Other than that, Rolex invests a lot of its budget into marketing costs, researching its next innovations, and more to keep its highly luxurious status. Rolex uses incredibly complex and luxurious movements and timepieces in general. This can cost up to tens of millions of dollars to develop and research, which are also additional costs that come with owning a Rolex watch.
Final words
In this article, we did in-depth research on how much Rolex watches actually cost when you are looking for the cheapest prices on the market.
The obvious fact is, that Rolex watches are the cheapest when you buy them second-hand. This is because they have been used and aren’t in the newest state anymore. While some Rolex models will rise in value after keeping them for a few years, the Rolex watches that have a higher supply than demand could be some of the cheapest Rolex watches when buying them second-hand.
In our research, we found out exactly which collections and models are the cheapest Rolex products. We put them all in a clear table in the article so you can see exactly how much they cost and which models it contains. We also answered additional questions and even put together a table of watches that you can buy new in the store, with their cheapest prices.
If you are looking for more queries on every single watch brand, you can check out our website over here. We have all the information you need when thinking of buying a new watch. We come with brand reviews, service costs, brand comparisons, and way more.
