Rolex launches certified pre-owned watch program

Yahoo Finance reporter Pras Subramanian details Rolex's new program that certifies pre-owned watches from the brand.

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DAVE BRIGGS: Secondhand luxury watch prices skyrocketed in January, but like tech stocks and crypto, the market has since fallen back to Earth, just as prices approached pre-boom levels. Rolex has decided to enter the game with a new certified pre-owned watch program. Here with the details is watch enthusiast, Yahoo Finance senior autos reporter and senior watch Rolex wearer--

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: No, not today.

DAVE BRIGGS: No, not today because you've got a whole--

SEANA SMITH: You didn't wear it when you're doing the Rolex story.

DAVE BRIGGS: He's got like the whole--

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Well, we'll get to that.

DAVE BRIGGS: Tell me about the new program.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: So leave it to Rolex to kind of shock the industry. They stayed away from pre-owned market for their whole existence. Now they're saying, hey, you know what? We're going to authorize-- we're going to certify pre-owned certain watches that are three years or older and then give people with the certification a two-year brand new warranty. So give you that Rolex stamp of approval for a used watch.

I spoke to some retailers and people that work in the industry. Bob's Watches is a huge secondhand watch site online. Their CEO told me that he calls it a positive development for the industry because it kind of gives you that stamp of approval, like I said. It's already a mature market, that secondhand market.

But it also will help Rolex authorized dealers, too-- Eric Wind, a specialist, told me that-- because it will give them new supply to sell with that stamp of approval, give people things to wear in the store, because right now, you can't get a steel sportswatch at all at any Rolex dealership. So it's a big deal to have some inventory there.

Finally, is it going to help people like secondhand watch flippers, mom and pop jewelers? Maybe, maybe not. There was already kind of like a two-tier system, right, where it's like people will pay less for maybe an unauthorized version. I don't think that's going to go away, but it does help that there will be a fully authorized sort of market for that in the future.

SEANA SMITH: It's crazy how insane the demand has been on Rolex watches, even as we've seen the market come back a little bit. You're looking at me like you're a little skeptical.

DAVE BRIGGS: No, man.

SEANA SMITH: It's crazy!

DAVE BRIGGS: Look at my watch. I mean, come on.

SEANA SMITH: They can't keep them out there. They can't keep it out-- yeah, it's--