Rolex quietly raises prices more than 8% after gold hits new records

• Rolex implemented its annual price increase on January 1st. which saw the label of some white, yellow and Everose gold watches in its collection increase by more than 8%. The move comes after a record year for gold, which peaked at $2,790 an ounce.

The price of some new Rolex watches has become even more eye-watering, and this may be due in part to the rising prices of precious metals, particularly gold.

To mark the new year, Rolex increased the price of its yellow gold GMT-Master II to around $45,700 (€44,600) from $42,310 (€41,300) and its gold Day-Date yellow with black dial of 40 millimeters at $45,800 (€44,200) against around $42,000 (41,000 €), according to its website, Bloomberg reported. The Day-Date in 18-carat gold, For examplecontains by some estimates over 100 grams of gold in the case and bracelet, depending on consumer customizations. This price increase is more than 8%. At the same time, Rolex’s steel watches also saw a price increase, but only about 2% for its Submariner model and 3% for its Cosmograph Daytona watch.

A Rolex spokesperson did not immediately respond to Fortunerequest for comment.

While Rolex calculates the prices of its watches based on inflation and a particular country’s manufacturing and labor costs, the cost of precious metals has played a significant role in the pricing decisions of the luxury watchmaker. Although Rolex usually sets its prices each year on January 1, the company introduces a 4% increase in some of its gold watches in the UK last June, including increasing the retail price of the white gold Rolex Daytona chronograph to around $49,300 (£38,700), from $46,000 (£37,200).

The skyrocketing value of gold, fueled by inflation, apocalyptic fears and slowing Chinese economy fuel demand– has made it difficult to ignore its impact on luxury prices. At the time of Rolex’s mid-year price hike, the value of gold had jumped 14% year-to-date, reaching an all-time high of $2,450 an ounce. By the end of 2024, gold had climbed 27% to $2,626 per ounce, even reaching a record high of $2,790.

This coming year, gold investors always optimisticwith Goldman Sachs predict its value to be achieved $3,000 per ounce By the end of 2025, President-elect Donald Trump’s new administration could shape trade policies that increase inflation. But if the Federal Reserve tries to moderate inflation by cutting rates, gold could lose some of its luster in the eyes of investors.

What does the rise in gold prices mean for luxury watches?

After the COVID-era boom, the luxury watch market begins to come back down to earth while economic uncertainty has cooled demand for this product in a context of a more marked slowdown in the luxury sector.

Paul Altieri, founder and CEO of luxury watch marketplace Bob’s Watches, speculated in a June report blog post that if gold prices continue to rise, the industry could respond by trying to mitigate rising prices by optimizing supply chains, or even switching to recycled alternative metals or doubling down on models steel.

But Charles Tian, ​​founder and CEO of market research platform WatchCharts, said: Fortune that demand for Rolex watches will likely remain stable in the new year, despite warning signs of slowing interest in secondary watch markets. Prices for Rolex watches on the secondary market are about 20% higher than their retail price, and about 50% of Rolex watches are resold for more than their suggested retail price, he said. This is less than in past years, but Rolex continued to increase watch production and is doing better than its competitors, particularly in its sports models.

“Rolex will certainly have no difficulty selling each of these desirable models that it has manufactured,” Tian said.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com