Buying a pre-owned Rolex: what we check

Many Rolex references have a waiting list at the boutique and can be bought pre-owned today. Rolex is also widely faked, and pre-owned watches are sometimes sold with replaced parts nobody mentions, so where you buy matters as much as which watch. This guide is the checklist that authentication covers, which you can use anywhere, and what Geraci does with every watch before it goes into the case.

Geraci Fine Jewelry is not an authorized Rolex dealer. Every Rolex we sell is pre-owned, authenticated, serviced and inspected by us, and backed by our warranty of one or two years.

Choose the reference first

Rolex names a watch by its reference number, which fixes the model, case size, metal and bezel. A Datejust 36 in steel and yellow gold on a Jubilee bracelet is a different reference from the same watch in steel on an Oyster bracelet. Pick the reference, dial and bracelet you want before you look at prices, because the same reference ranges widely by year, condition and completeness.

The families most often in our case are the Datejust in 31, 36 and 41 millimeters, the Submariner, the GMT-Master II, the Day-Date and the Lady-Datejust. See what is in the case now; each watch shows its reference, year where known, dial, bracelet and price.

What authentication checks

1. Reference and serial numbers. Engraved between the lugs on older watches, and on the inner bezel ring (the rehaut) at six o'clock on watches from the mid 2000s on. The serial dates the watch and must match the papers when there are papers.
2. The dial. Printing crisp under a loupe, the correct text and layout for the reference, and lume plots that match each other and the hands in color and age. A replaced dial is noted and priced as such.
3. The hands and bezel. The right style for the reference and the era. On a Submariner or GMT, the insert's color, font and pearl are checked against the reference.
4. The crystal. Modern sapphire crystals carry a tiny etched crown at six o'clock, seen at an angle under magnification. The cyclops over the date should magnify correctly.
5. The case. Original lug shape and finish; heavy polishing rounds the lugs and lowers the value. Case back and crown threads clean, crown screws down smoothly.
6. The movement. The case is opened and the caliber is confirmed as the one the reference uses, with the brand's finishing. This is the step a buyer cannot do at home and the reason to buy from a dealer who does.
7. Running. The watch is timed and the date change is checked.
8. The bracelet and clasp. Reference codes on the clasp and end links, stretch between the links, and the clasp's action.

A watch that fails any of these should not be sold. A watch with a service-replaced part from the brand should be sold with that fact stated. Every pre-owned Rolex at Geraci is authenticated, serviced and inspected before it goes into the case.

How to judge the seller, and the same checks for watches other than Rolex, are in how to buy and authenticate a pre-owned luxury watch.

Service before sale

Every pre-owned Rolex at Geraci is serviced and inspected before it goes into the case. A serviced watch runs to spec, keeps water out, and starts its life with you with a known history rather than an unknown one. The bracelet can usually be sized to your wrist the same day you buy.

Papers, box and completeness

Papers (the original warranty card or certificate) tie the serial number to the first sale. They make a watch easier to verify and easier to sell later, and they add to the price. A genuine watch without papers is still genuine, and many watches from the 1980s and 1990s have lost theirs. On our product pages the box and papers status is listed for each watch.

Original box, hang tags, booklets and spare links are completeness. They are nice to have and worth more at resale than they cost to keep.

Every watch is opened and its movement checked before it goes into the case.

Condition and polishing

Pre-owned watches are described by condition. Unworn means exactly that. Excellent means light wear with the original case lines intact. Good means honest wear and perhaps a light polish. A watch that has been polished many times has softer lugs and thinner case walls, and collectors pay less for it; a watch with its original brushing and a few marks is worth more than one polished to a mirror.

The condition of each watch in our case is listed on its page.

Price

A pre-owned Rolex is priced on its reference, its year, its condition, whether it is complete with box and papers, and how much demand there is for the reference right now. The same reference can differ by thousands of dollars between an unpolished example with papers and a polished one without. Compare like with like, and treat a price well under the market as the warning it usually is.

Every watch in our case shows its price online and in the store and can be bought online, and you can also book a consultation and see the watch on your wrist first.

Buying from Geraci

Every pre-owned Rolex we sell is authenticated, serviced and inspected before it is offered, comes with a warranty of one or two years, and can usually have its bracelet sized to your wrist the same day. Pre-owned Rolex purchases carry our 30-day money-back guarantee when the watch is returned unworn and in its original condition.

If the reference you want is not in the case, book a free luxury watch consultation and tell us what you are after. If we source or reserve a watch for you, a 5 percent deposit is applied to the purchase.

Selling or trading your Rolex

We buy pre-owned Rolex watches. Bring the watch to the store for a free evaluation; we make an offer on the spot, or you can trade the value toward a purchase. Box and papers are not required. Details are on the sell page.

See the case

Browse the pre-owned Rolex online, or visit the store at 9212 Colerain Avenue and try the watch on. The watch consultation is free, and if you buy, the bracelet can usually be sized the same day.