To guarantee the authenticity of Certified Pre-Owned Rolexes — and to protect the brand — Rolex is willing to go above and beyond.

All Certified Pre-Owned Rolexes are serviced at the Official Rolex retailer and then sent to Rolex in each respective country, to be fully disassembled, authenticated, and then sent back to the retailer to be sold.

According to Rolex, “Only Rolex can confirm the authenticity of a Rolex watch. This is why any pre-owned Rolex watch that is part of the Rolex Certified Pre-Owned program must return to the brand’s workshops, where its original configuration is rigorously verified. It is fully disassembled, allowing each component, from the case and bracelet to the movement, to be meticulously checked and authenticated.”

Extra steps like sending the watches to Rolex and back to the retailer, certainly add cost to the final selling price, as well as extending the time it takes to turn over (sell) each watch, but this way you’re guaranteed it’s a 100% authentic Rolex and not a Frankenwatch.

Logistically, there’s significant infrastructure (and cost) required to run the Rolex Certified Pre-Owned program, and no other brand has this ability at scale, currently.

Perhaps, one more reason Rolex is the leading Swiss watchmaker.

 

Photos by Rolex.