GENEVA, Switzerland: Rolex has increased global prices for its gold watches by an average of five percent, marking a rare second price rise this year as demand from wealthy buyers remains strong despite broader weakness in the luxury goods market.

The increase took effect this month across key markets, including the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and the United States, according to two luxury research platforms and two watch dealers.

The latest move follows an earlier price increase in January that was larger on average, not applied globally, and not limited to gold watches.

Industry observers said the latest increase reflects continuing demand for high-end luxury products, even as spending by middle-income consumers has softened.

Other luxury watchmakers have also raised prices. Cartier, owned by Richemont, increased prices on some gold watches by as much as 10 percent last month, according to Mark Xu, head of marketing at watch research platform WatchCharts.

Richemont said in its annual report that it implemented measured price increases at its Jewellery Maisons, including Cartier, citing higher gold prices and currency fluctuations.

Rolex's second increase this year caught many in the market by surprise.

"No one saw it coming," said Erik Boneta of Boneta Inc, a U.S. certified pre-owned watch dealer.

Analysts say luxury watchmakers have maintained pricing power by focusing on affluent buyers who continue to spend on products marketed as rare investment pieces.

According to WatchCharts, Rolex increased average prices across its watch range by 6.2 percent in January in Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Rolex declined to comment. Richemont did not respond to a request for comment.

The price increases come as gold prices have nearly doubled since 2024, reaching about US$4,200 an ounce.

Gold watches from brands owned by Rolex, Richemont, LVMH, Swatch, Breitling, and Chopard have risen by an average of 4 percent to 6 percent over the past year, according to Zouheir Guedri, founder of luxury research firm Data&Data.

He said luxury watchmakers were increasingly targeting affluent consumers. "Encouraging clients toward precious-metal and higher-end references," Guedri said.

Some models have seen significantly larger increases. A white-gold version of Rolex's Cosmograph Daytona, famously worn by actor Paul Newman in the 1970s, now sells for $59,100 in the United States. The model's price has risen 14 percent this year and 33 percent since 2024.

Demand for premium watches continues to support the Swiss watch industry. According to Vontobel analysts, Swiss exports of watches priced above 20,000 Swiss francs ($25,038) have more than doubled from pre-pandemic levels and accounted for more than two-thirds of the industry's total export value of 24.4 billion francs in 2025.

That compares with a 22 percent share in 2019.

Demand for Rolex watches is expected to remain strong. "It comes down to brand desirability," said Simon Lazarus, head of PR and content at luxury watch platform Chrono Hunter. "Rolex has always been the high flyer".