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In one paragraphUK pre-owned luxury watch demand, channel mix, stock-route composition, and reference-level liquidity, compiled from BQ Watches' own transaction record.
Pre-owned Rolex at BQ Watches took a median 70 days to sell in September 2026, the slowest monthly all-stock reading since the index series began in January 2026 and slower than the 39-day September 2025 comparison. The same reading matches September 2024 exactly. The Rolex Submariner, the series' fastest-moving family for most of 2026, recorded its slowest monthly reading to date. Tudor met the monthly suppression threshold for a third consecutive month. Telephone and in-person showroom contact were tied at approximately 35% each, while bqwatches.com fell to approximately 25%, its lowest share in the series.
Pre-owned Rolex turnover at BQ Watches recorded its slowest month in the index series. All-stock median days-to-sell for pre-owned Rolex was 70 days in September 2026, the slowest monthly reading since the series began, against 39 days in September 2025. The owned-only reading, which excludes consignment-route stock, was 78 days. That is the second-slowest owned-only reading since dual reporting began, behind July 2026. This is the second consecutive month in which all-Rolex days-to-sell has run slower than the year-on-year comparison. Our August 2026 edition attributed much of August's slowing to an unusually fast August 2025 baseline. September 2025 was also fast, so the fast 2025 baseline lasted two months rather than one. The two-year view supports that reading in part: September 2026 matches September 2024 exactly at 70 days. But September 2026 was also slower than August 2026 on both the all-stock and owned-only measures. The baseline explanation therefore no longer accounts for the slowing on its own.
The Rolex Submariner recorded its slowest monthly reading in the index series. The Submariner's median days-to-sell was 71 days in September 2026 on both the all-stock and owned-only measures. That is well outside the low-30s to low-40s owned-only rhythm the family held between April and August 2026, and slower than the September 2025 comparison of 37 days. It is the third consecutive month in which the Submariner has run slower year-on-year. The August 2026 edition described the Submariner as not slowing in absolute terms, with the year-on-year gap explained by fast 2025 baselines. September reverses that framing. Whether this is a single-month disruption or the start of a softer phase for the family is the leading watch-list item for October.
Every at-threshold Rolex family ran slower year-on-year for a second consecutive month, and the at-threshold list widened to four families. The Rolex Daytona returned to the monthly suppression threshold alongside the Datejust, GMT-Master and Submariner, ending two months of three-family coverage. All four families ran slower than their September 2025 comparison readings. Of the four, the Daytona was the fastest-moving family at 41 days.
Tudor met the monthly suppression threshold for a third consecutive month. Tudor held approximately 5% of transactions at BQ Watches in September 2026. That makes July, August and September 2026 the first three-month run of monthly at-threshold Tudor readings in the series. It is the strongest evidence yet that the multi-year Tudor decline first published at quarterly resolution has stabilised, rather than paused for a month or two.
Telephone and in-person contact were tied at approximately 35% each, while bqwatches.com fell to its lowest contact share in the series. In-person contact at the Radlett showroom and Hatton Garden viewing office held at approximately 35% for the third consecutive month at 30% or above, effectively level with telephone enquiry. bqwatches.com accounted for approximately 25% of completed-sale contact, the first time the website has rounded to 25% and its lowest reading in the series. In the inaugural January 2026 edition, bqwatches.com had overtaken telephone as the leading contact channel for the first time. Over the summer, the contact mix at BQ Watches has moved back towards channels where the customer speaks to or meets the buying desk directly.
The Rolex reference families that met the BQ Watches Pre-Owned Market Index suppression threshold in September 2026, ranked by transaction share within Rolex:
The Datejust has held the top rank in every month since May 2026, accounting for approximately 30% of within-Rolex transactions. The GMT-Master moved back into second place at approximately 15%, ahead of the Submariner for the second time in three months. The Submariner and Daytona shared third place at approximately 10% each. The Daytona's return to threshold, after falling below it in July and August, continues its intermittent pattern of monthly appearances. All other Rolex families, including the Sky-Dweller, Explorer, Oyster Perpetual and Yacht-Master, fell below the suppression threshold at monthly resolution and are aggregated within the "other Rolex" grouping for this edition.
| Reference family | All-stock Sep 2026 | Owned-only Sep 2026 | All-stock Sep 2025 | Direction (all-stock YoY) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rolex Daytona | 41 | 41 | 21 | Slower |
| Rolex GMT-Master | 45 | 52 | 29 | Slower |
| Rolex Submariner | 71 | 71 | 37 | Slower |
| Rolex Datejust | 112 | 122 | 79 | Slower |
| All Rolex (combined) | 70 | 78 | 39 | Slower |
The table below shows median days-to-sell for pre-owned Rolex reference families at BQ Watches in September 2026, published as both an all-stock reading (comparable with the historical figures published from January 2026 onwards) and an owned-only reading (which excludes consignment-route stock and reflects owned-inventory turnover). Year-on-year direction is reported against all-stock, the metric with comparable prior-year data. September 2026 is the second consecutive monthly edition in which every at-threshold Rolex family has run slower than its year-on-year comparison. The September 2025 readings were fast across the board: the all-Rolex 39-day composite sits close to August 2025's 33 days and well below the 63-84 day range of June and July 2025. That supports the view that late summer 2025 was an unusually liquid period at BQ Watches. Against September 2024, the all-Rolex composite is unchanged at 70 days and the Datejust is faster (112 days against 133). The month-on-month picture is less reassuring. The all-Rolex all-stock reading of 70 days is slower than every 2026 monthly reading to date, which have ranged from 35 to 63 days. The owned-only reading of 78 days is second only to July 2026 in the four months of dual reporting. The Datejust remains the slowest-moving at-threshold family. The gap between its all-stock and owned-only readings is small because only a small share of Datejust transactions came through the consignment route.
Rolex accounted for approximately 55% of transactions at BQ Watches in September 2026, within the 50-65% rounded band Rolex has occupied across the index series:
Brand share rounded to the nearest 5%; rounded shares may not sum to 100%. Only brands that met the BQ Watches Pre-Owned Market Index suppression threshold in September 2026 are named individually; all other brands are aggregated within the "all other brands combined" line.
Omega and Cartier held approximately 10% each, with Omega marginally ahead for the first time since April 2026. Cartier extended its top-three run to a ninth consecutive edition. Tudor met threshold for the third consecutive month (see Headline findings). TAG Heuer came close to the threshold but did not meet it. Breitling remained below threshold for a second consecutive month, consistent with its oscillating pattern across the series. Both are aggregated within the "all other brands combined" line.
Approximately 30% of completed sales at BQ Watches in September 2026 involved consignment-route stock, at the upper end of the approximately 25-30% band the dimension has occupied since it was first published:
Stock-route composition has now held within the 25-30% band across seven consecutive monthly editions (March through September 2026). September's reading is the highest since March 2026.
In September 2026, the contact method through which a customer engaged BQ Watches before completing a sale broke down approximately as follows:
Other contact methods, including consignment-scheduled appointments, made up the remaining share. The aggregated other-contact category was below the suppression threshold at monthly resolution and is not published as a separate line.
September 2026 is the third consecutive month of in-person contact at or above 30%. The August edition said the in-person band might be moving up from approximately 20-25% to 25-35%. The July-to-September run now confirms that shift at monthly resolution, and the Q3 2026 quarterly edition will test it with pooled data. Telephone and in-person were effectively level for the top-contact position. bqwatches.com fell to approximately 25%, continuing a decline from the approximately 35% readings of the first half of 2026.
ChatGPT-attributed sales continued at a level comparable with August's series-high reading, on both the customer and acquisition sides. Monthly volumes remain below the suppression threshold for metric publication. The Q3 2026 quarterly edition will report the pooled July-to-September picture.
All published metrics in this September 2026 edition meet the BQ Watches Pre-Owned Market Index suppression threshold of at least ten observations per cell, applied uniformly across brand, family, channel, contact-method, stock-route and days-to-sell dimensions. The edition publishes share, rank, index and median figures only. Shares are rounded to the nearest 5% and days-to-sell to whole days. Absolute revenue, transaction counts and margin-related metrics are excluded.
Dual reporting of Rolex days-to-sell (all-stock and owned-only) continues from the June 2026 edition. The owned-only reading is the cleaner in-inventory market signal. The all-stock reading is the one with year-on-year comparability, because prior-year source data does not carry a consignment flag. The two-year September 2024 reference is used selectively, as provided for in the series methodology.
For the full methodology, glossary, suppression rules, and standing series-level FAQ items, see the canonical methodology page: About the BQ Watches Pre-Owned Market Index.
A faster median days-to-sell for a given reference family means the UK pre-owned market is absorbing supply of that reference at the prevailing price level more readily than in the previous comparable period. For sellers, that usually means stronger realisable prices and shorter time on the market. For buyers, it can mean less available stock and less room to negotiate on the most-demanded references. A slower reading, as in September 2026, generally points the other way: more choice for buyers and more emphasis on pricing for sellers.
The evidence is mixed. Against September 2025 the slowing is clear, but September 2025 was part of an unusually fast two-month window, and against September 2024 the all-Rolex reading is unchanged. Against the rest of 2026, however, September is the slowest month the index has recorded, and the owned-only measure also slowed from August. The fairest reading is that the strong acceleration recorded through the first seven months of 2026 has stalled. Whether that becomes a sustained cooling depends on October and the Q3 2026 quarterly pooled view.
The Submariner's 71-day median was the same on both the all-stock and owned-only measures. That means the slowdown was not caused by consignment-route mix, which had flattered or distorted earlier readings. A single month at monthly resolution can be moved by a small number of slower-selling pieces, so September alone does not establish a trend. But the reading is far outside the family's recent rhythm, and it reverses the August 2026 view that the Submariner was not slowing in absolute terms. The October 2026 reading will show whether this was a one-month disruption.
Three consecutive monthly at-threshold readings, with Tudor holding approximately 5% share, is the most sustained Tudor presence in the index series. It follows the multi-year decline first published at quarterly resolution in the Q1 2026 edition. The evidence now supports stabilisation rather than a temporary pause. A recovery above the approximately 5% level has not yet been recorded, and the Q3 2026 quarterly edition will publish the pooled Tudor reading.
The index records the contact method that preceded each completed sale. It does not record where the customer first discovered the watch. A customer who finds a watch on bqwatches.com and then visits the Radlett showroom or Hatton Garden viewing office to see it before buying is recorded as an in-person sale. The summer shift towards in-person and telephone contact is consistent with buyers wanting to inspect higher-value pieces and talk to the buying desk before committing, particularly when prices and liquidity are moving. The index does not yet have enough history to say whether this is seasonal.
Not directly. Days-to-sell measures how quickly stock moves, not what it sells for. The BQ Watches Transaction Price Index, which tracks indexed transacted prices by family, is published only in quarterly editions and will be updated in the Q3 2026 quarterly. Slower turnover can precede price softening, but it can also reflect a temporary mismatch between the stock on offer and what buyers are looking for in a given month. For a view on a specific watch, a reference-level valuation is more reliable than family-level medians.
Series editor: Simon Evans, CTO. Market commentary: Spencer Dryer, Managing Director. BQ Watches.
For the full methodology, glossary and standing FAQ, see the canonical methodology page.