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Rolex Price History Since 1969

What did a Submariner cost in 1969, and a Daytona in 1998? The chart shows the list prices of eight model lines from old price lists, with inflation in Germany underneath.

Cover photo for Price History

Eight model lines compared

The chart plots the list price of whichever reference was current at the time. Each line changes reference numbers several times over the years, and the numbers are listed below the chart.

List prices of selected Rolex models 1969 bis 202702,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,000197019751980198519901995200020052010201520202025DaytonaSea-DwellerGMT-MasterSubmariner DateExplorer IISubmarinerExplorer IOysterquartzInflation rate in Germany in percent0 %4 %8 %Inflation
List prices in euros, converted from Deutschmarks up to 2001. Dashed: periods with no price list on hand or no entry for the model. Below: the annual inflation rate. The figure for 2026 won't be known until the year is over.
  • Submariner5513, 14060, 14060M, 114060, 124060
  • Submariner Date1680, 16800, 16610, 116610, 126610LN
  • Sea-Dweller1665, 16660, 16600, 116600, 126600
  • Daytona6263, 16520, 116520, 116500LN, 126500LN
  • Explorer I1016, 14270, 114270, 214270, 124270
  • Explorer II1655, 16550, 16570, 216570, 226570
  • GMT-Master1675, 16750, 16760, 16710, 116710LN, 126710BLNR, 126710BLRO
  • Oysterquartz17000

Up to 1990 in detail

Prices before 1990 sit close together and are hard to tell apart in the big chart. Here's a close-up of the years up to 1990.

List prices of selected Rolex models 1969 bis 199105001,0001,5002,0002,50019701972197419761978198019821984198619881990DaytonaSea-DwellerGMT-MasterSubmariner DateExplorer IIOysterquartzSubmarinerExplorer IInflation rate in Germany in percent0 %4 %8 %Inflation
List prices in euros, converted from Deutschmarks.

Compared with inflation

The bars below the chart show the annual inflation rate in Germany. It's based on the consumer price index (CPI) from the Federal Statistical Office, which tracks a fixed basket of goods: durable items like cars, refrigerators and furniture, everyday goods like food, gas and electricity, and services from the repairman to a movie ticket. The basket is meant to reflect the average household and gets adjusted every few years.

Putting it in perspective

A Submariner listed at about 286 euros in 1969. In 2026 the price list shows 9,750 euros, roughly 34 times as much. Going by the annual rates, consumer prices rose by about 4.5 times from 1969 to 2025. The comparison isn't perfectly clean, though. There were several model changes between 1969 and 2026, and a new reference number often brings major upgrades, like the jump from the manual-wind Daytona to the automatic Daytona. That shows up in the price too.

Sources and status

The prices come from price lists for Germany. The inflation rates are annual averages of the consumer price index (Federal Statistical Office) through 2025.