The Rolex Certified Pre-Owned programme at Bucherer offers a high-quality and trustworthy alternative to buying pre-owned Rolex luxury watches. But how does the buying, selling, authentication and certification of pre-owned watches actually work?
In 2019, luxury watch and jewellery retailer Bucherer ventured into the pre-owned luxury watch trade and opened the first Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) lounges in its boutiques. In December 2022, Rolex joined Bucherer’s CPO programme (Bucherer is Rolex’s largest distribution partner worldwide) and developed the Rolex Certified Pre-Owned programme together with the luxury watch and jewellery retailer.
Bucherer CPO-Lounge in Munich
However, this decision was not an easy one at first, primarily due to the pre-owned watch market’s lack of a luxury image, fewer official dealers, reliance on online sales, and potentially varying quality. Nevertheless, Bucherer and Rolex recognised the high demand for such watches and decided to take the pre-owned watch market into their own hands by creating a high-quality alternative for their customers.
Bucherer opened its first multi-brand CPO boutique in Geneva in 2019, followed by further locations in Hamburg, Munich and Zurich. The Rolex Certified Pre-Owned programme was introduced at Bucherer for the first time in December 2022. By 2024, the first exclusive Rolex Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) lounge debuted at Bucherer in Geneva, featuring a shop-in-shop concept designed in signature Rolex style. A similar lounge is planned for April 2025 in Zurich – and the first Rolex CPO lounge is set to open in Germany in spring 2026.
Today, there are approximately 50 Bucherer Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) points of sale across seven countries, with Rolex Certified Pre-Owned now available in nearly all locations where Bucherer operates.
Rolex CPO-Lounge in Geneva at Bucherer
In order to guarantee the high quality standards of Rolex, the watchmakers at Bucherer must be certified by Rolex, and the final authentication and certification of the watch is always carried out directly by Rolex. The Rolex Certified Pre-Owned Programme guarantees that every watch is checked for authenticity and serviced by a certified watchmaker. In addition, every watch comes with a 2-year international manufacturer’s warranty.
1. Bucherer buys pre-owned watches if they are older than three years and fulfill the criteria below.
2. Bucherer checks the demand for the watch on the market.
3. Bucherer watchmakers confirm the watch’s authenticity and check its condition.
4. Bucherer (not Rolex) determines the purchase and resale price.
5. If the watch is eligible for the CPO programme, it will be fully serviced by a Rolex-certified watchmaker.
6. The watch is then sent to Rolex (Cologne for Germany, Geneva for Switzerland, New York for the USA) for authenticity and quality testing.
7. Rolex checks and tests the movement, the dial, the water resistance and the accuracy amongst other things.
8. The watch is returned to Bucherer with the Rolex Certified Pre-Owned seal and certificate, and distributed from there to the boutiques as required.
9. Rolex grants a two-year international guarantee.
Bucherer now has around 100 employees (excluding watchmakers) working exclusively in the CPO area. This also illustrates the additional human resources required for the professional trade in pre-owned watches.
All CPO watches are also available online. The Bucherer CPO website only displays the watches that are available in the visitor’s country. A global overview of all CPO watches is not yet available. The customer must therefore select the respective country to view the watches available there. In addition, Bucherer offers the option of buying the watch online and picking it up at a local branch – with the convenient Click & Collect option.
However, the CPO sector is a complex topic. We provide answers to the most important questions about the Rolex Certified Pre-Owned programme at Bucherer.
On the one hand, clients have the guarantee that the watch is genuine and that it has been brought into perfect condition in accordance with its age. In addition, they will receive a two-year guarantee on the used watch, which – with a few exceptions, for example, vintage or restored watches, where water resistance is excluded – is equivalent to the guarantee on a new watch (2 years for CPO watches instead of 5 years for new watches).
Yes, the majority of the watches in the Bucherer CPO range come from direct customers. The watch must be at least three years old. The customer receives a price within 10 to 15 minutes, if the watch fulfils the above criteria. The seller can then have the money transferred to their account within 48 hours, or alternatively accept a Bucherer voucher for the entire Bucherer range. The voucher is not limited to the CPO range. Bucherer also works together with international retailers who support Bucherer in the search for watches.
When purchasing, Bucherer uses a specially developed programme that uses certain algorithms to analyse the current market, and the Bucherer employee can then use the data to base the pricing on the current market value of the relevant model. This means that a price can be determined very quickly for the seller. When selling, Bucherer is again guided by the market value and takes into account the costs of the service and certification with the two-year guarantee as well as the quality advice.
Example of the Rolex GMT-Master II Ref. 16710 from the Rolex CPO programme at Bucherer (accessed on 5 February 2025)
This means that the watch has an international two-year guarantee which is for a period of 2 years (instead of 5 years) equivalent to the warranty for new watches. Exceptions are made when the age of the watch (vintage or restored watches) means that the water resistance can no longer be guaranteed.
The watches must be at least three years old, but there is no age limit beyond that. Rolex has an extensive archive of original parts that can be replaced if necessary. However, the primary aim is to check the authenticity of the watch, not to replace an old dial that has developed a beautiful patina or to polish up a case. After the purchase, Bucherer decides what to do with the watch: does it remain in its original condition and only need to be checked for authenticity, or does it also need to be aesthetically refurbished?
Bucherer is a certified service partner. Employees have to go to Cologne, where they are trained and certified. Bucherer can order original spare parts from Rolex and has its own databases, specialised machinery and tools to carry out repairs on Rolex watches. They are then sent to Rolex in Cologne ready for sale. There, they are tested and certified, before being sent back to Bucherer’s headquarters.
International online shopping is currently not an option. However, if someone from abroad wants a watch from the German-speaking range, Bucherer will export the watch to their local Bucherer boutique, where the buyer can then purchase it.
Every watch is photographed in the photo studio for the online shop.
From a purely legal point of view, all dealers are allowed to sell Rolex watches online. However, they usually don’t want to. CPO customers often know exactly what they want in advance and therefore search more specifically on the Internet – even if most sales still take place in the boutique, as customers simply prefer to wear the watches on their wrists and touch them.
No, because Bucherer wants to avoid customers only finding ‘reserved’ signs in its boutiques and thus possibly missing the opportunity for a sale that cannot take place because the watch has been reserved, despite Bucherer having no certainty that the reserved watch is going to be purchased. The principle applied here is therefore ‘first come, first serve’.
According to the company, the proportion of new customers that Bucherer has been able to attract with the pre-owned business is higher than the proportion of existing customers who have opted for a pre-owned watch instead of a new one. With the CPO offer, Bucherer is able to attract customers who might otherwise never have visited a Bucherer boutique.
Prices on the market are subject to dynamic change, and prices of new watches are regularly adjusted. Supply and demand define the price, and Bucherer employees continuously monitor the development and adjust prices if necessary. If a watch remains in the range for a longer period, the price can be adjusted. However, price changes do not take place within days or weeks, but rather over months, and usually the watches are already sold by then.
Yes, that can happen. If there is currently excess stock of a particular model, the watch will not necessarily be purchased at that time. Of course, the seller can always try again at a later date. But it is rather the exception that a model is not accepted.
Rolex Certified Pre-Owned watches can now also be purchased from other retailers in the worldwide Rolex network. You can find more information about the retailer network online at: Rolex Certified Pre-Owned.
