Sell Your Rolex in Birmingham
Rolex is the one watch every buyer in the Midlands will make an offer on, which is exactly why the offers vary so widely. A jeweller who sees one Submariner a month and a desk that prices the reference daily will not arrive at the same figure, and the reference — not the model — is what decides it.
We buy Rolex outright and take Rolex in part-exchange, from our counter in Hatton Garden. Send the reference number, the year and a few photographs and you will have a no-obligation figure back the same day; bring the watch in or ship it insured, and payment goes out by bank transfer once our specialist has authenticated it.
What moves the number on a Rolex
The same desk prices both counters, so this is what is being looked at whether you come to Birmingham or to Hatton Garden.
The reference, not the model
A Submariner is not a price. 116610LN, 124060 and 126610LV are three different markets, and within them the dial and bezel variant moves the number again. The reference is engraved between the lugs at 12 o'clock, under the bracelet, and it is the first thing to find.
Box and papers
A full set — outer box, inner box, warranty card and booklets — is worth a real premium over a bare watch on almost every steel sports reference. Cards issued since 2015 carry a five-year international guarantee, so a card under five years old is doing more than proving provenance; the balance of that guarantee transfers.
Bracelet stretch and link count
Rolex bracelets wear at the pins, and a stretched Oyster on an older reference is a real deduction. So are missing links: a bracelet short of its spare links limits who the watch fits, and the links are not cheap to replace. Keep them, and send them with the watch.
Service history and polishing
A recent Rolex Service Centre invoice helps. Heavy polishing does the opposite — soft, rounded lugs and thin chamfers on an older piece cost more than the scratches would have. If a watch is unpolished and honest, say so.
Rolex references we buy
Not a complete list — we buy the whole catalogue. These are the ones the desk is asked about most.
- Submariner
- The volume reference. 124060, 126610LN and 126610LV are the current market; 116610LN and the earlier five-digit cases trade on condition and originality.
- Daytona
- The strongest steel market Rolex has. 116500LN and 126500LN both hold well, and precious-metal Daytonas are valued on the dial as much as the case.
- GMT-Master II
- Bezel colour is most of the price. Pepsi, Batman and Root Beer are three separate markets on one reference family.
- Datejust
- Enormous variety and therefore enormous spread — 36mm versus 41mm, fluted versus smooth, Jubilee versus Oyster, and the dial. Send a photograph.
- Day-Date
- Precious metal only, so the metal price sets a floor. Above that it is the dial, the bracelet and whether it has been refinished.
- Oyster Perpetual
- The 2020 lacquer dials trade differently to the classic references. Colour matters more than size.
- Explorer, Sea-Dweller, Yacht-Master, Sky-Dweller
- All bought. All valued reference by reference — send the number.
Box, papers and provenance
Rolex warranty cards have been digital-format plastic since 2006 and carry the serial. A card matching the watch is the strongest single piece of provenance there is. No card is not a problem — a watch-only Rolex is still a straightforward sale — but it does move the number, and we will tell you by how much before you commit to anything.
Birmingham or London
Both counters buy on identical terms — one desk, one set of figures, so there is nothing to be gained by trying the two against each other. Use whichever is the shorter journey, or send the watch by insured tracked courier and skip the journey altogether. If London is easier, sell your Rolex in Hatton Garden covers the same ground for the London counter.
FAQS
Yes. A watch with no box and no card is still a straightforward sale. Expect the offer to sit below a full set of the same reference, because the next buyer will price it the same way. We will always show you both figures so you can decide whether tracking down the card is worth it.
Hatton Garden is where the London trade actually happens, and we are on it. The practical advantage over a pawnbroker or a high-street jeweller is that a specialist desk prices the reference rather than the metal, and the practical advantage over an auction is that you are paid this week rather than in three months, with no seller's commission taken off the top.
It depends on the reference, the year, the condition and whether the set is complete — which is why nobody honest quotes a figure before seeing those four things. Send them over and you will have a real number the same day, with no obligation attached to it.
Yes, and it is usually the better deal. Part-exchange lets us make the margin on the piece you are buying instead of the piece you are selling, so the number we can put against your Rolex is higher than the outright cash offer. Anything we can source can be part of it.
Selling something else in Birmingham?
Sell your Rolex
Send the reference, get a figure today
Reference number, year and a few photographs. You will have a no-obligation figure on your Rolex the same day, at either counter.