Would you buy a steel Rolex Submariner for €25.000?

Grandpa is talking

Back in the days everything used to be better. Yep, we get it. And it might sound like grandpa is talking rubbish, but back in 1995 you could get your hands on a stainless-steel Submariner Date for around €2.200. We’re talking retail-prices, by the way. Every year, since 1995, the average inflation numbers were around 2,2% per year. What did Rolex do to their retail prices in the last 30 years? We’ll explain. And go even further.

Inflation vs. Price Increase

So, according to the data, the average inflation from the last 30 years was around the 2,2% mark. Which is doable. In the last couple of years inflation has hit harder, but on average it’s still around 2,2%. Currently, in 2026, a steel Rolex Submariner Date will set you back €11.100 at your local authorized dealer. And the average price increase of the steel Sub was around 5,5%. Per year. Which is twice the inflation. You think it’s fair?

Expectations for the retail price

What has happened, happened. We can’t do anything about that. We can’t change the future either, but what we can do is calculate what will happen if Rolex decides to continue their yearly price increase of 5,5% throughout the coming years. And that will look like this:

That means that you will pay close to €25.000 for a steel Rolex Submariner Date in 2041. While the average inflation won’t increase like this. Is that all scarcity? Expensive labour? The Rolex Submariner is one of the most sold and produced watches from Rolex, without that much manual labour to it. Still sounds fair?