(IDEX Online) - Rolex is selling its watches on the US second-hand market for the first time, as demand surges.
It's rolling out the Certified Pre-owned Program it launched in several European countries last December.
Rolex certifies its own second-hand watches as authentic and provides a two-year guarantee, rather than the five-years offered on new purchases.
It means buyers no longer have to seek out resellers with authentication programs.
Rolex produces an estimated 1m watches a year, but demand always outstrips supply, pushing many buyers towards second-hand timepieces.
The company announced in March that it would open three temporary factories by 2025, in addition to a new $1.1bn production site at Bulle, about 60 miles from its Geneva base.
Thirty-five Tourneau Bucherer boutiques will initially operate Rolex's Certified Pre-owned Program. Watches of Switzerland stores in the US are expected to follow suit.
Watches are listed on the Tourneau website. They currently range from a 1997 Oyster Perpetual ($4,250) to a 2015 platinum Day-Date 40 ($88,000).