Chrono24: TAG Heuer Leads Over a 6-Month Period, AP Loses Ground Slightly
After six months of steady increases, the ChronoPulse Index of the pre-owned watch platform Chrono24 dipped slightly in April for the first time.
The month-over-month decline is moderate and primarily affects the brands that saw the strongest growth in the first quarter: Cartier (-5.8% MoM), Vacheron Constantin (-5.4%), and Panerai (-6.4%). Chrono24 emphasizes that the upward trend remains intact in the medium and long term: The index is 4.8 percent above the level of six months ago and 2.1 percent above the previous year.
Pre-owned prices for TAG Heuer are rising the most
Only two brands bucked the monthly trend: TAG Heuer (+3.2% MoM) and Omega (+2.8%). Rolex remains unchanged. Over a six-month period, the picture becomes clearer: TAG Heuer is the strongest brand in the entire index, up 9 percent (6M). Among the four largest brands, Patek Philippe (+7%) leads ahead of Rolex (+5.5%) and Cartier (+3.9%).
Audemars Piguet stands out from the rest. Over the past six months, AP is the only one of the four top brands to have posted a decline (-1.4%); its monthly (-0.8%) and annual (-0.1%) figures are also slightly in negative territory. Against this backdrop, it will be interesting to see what impact the collaboration with Swatch and the launch of the Royal Pop will have on the market.
ChronoPulse: The April Winners
TAG Heuer (+3.2% MoM, +9.0% / 6M): The strongest brand in the index, both on a monthly and six-month basis. This performance spans the entire model range and is not driven by a single key reference. Since TAG Heuer operates in a price segment accessible to a broader circle of collectors, this performance can be interpreted as the clearest sign that the market is opening up beyond the absolute top-tier brands.
Omega (+2.8% MoM, +3.5% / 6M): One of only two brands to post gains in April. The six-month and annual figures are nearly identical, indicating stable but not accelerating demand.
Patek Philippe (-0.7% MoM, +7.0% / 6M): Slightly slower than in March, when growth was still in the double digits, but still the anchor of the annual performance. All eleven Patek references in the ChronoPulse Index are up over the past six months. The “Aquanaut 5167A-001” is up 21 percent year-over-year, while the “Nautilus 5712/1A-001” has gained 12.2 percent in the past six months alone. No other brand demonstrates such consistent performance across its entire model range.
Where the market has taken a hit
Panerai (-6.4% MoM, -4.7% / 6M): The weakest brand in both monthly and six-month comparisons. The luxury sports watch segment, excluding Rolex and AP, continues to lose ground.
Cartier (-5.8% MoM, +3.9% / 6M): Has given up some of its strong Q1 gains, but the medium-term trend remains positive and is supported by noticeable momentum in its models: The “Santos WSSA0039” has gained 19.2% over the past six months, but only 4.6% year-over-year. The majority of the increase is therefore recent. The “Tank Solo WSTA0030” has improved from -2.2% year-over-year to +10.5% over six months.
Hublot (-3.2% MoM, -3.6% / 6M): Down across all time frames. Demand remains structurally weak.
Breitling (-1.9% MoM, -1.8% / 6M, -7.9% YoY): Worst annual performance in the entire index. The pressure in the mid-price segment, as noted back in March, continues.
Up 500 Percent: How Pepsi Made Its Mark on Rolex Month
One single watch had a greater impact on April than any aggregate index movement: the Rolex “GMT-Master II Pepsi” (Ref. 126710BLRO). The discontinuation of this model was reflected on Chrono24 in two waves.
The first wave began as early as the beginning of March, driven by rumors. Purchase inquiries were about 500 percent higher than the weekly average for 2025, while the number of active listings fell by about 25 percent. Even after that, demand remained roughly twice as high as the annual average for 2025.
The second wave came in mid-April, when Rolex officially discontinued the model at Watches & Wonders 2026. Purchase inquiries once again surged to about 500 percent above the 2025 average.
The official confirmation has once again fueled buying demand. The white gold version (Ref. 126719BLRO) is reacting even more strongly: purchase inquiries are more than 700 percent above the 2025 average, and listings have been steadily declining since the beginning of 2026. Trading volumes are lower due to the higher price point, but the trend is the same.
An Overview of the Pre-Owned Market
As April begins, the recovery becomes selective. The brands that performed best in the first quarter are giving up some of their gains; two brands (Omega and TAG Heuer) are bucking the trend, while Rolex remains unchanged. The underlying drivers remain the same as before: speculators are still largely holding back, and the U.S. tariff situation continues to drive buyers toward the pre-owned market.
A new development in April is the widening gap between the individual brands. In the first quarter, most brands were still rising in tandem. In April, their performance began to diverge noticeably.
Methodology
The ChronoPulse Index tracks price trends for 14 major luxury watch brands and more than 140 model references. It is based on actual transaction data from the global Chrono24 marketplace. All percentage changes are calculated on a rolling basis. The index converts all transactions into euros at the exchange rate prevailing at the time of the transaction. For brands with lower transaction volumes, monthly data may be subject to greater short-term fluctuations.
