Wristwatches are a historically male-dominated category. Most prestigious and best-selling models are larger watches designed for men’s wrists.
But that’s shifting. New data from secondary watch dealer Bob’s Watches, shared with Glossy, shows that some of the best-performing watches in the last six months have been women’s watches. The Rolex Lady-Datejust, a smaller model aimed at women, has especially been picking up steam, with half of the 10 fastest-appreciating Rolex models that Bob’s Watches carries being variants of the Lady-Datejust.
For example, models like the Lady-Datejust 6917 and 179174 grew well over 30% between December 2025 and May 2026. The Datejust 31 is a Rolex model marketed as unisex, but its smaller size means it’s almost always sold as a women’s watch. Its resale price increased by almost 70% in the same period.
The drivers behind the growth in interest in women’s watches are manifold. For one, famously stylish women are embracing high-end watches more frequently. Zendaya has often been seen wearing a Rolex Lady Datejust, including a diamond-paved version that she wore for the “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” press tour over the summer. Women’s watches also tend to be slightly more affordable. The average Lady-Datejust, for example, is selling on Chrono24 for $5,000-$10,000, while the classic men’s Datejust sells for $5,000-$16,000.
Paul Altieri, founder and CEO of Bob’s Watches, said the numbers suggest it’s more than a celebrity boost.
“We do see a pop with some models after, say, Victoria Beckham is wearing it courtside at a Lakers game,” he said. “That kind of thing will translate to a bump in demand and price on the market — but not 68%. That’s a bigger jump and indicative, in my opinion, of a larger trend.”
Women’s watches are already a $27 billion annual market, and the current growth suggests it will reach nearly $50 billion in the next 10 years. That would put it close to the current global men’s market, which stands at $52 billion. The men’s watch market is growing at around 5-10% annually.
Altieri said two things are driving growth in these models: overall consumer preference trending toward smaller watches and the blurring of gender distinctions in watch models.
“The trend for the last 10 years was bigger and bigger watches,” Altieri said. “But now, it’s going the other way. A lot of new Rolex watches are going down by 1 millimeter or 2 millimeters in size [due to consumer demand for smaller watches]. The other factor: The industry can be pretty rigid about labeling watches as for men or for ladies, but the consumer is blurring those lines. A man can wear a 31 millimeter watch, and it’s totally fine.”
In the last year, stylish men like Connor Storie, Timothée Chalamet and Jacob Elordi have all been photographed wearing women’s watches from brands like Cartier and Tiffany.
The trend hasn’t escaped the notice of women-focused watch brands like La Lune. The brand’s founder, Martine Ilana, told Glossy that she has noticed far more blurring of traditional gender distinctions in watches.
“Women have long borrowed from traditionally masculine watch styles, but I think we’re now seeing the movement go both ways,” Ilana said. “Men are increasingly open to smaller, more refined watches that may historically have been marketed toward women. There is something very modern about that shift. A smaller, cleaner watch can have a subtle, quiet-luxury appeal regardless of gender.”
