Watches that hold value
Saw a conversation on another thread about buying watches that got me interested. What watches (brand and/or model) hold value the best and might even appreciate? I'm considering getting a watch, and knowing that I could get one that will retain 75%+ of it's value for me to turn around and sell it after a few years for an upgrade, makes the purchase much more appealing.
Rolex. easy.
Lot of good brands out there, but to hold its value and appreciate? Rolex, especially if you buy new at retail price (stainless steel models). You could also get that from other brands as you move up in price, such as Pateks, AP, etc. Or maybe crazy bargains in Omegas, Grand seiko. But the most common scenario is that you buy new and as soon as you walk out the AD it'll lose 25-35% and even more so as it gets worn, etc. Some of the most coveted Rolex models appreciate 20, 30, 50%+ as soon as you walk out of the AD. Crazy but true.
Sorry, what does AD stand for?
Not sure but I assume it means Authorized Dealer.
he won't have access to an AD.
I wouldn’t buy a brand new watch, depreciation isn’t as bad.
Also stay away from aftermarket additions (diamonds, bracelet/bands, etc.)
The guy above is totally right, nothing like a Rolex keeps it’s value so well apart from the big 3, Lange and fpj
Keep in mind that what holds its value today may not be the same in a few years. Patek used to struggle to sell the stainless nautilus (and really struggle to sell the aquanaut) and now they are 2-3X retail. That being said, Rolex has a lot of brand recognition and is at reasonable price points where the demand is normally strong enough to get decent resale value. I would generally advise against getting a watch thinking you’ll make money on it, and in general you should consider ~30% value lost if you buy new.
Of course there are also the super rare independents with multiple year waitlist, those are decent in terms of resale (but guessing you aren’t talking about $100k watches)
I would recommend buying pre-owned from reputable dealers. Let someone else take the depreciation hit.
If you buy a used submariner instead of new do you lose the opportunity for it to appreciate? I wouldn't be buying it in hopes of selling it later (I truly like watches), but it's always nice to have that option.
If you buy a used stainless Rolex that is in high demand you have probably paid for the appreciation (I.e. you paid more than msrp).
Outside of buying new from an authorized dealer, anything you buy second hand will follow the standard rules of supply and demand. Buying new is a strange world, where your watch can appreciate instantly since authorized dealers must sell at MSRP and demand heavily outweighs supply (won’t get into the argument of whether or not supply is being purposefully held down).
So if you buy used any appreciation in the future is a guess (you are just betting on where prices will go), but the existing appreciation you’ve obviously paid for.
Check out the link below to get an idea of the current state of the Rolex market. Nearly every steel sportswatch is worth more than retail. Some are more than 2x.
https://www.watchtime.com/featured/list-vs-ask-comparing-steel-rolex-pr…
tudor black bay gmt
THE HULK
Patek
apple watch
Buy used and on the bottom range of what you see the watch selling for. Brand isn’t important really. I’ve flipped tons of watches ranging from Lange to Patek to esoteric independents - just need to ensure you pay below market and it’s hard to lose money. :)
Personally I stick to haute horology. Have had quite a few Rolex pieces still but I think they are awful relative to what they trade at. Fine at msrp but you can’t get the desirable SS models at msrp unless you’ve spent 50k to 100k+ at an AD.
Over the last few years I’ve flipped enough to float my watch collection. Effectively have $0 in it.
Rocking a TAG Monaco and Jaeger Reverso. Wanting to get the Roberto Mancini RM. Every niche or beautiful watches hold value well.
F.P.Journe
They flat lined pretty hard recently and I doubt they’ll move higher at this point. I still feel stupid for passing on a resonance in 2019 when they were 25% of what they are now though lol.
That said, stamped dial at the price point is still unacceptable.
You think that is dumb? I passed on an msrp chronometre bleu many years ago. Back then that was pushing my budget limits so I couldn’t get myself to buy it, oh well…
Most non modified Rolex’s. Hard to go wrong
Return on watches is shit, someone wrote a paper on that. Patek & Rolex yield 2.5% per year on average which is beat even by boomer stocks
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