WHICH LUXURY WATCH HOLD THEIR VALUE BEST? TO ME, IT HAS TO BE ROLEX, PATEK PHILIPPE, FRANCK MULLER AND VACHERON CONSTANTINE!
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Which luxury watch brands hold their value best?
Hello and thanks for the A2A.
First of all, let me start with a caveat: investing in watches is not a good investment at all. Except for the rarest circumstances, watches do not appreciate, but rather, depreciate their REAL value (if we pull aside the hidden cost of inflation). So, generally speaking, be warned that you are going to invest money in something which is not a real investment, but just a very pleasurable way to fritter away hige sums of money, depending on the depth of your pockets.
Having said this fundamental truth about watch collecting, I can answer your question.
Not all brands - even very famous brands - hold their value well. And more, not all models within the same brand perform the same. Some are fairly stable. Some depreciate quickly. Some even rise up in value, due to a series of circumstances. More, some different releases of the same model could be more or less requested by aficionados.
And I will make you an example to illustrate that.
TAG Heuer is a very respected brand in Swiss horology. Its most iconic model is the Monaco, made to fame by Steve Mc Queen. The Monaco holds its value pretty well, as horologists worldwide pay some hefty sums for it. Almost every other model of the maison sinks like a stone in the value department, though.
Does this make TAG Heuer a company to avoid? Hell, no. Even if it is not between the ones I like most, the watches are quite good, actually - but hardcore horologists rarely appreciate them much - except for Monacos and a few other models.
This said, the catch is that as horology is - most of all - a passion, we are not really dealing with a straditional system of selling goods. A watch is not - say - equal to one barrel of crude oil, which has a value recognized by almost everyone and which is fairly stable: the same watch could be worth 100 or 1.000 to two different persons, as I have demonstrated here: Franz Rivoira's answer to Is €150 watch considered as an expensive watch?
So, what comes out is that even if you have a watch which is not “mainstream” (that is, appreciated only by a selected few), you would probably, before or later, find someone who shares the passion for that particular watch, and is going to pay top dollars for it.
However, since the comparison in the market are very easy to do right now, with the internet, you are bound to adhere to the average trends of the market.
One notorious case is the one of Franck Muller watches, like this Crazy Hours above. While they are not bad timepieces, at all, and have some iconic shapes, their value in the second-wrist market is very low - possibly because they are rather unique as a shape and character - and horologists tend to be a traditionally-inclined bunch.
So after a few, the charm fades away and you sell your FM out of boredom. It is advisable to buy them for cheap as second-wrist.
So, to recap, it is not a question of brands holding value better or worse. The situation is much more complicated than that.
So, I have found that there are a few general rules which adapt themselves - very broadly - to the field of choosing watches - and I have written about them in this answer: Franz Rivoira's answer to Which inexpensive vintage watches (not Rolex or Patek) are likely to increase in value?
I will name them briefly below (if you need any more details, just read the answer above). Remember - this is not a magic formula, but it works on most cases you can find. This will help you determine if the watch you are buying will probably have a market later on, or you will be bound to hang on it for a long time before selling it.
- Reputable, established brand
- Watch with complications, the more, the better
- Check the right model (either, limited editions or very mainstream models)
- No quartz movements
- Stainless steel case. No precious metals or (worse) gems
- No ladies watches
- Original dials and accessories like wristbands
- Movement clean and in good order
- Original box, documents and warranty
- Do not love what you buy. Try to be detached from the object (quite difficult, I admit)
I could add one more: established/traditionally looking watches generally hold their value best. While you may ollow the fad of the moment, this impulse buy would bore you after a while, and that watch you are buying might not see much of a show on your wrist - so try to restrain yourself a bit in this category.
The watches that generally hold their value better are the ones that are more easy to wear in several occasions.
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