£40K to invest in vintage watches

[Ali2202]

No room for any more cars

Whatever I go for needs to have a very good chance of appreciating over the next 10 years. One watch or a selection.

I'd welcome your thoughts and suggestions.

Cheers!

Ali

[Sheetmaself]

I know that if i could give you a dead cert for which watches would make you money i would invest my own money into this!

Are you looking at owning watches to wear which may incurr minimal depreciation or potentially a profit, or are you wanting to lock them away to be brought out again in x number of years and provide a return?

My best bet would be buy as many Rolex something something something and hope.

There are surely better things to invest £40k into if you dont know the answer yourself?

I dont mean to be a dick but i have invested in lots of things at this kind of value, but never on something either i or the person im investing in had no knowledge of. Do you have close friends or family that you trust working in a sector they can set out on their own?

[mikeh501]

I wouldnt call watches appreciating assets, but stainless sports rolex is pretty much as good as it gets i think. Id go for generally stainless and colourways which arent black as a starter for ten.

Rolex GMT Master II BLNR
Rolex SeaDweller DeepSea Blue
Rolex Submariner LV 50th
Rolex Submariner Hulk

The alternative is to buy something older and already appreciating, like a paul newman daytona or double red seadweller.You really need someone who knows these peices though to avoid buying a lemon.

Edited by mikeh501 on Saturday 7th January 15:48

[alorotom]

You'd be better off putting it into a small property in the north east or West Yorkshire and either just sit on it or then rent it ... much sounder investment model and probably better expected return to boot

[coldsnap]

If it were me, i would stay away from anything still being made today ie blnr, the most modern I would buy as a possible investment would be a Y, maybe F serial Rolex Sub LV. A Rolex 1665 seadweller would be my choice, rail dials are rare, but these days it is rare to see any 1665 for sale. Anything gilt and Rolex is climbing, anything red and Rolex is climbing but lots of scams, fakes, franken watches so be wary.

Best to buy carefully, protect the money you have in them and enjoy your watches and if they go up in value enjoy them even more.

Edited by coldsnap on Saturday 7th January 18:27

Edited by coldsnap on Saturday 7th January 18:28

[7184c]

The 16610LV seems to be a good choice at the moment.

Full set Zenith Daytonas are pretty risk free, I would also look at an early FP Journe and that would be a good spread rather than all on one watch.

[LWG95]

Go for vintage Heuer watches from the 60's -70's period, they are doing consistently well, see the previous thread on this subject, probably on page 2 now.

[LWG95]

Actually page 3 - 'Heuer Originals Hit The Big Time'....

[Ali2202]

alorotom said:

You'd be better off putting it into a small property in the north east or West Yorkshire and either just sit on it or then rent it ... much sounder investment model and probably better expected return to boot

Don't want more hassle from investment properties. Too much already!

[Wacky Racer]

Ali2202 said:

No room for any more cars

Whatever I go for needs to have a very good chance of appreciating over the next 10 years. One watch or a selection.

I'd welcome your thoughts and suggestions.

Cheers!

Ali

Forget watches.

Classic British motorbikes is where it's at.

Prices going through the roof.

(And you can't ride a watch)

[Ali2202]

Wacky Racer said:

Forget watches.

Classic British motorbikes is where it's at.

Prices going through the roof.

(And you can't ride a watch)

Literally do not have the room to store anything else. That is one of the reasons why watches appeal. Also..I do love them!

[hilly10]

But all those Rolex SS watches mentioned above you will now pay top dollar for, and for them to show a non guaranteed return of any worth you will be looking at many years.

[Ali2202]

hilly10 said:

But all those Rolex SS watches mentioned above you will now pay top dollar for, and for them to show a non guaranteed return of any worth you will be looking at many years.

Hi Chaps,

Thanks for all the input so far. As per hilly10's observation above, I'm a bit reticent over Rolex SS watches due to current pricing levels. I also don't like the image much. No offence meant.

I suppose what I'm looking for are more discreet wearable watches with possible future potential. Future Classics if you like! I would have no problem hanging on to these for 15 years or so. Patek Phillipe? Speedmasters? B&M? Cartier? ....that sort of thing!

Anyway, maybe I'm after unobtanium! Just wanted to ask the PH experts on the subject.

Thanks,

Ali

[Sy1441]

As an ex dealer the reason i'd go Rolex for investment purposes are they are easily sold for cash if you need to liquidate at any point as they sit just own the cusp of being something affordable to the widest range of people. Although to be fair, it's all about buying at the right price more than anything else.

[Ali2202]

It's items like these that REALLY appeal!...

https://www.chrono24.co.uk/omega/chronostop---orig...

https://www.chrono24.co.uk/omega/dynamic-cal752-au...

https://www.chrono24.co.uk/omega/watch-speedmaster...

Edited by Ali2202 on Sunday 8th January 19:23

[mikeveal]

Ali2202 said:

No room for any more cars

Whatever I go for needs to have a very good chance of appreciating over the next 10 years. One watch or a selection.

I'd welcome your thoughts and suggestions.

Cheers!

Ali

Watches are amazingly poor investments. Sure, you can say with hindsight that xyz Rolex beat inflation over the last 10 years, but without that crystal ball, you are better off investing on the horses.

[Mr Overheads]

Ali2202 said:

It's items like these that REALLY appeal!...

https://www.chrono24.co.uk/omega/chronostop---orig...

https://www.chrono24.co.uk/omega/dynamic-cal752-au...

https://www.chrono24.co.uk/omega/watch-speedmaster...

Edited by Ali2202 on Sunday 8th January 19:23

They're the style I like too. If you've got £40k to spend then buy a broad range of vintage watches you like the look of and if some rise in value then all the better for it. I would have thought most vintage would hold inflationary value. I think pre-1970 Cal 321 Speedmasters will continue to increase in value especially as the 50th anniversary of the moon landing comes round.

[wax lyrical]

Only stainless steel vintage Rolex 'sports' (all genuine and original) watches bought 'cheaply' would be a worthwhile investment. Finding them 'cheap' is the issue. Possibly vintage Speedmasters as well (again - not paying full market value).

[traffman]

Thing is the vintage Rolex market has been gaining popularity over the past 5 or more years now.

The once holy grale found unworn in a safe for the past 30/40 years for small money is long gone. There are traders everywhere mentioning patina, tropical dials , gilt rings , unpolished , matte dials , ghost bezel's and so on.

You need to be very very very good at spotting the correct watch , with matching font on the dial , is it serif ? non serif? Pre comex , Comex , milsub?

40 grand would buy a nice Comex Submariner , possibly with a full set of papers and box.

Submariner red's , double red's are within your budget. You will pay high and eventually it will creep up , can't see any othe vintage watch's losing.

Buyer beware ! as they say. Get friendly on the Vintage Rolex forum on Facebook , there are guys like Eric Ku and Graeme Fowlerjust to name two whome are a great and valuable source of information. Sadly there are franken watch's that have had dials fitted alongside differing hands and so on , it get's really complicated.

Good luck.

[birdcage]

I bought a ten year old Rolex GMT from a Burlington Arcade dealer five years ago for £2,100.

Looking at what they fetch now they would have outperformed any of my 'investments' houses cars, pension, other watches.

Tax free too. Wish I had bought more...