Watches as an investment
Discussion
Problem is that it is indeed a punt. Looking at it strategically, if you bought 10 vintage watches at £50 each, if 9 of them are worth £10 in 50 years time then the other one has to be a really good one to break even. So it's about knowing the market and understanding how demand will change over time.
The problem with Rolexes is that the new ones are very overpriced which makes an investment in a new watch tricky. The older ones... well, again, you're still taking a punt on a £700 vintage Rolex so it is still down to knowing the market and figuring out how demand will change over time.
Your best bet therefore is to take a punt on a watch you like because you can still wear it and enjoy it. You will most likely lose money especially when servicing costs are factored in but you will still be wearing something that you like so won't mind paying for it.
The problem with Rolexes is that the new ones are very overpriced which makes an investment in a new watch tricky. The older ones... well, again, you're still taking a punt on a £700 vintage Rolex so it is still down to knowing the market and figuring out how demand will change over time.
Your best bet therefore is to take a punt on a watch you like because you can still wear it and enjoy it. You will most likely lose money especially when servicing costs are factored in but you will still be wearing something that you like so won't mind paying for it.
I had a thought. You could learn to fix watches, buy cheap broken ones, service (or as we say outside of the watch industry, "fix") them and sell them on for profit. The only downside is learning how to fix them could result in the breaking of fixable watches. 
I thought about it before but put paid to the idea when I destroyed a £15 Chinese automatic. However, if anyone wants a free service on their Omega PO, I'm happy to have a bash (I cannot be held responsible for the outcome).
I thought about it before but put paid to the idea when I destroyed a £15 Chinese automatic. However, if anyone wants a free service on their Omega PO, I'm happy to have a bash (I cannot be held responsible for the outcome).
Edited by ShadownINja on Thursday 3rd September 00:11
ShadownINja said:
I had a thought. You could learn to fix watches, buy cheap broken ones, service (or as we say outside of the watch industry, "fix") them and sell them on for profit. The only downside is learning how to fix them could result in the breaking of fixable watches.
I thought about it before but put paid to the idea when I destroyed a £15 Chinese automatic. However, if anyone wants a free service on their Omega PO, I'm happy to have a bash (I cannot be held responsible for the outcome).
Just off down town to find a second hand Omega.I thought about it before but put paid to the idea when I destroyed a £15 Chinese automatic. However, if anyone wants a free service on their Omega PO, I'm happy to have a bash (I cannot be held responsible for the outcome).
Edited by ShadownINja on Thursday 3rd September 00:11
Can you forward your address and I will send it straight over as soon as it is purchased
Ash 996 GT2 said:
ShadownINja said:
I had a thought. You could learn to fix watches, buy cheap broken ones, service (or as we say outside of the watch industry, "fix") them and sell them on for profit. The only downside is learning how to fix them could result in the breaking of fixable watches.
I thought about it before but put paid to the idea when I destroyed a £15 Chinese automatic. However, if anyone wants a free service on their Omega PO, I'm happy to have a bash (I cannot be held responsible for the outcome).
Just off down town to find a second hand Omega.I thought about it before but put paid to the idea when I destroyed a £15 Chinese automatic. However, if anyone wants a free service on their Omega PO, I'm happy to have a bash (I cannot be held responsible for the outcome).
Edited by ShadownINja on Thursday 3rd September 00:11
Can you forward your address and I will send it straight over as soon as it is purchased
Buying as an investment is something really only well funded experts are likely to succeed at.
Looking to have something decent & minimising depreciation is quite another and with a bit of research much easier.
The sales corner on TZ-UK has loads of good pre-owned watches for sale usually at a decent discount vs brand new & therefore unlikely to depreciate further.
Looking to have something decent & minimising depreciation is quite another and with a bit of research much easier.
The sales corner on TZ-UK has loads of good pre-owned watches for sale usually at a decent discount vs brand new & therefore unlikely to depreciate further.
Edited by andy tims on Thursday 3rd September 13:22
I have been thinking the same thing, maybe not so much as an investiment but a high priced watch that could be kept for many years without really losing anything, Say I purchased a used Rolex Daytona for 7K or a Milgauss Green glass for around the 4 K mark wont they still be worth very very close to that in 5 or 10 years time,
I hear the arguement about Rolex's clever marketing of these two styles in particular the Daytona, low volume production etc but I Went into my local watch shop in Norwich this week and they claimed an approx waiting of 5 years for the Daytona.
If that waiting list is true I would expect further price increases from Rolex over the next few years thus making a puchase now still more valuable, OK its not going to make you a fortune but with such low interest rates whats your return on 7 K sitting in bank for next 5 years, At least if you can afford to tie the money up you can have some ownership enjoyment for a few years and maybe at least still break even.
I hear the arguement about Rolex's clever marketing of these two styles in particular the Daytona, low volume production etc but I Went into my local watch shop in Norwich this week and they claimed an approx waiting of 5 years for the Daytona.
If that waiting list is true I would expect further price increases from Rolex over the next few years thus making a puchase now still more valuable, OK its not going to make you a fortune but with such low interest rates whats your return on 7 K sitting in bank for next 5 years, At least if you can afford to tie the money up you can have some ownership enjoyment for a few years and maybe at least still break even.
Exigeowner said:
an approx waiting of 5 years for the Daytona.
If that waiting list is true I would expect further price increases from Rolex.
It's not. They're a sought after piece, but you can find them here and there, especially in the current climate. There are watches a lot more sought after which my AD can get their hands on in a hugely more acceptable time scale.If that waiting list is true I would expect further price increases from Rolex.
this is what i do to bring in extra income.
as already said best idea is never buy a watch you wouldnt keep if needed, and with money that can be kept in the watch as therefore win win, if you sell for a profit great, if you dont you get a watch you will wear at a price you can afford.
market for daytona's is still about there but no real money in it at the moment and could take a while to shift. I would of been able to sell one before i'd bought it a year and half ago, now would take around 2 months to shift and i have a lot of contact (not saying you don't)
best way to guaruntee authenticity and what i do, is to get a buyer and sell it having had a service, once you have a strong buyer possibly by use of a securing deposit send it off to get serviced, get the reference number, give this to the buyer, they can then prove that the watch is where you say it is. get the money and change the resend address from the watch maker. this way you get your money guarunteed and they have no concerns regarding the watch, plus cost of service is often offset by the guaruntee and the lure of a just serviced watch.
last piece of advice is to get in with a local jewellers as they know about watches normally in advance of them coming onto a market. plus can also alert you about limited editions which may be worth looking into.
having said all of this though i turned down the snoopy edition omega a few years agoas didnt like it and there value went up significantly just after release!
if you want any other specific info just ask
as already said best idea is never buy a watch you wouldnt keep if needed, and with money that can be kept in the watch as therefore win win, if you sell for a profit great, if you dont you get a watch you will wear at a price you can afford.
market for daytona's is still about there but no real money in it at the moment and could take a while to shift. I would of been able to sell one before i'd bought it a year and half ago, now would take around 2 months to shift and i have a lot of contact (not saying you don't)
best way to guaruntee authenticity and what i do, is to get a buyer and sell it having had a service, once you have a strong buyer possibly by use of a securing deposit send it off to get serviced, get the reference number, give this to the buyer, they can then prove that the watch is where you say it is. get the money and change the resend address from the watch maker. this way you get your money guarunteed and they have no concerns regarding the watch, plus cost of service is often offset by the guaruntee and the lure of a just serviced watch.
last piece of advice is to get in with a local jewellers as they know about watches normally in advance of them coming onto a market. plus can also alert you about limited editions which may be worth looking into.
having said all of this though i turned down the snoopy edition omega a few years agoas didnt like it and there value went up significantly just after release!
if you want any other specific info just ask
Ok, look at the cost of a 60s/70s Rolex datejust at a dealers. A steel one is circa £1500. Now, I don't know the cost new originally but I remember in the earely 80s they were about 800 quid, so lets say a 60s one was sub £400....not a brill investment over the time period but if you bought a 70s datejust for 1500 quid (as I did a year or so ago) then history dictates you probably aint gonna lose money on it if you sold it after a few years!
I'm getting close to 0% on my savings and -x%/pa on my ISA and pension, so I thought I could enjoy a Rolex and not lose anything* if I sold it after a few years. Is this realistic? Is there a better brand?
- When I say anything, obviously a few £100 wouldn't hurt - I'd think of it as renting a watch.
this would be perfectly possible, especially in the current market if you are planning to hold onto it for a while. as you guess rolex is a very good brand for this, other ones to look out for are brands which are starting to move up the price bracket, if you look at oris watches then they used to have a strong market prescence in the sub £700 market whereas now the prices have crept up, this means that the lower valued watches are stronger in the second hand market than they normally would be. i would suggest Glycine could be a case of this as you can get a good looking automatic for around £500 but most now are above this price range.
also bear in mind that condition is key so either make sure you like the watch enough to wear and take the hit if it gets a knock, or take very good care of it and wear it sparingly.
also bear in mind that condition is key so either make sure you like the watch enough to wear and take the hit if it gets a knock, or take very good care of it and wear it sparingly.
http://www.watches.co.uk/watch.php?wid=8648S
good example of a decent watch you shouldnt lose much money on, granted not a rolex but looks nice and auto movement.
good example of a decent watch you shouldnt lose much money on, granted not a rolex but looks nice and auto movement.
I'd think along the lines of small independents such as Glycine, Stowa, Nomos, Sinn - you seem to get more value for money at a larger range of price points, great products that are respected amongst the cognescenti, an avid 'fanbase' to tap into should you sell and something that is good on the wrist if you don't sell.
I'd not class them (or most watches) as an 'investment' per se, just a better way of getting most of your money back should you need to. (i.e. the 'rental watch' philosophy above).
Looking at watch buying as investing is like car buying as investments - it all depends on the markets at the time and when that particular make/model is desirable/'on trend'...
I'd not class them (or most watches) as an 'investment' per se, just a better way of getting most of your money back should you need to. (i.e. the 'rental watch' philosophy above).
Looking at watch buying as investing is like car buying as investments - it all depends on the markets at the time and when that particular make/model is desirable/'on trend'...
i totally agree with the above, the suggestion was made not on maximising potential profit but for the higher chance of getting your money back and as you state "renting" the watch. i do not see how the watches like the one in the above link would every drop below the £350 mark if taken are of, as it is a brand that is becoming increasingly well known and sought, and even if it wasnt a decent brand then a pvd'd automatic watch for under £400 is fairly rare anyway.
if you really fancy making the most profit look into something like the Tag v4, very unlikely it will be released but if it is and you get one will be very valuable, jules audemars openworked jumping hour minute repeater (very very limited release per year)!!!!! maybe we could go halves for that last one
if you really fancy making the most profit look into something like the Tag v4, very unlikely it will be released but if it is and you get one will be very valuable, jules audemars openworked jumping hour minute repeater (very very limited release per year)!!!!! maybe we could go halves for that last one
ShadownINja said:
Ash 996 GT2 said:
ShadownINja said:
I had a thought. You could learn to fix watches, buy cheap broken ones, service (or as we say outside of the watch industry, "fix") them and sell them on for profit. The only downside is learning how to fix them could result in the breaking of fixable watches.
I thought about it before but put paid to the idea when I destroyed a £15 Chinese automatic. However, if anyone wants a free service on their Omega PO, I'm happy to have a bash (I cannot be held responsible for the outcome).
Just off down town to find a second hand Omega.I thought about it before but put paid to the idea when I destroyed a £15 Chinese automatic. However, if anyone wants a free service on their Omega PO, I'm happy to have a bash (I cannot be held responsible for the outcome).
Edited by ShadownINja on Thursday 3rd September 00:11
Can you forward your address and I will send it straight over as soon as it is purchased
Gassing Station | Watches | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff