Why do Gen Z and millennials love second-hand luxury watches? Rolex, Omega, Richard Mille and more brands are welcoming the pre-owned sector while e-commerce platforms are taking off
- Omega – a Swiss brand hotly sought after by collectors alongside Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet – voiced support of the vintage market in a statement
- In Hong Kong, China and Singapore, pre-owned watches are now accepted as sound investments, with half of Phillips Auctions’ watches bought by Asian buyers
There’s an old saying that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and this holds true in the increasingly popular sharing economy that younger generations are embracing. The second-hand luxury wave, in particular, is proving beneficial to a market that was once purposely designed with only a select few in mind. More specifically, the pre-owned luxury watch sector has opened the door to a rapidly growing opportunity that many – from watchmakers to collectors and auction houses – are benefiting from, even in the face of a pandemic.
According to Thomas Perazzi, head of watches at Phillips Auctions in Asia, both brand new and pre-owned watches are performing exceptionally well. “Looking at the numbers provided by the Swiss Federation [of watches], the export numbers have increased, but not significantly. What has really exploded is the secondary market because to get a luxury watch, you have to create a profile in a brand system or you have to wait a long time,” he says. “Today, collectors don’t want to wait and they go straight to the second-hand market to acquire a piece immediately even if there is a surcharge to pay.”
Indeed, there were monumental moves in horology in the past 12 months, with Phillips recording a record year, having sold every single lot they had to offer, including a platinum Patek Philippe Blue Royale and a Rolex Daytona chronograph in yellow gold, with total sales up by US$40 million on what they achieved from watches in 2020.
Watchmakers small and large are responding to this new consumer trend by embracing it. The likes of Rolex, Richard Mille and Omega are welcoming the second-hand sector by offering services such as authenticity guarantees, second-hand pop-ups, and even starting their own pre-owned selling platforms. It’s given unattainable and unknown brands the chance to introduce themselves to a wider variety of buyers, many of whom are getting their first taste of luxury timepieces.
“We support the vintage market by allowing owners of watches over 30 years old to obtain a certificate of authenticity issued by our experienced watchmakers based on a thorough examination of the watch as well as our records,” Raynald Aeschlimann, CEO of Omega, said in a statement. The Swiss luxury watch brand is among those that collectors especially look for, alongside Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe and Rolex, to name a few.
Rolex, one of the brands that experienced a shortage due to production shutdowns during the height of the pandemic in 2020, is still in high demand and its second-hand Daytona and Submariner models are skyrocketing in price as the waiting list grows and production volumes shrink.
