Sell your Rolex Daytona and you could make almost double what you paid
Collecting vintage watches used to be a leisurely pursuit. A dedicated hobbyist – say, your dad, uncle or granddad – might have spent an entire Sun poking around second-hand dealers or flea markets, only to render home for dinner to regale the family with tales from that afternoon's hunt.
When Shawn Tan get-go started Heirloom Gallery in 2000, for example, his customers were mostly enthusiasts. "[These were collectors] who collected watches as a passion… and regarded it as a form of art drove and appreciation," he told CNA Lifestyle.
These days, however, vintage watches are big business. Over the last v years, a new group of more discerning collectors have surfaced, what Tan refers to as "serious collectors, astute investors and prolific dealers all-in-1". They are younger, web- and social media-savvy and, crucially, bigger spenders.
"From the boilerplate spending of a few thousand dollars on a single buy in the past, nosotros are now seeing… spending in the tens of thousands and more on a watch, equally most informed collectors would regard their spending equally an educated buy, an informed investment with a potential for value appreciation," shared Tan.
And so there are the astronomical figures realised at auctions, which accept made even those outside the watch-collecting community sit upward and take discover. How could they non, when a timepiece sells for almost U.s.a.$18 meg (S$25 million)? That tape-breaking sum was accomplished in Oct 2022 by the Rolex "Paul Newman" Daytona Reference 6239.
At US$17.8 million, it was – and however is – the virtually expensive wristwatch ever sold. And although such stellar performances are the exception rather than the norm, it raised awareness of the potential of vintage watches to outperform other forms of investments.
"These auction results have been instrumental in setting the scene for vintage watches, reinforcing consumers' confidence and sending the whole world chasing after the staggeringly rare and historic pieces available," added Tan.
From the average spending of a few thousand dollars on a single purchase in the by, we are now seeing… spending in the tens of thousands and more on a picket.
"The sale of the 'Paul Newman' Daytona… was similar a high tide that raised all the boats," explained Scott La Du, Gemmologist at Betteridge, an American jeweller that showcased at the JeweLuxe fair in Oct. "It single-handedly made that type of punch – the Panda dial – very of import. Now, watches in that genre are commanding top dollar across the board. We find steel Daytonas with Panda dials fetching anywhere from The states$125,000 to United states of america$800,000."
Equally Alexandre Bigler, a consultant at Christie'due south Hong Kong Lookout Section, put it: "Today, having coin in the bank doesn't get you anything. On the contrary, it might cost y'all. There's a lot of greenbacks in the market, and [people] don't desire to store it. They'd rather put it in something they tin relish."
And that something is vintage watches. "Vintage watches are 'safe'," added Bigler. "If you're a newcomer on the stock market place, what exercise you exercise? Y'all buy what's safe. You go for the bluish chips. They perform well, and at least yous're not going to get burned."
SURGING GLOBAL Demand
While it's hard to guess the entirety of the market place, Bigler estimates its value – at to the lowest degree in the auction realm – at around US$350 million. Jonathan Tee, founder of local vintage watch specialist Passions Watch, puts the figure at somewhere between US$200 one thousand thousand to US$500 meg.
"We'll never know [the total value] considering many transactions are unaccounted for," said Tee. "In recent years, a lot of collectors, some dealers and privateers have moved to trade on social media, such every bit Facebook, Carousell and Instagram."
Regardless of how big the market is, there'due south no doubtfulness that the demand for vintage watches is huge and growing. So much and so that homegrown, public-listed pawnshop Maxi-Cash held its inaugural "pre-loved timepiece festival", Faces of Time, in September.
"Nosotros noticed that every time people come up in to trade watches, or when there are unredeemed [watches] – which ways they've been pledged but non redeemed – they get snapped upwardly nearly immediately when we put information technology in the store. That shows that there'south a very strong demand for pre-endemic watches," offered Maxi-Cash CEO Ng Leok Cheng.
Another reason for the demand: The scarcity of watches on the main market. In other words, when consumers can't get their desired watches first-hand. This is due to two factors: Manufacturers deliberately restricting the supply to drive up demand, and the long waiting list for popular models.
Today, having coin in the banking company doesn't get y'all anything. On the reverse, it might cost you lot.
"Some watches have five- or eight-year waiting lists," said Ng, naming models like the Rolex GMT-Master Ii, affectionately known as "Pepsi" and "Batman" depending on the colour of their bezels (red and bluish or black and blue). "A lot of customers are not willing to wait. They have the cash, and they want to habiliment it now."
Their fervour comes at a price.
"The hottest model right now is a steel Daytona with black bezel. The pre-endemic asking cost is about S$30,000. Nosotros just sold 1 for South$26,000. At an authorised dealer, they're only asking S$16,000 to S$18,000," said Ng. The recommended retail price (RRP) listed on rolex.com is Due south$16,600.
Halfway around the earth, Rolex is also a pinnacle performer. On the models that receive the most attention also the Daytona, Betteridge'due south La Du offered: "Anything in the Professional Series, which includes the GMT-Main, Submariner, Explorer and Yacht-Chief, is very much in need. As Rolex has reduced the availability of those watches, it'due south created an upwards inertia. Everybody wants to buy them."
"Patek Philippes and Audemars Piguets are also hot," Ng added. "[Audemars Piguet] Regal Oak Offshores are going up [in price] similar crazy. Nosotros also get a lot of enquiries for the [Patek Philippe Nautilus] References 5711 and 5712. The waitlist is maybe two to three years."
La Du had a similar story. "I only had a client who came dorsum from Patek Philippe'southward Place Vendome store in Paris, and the start matter the sales banana had told him was, 'Do you have 10 years to await?' He was really shocked."
Tom Chng, founder of the Singapore Watch Club, noted that the tables have turned. "Traditionally, you'd purchase the Nautiluses and Aquanauts to build towards a higher-finish complexity [model]. But at present, y'all'd need to buy a Perpetual Calendar to get on the list to buy a Nautilus! That's ridiculous. Things have completely flipped around."
WILL THE Chimera BURST?
With the potential to make a handsome profit – in some cases, doubling the principal with models like the Rolex Daytona or the Patek Philippe Nautilus – it'southward no surprise that enthusiasts are increasingly seeing vintage watches as less of a hobby than a form of financial investment. Some have turned to reselling to make a quick buck.
"Many collectors are now flippers, ownership watches as an asset and selling in an instant following trends and prices," observed Tee.
With speculative behaviour rife, is a bubble imminent? And, perhaps more chiefly, will the bubble outburst?
Many collectors are now flippers, buying watches every bit an asset and selling in an instant following trends and prices.
Chng believes and so. "I definitely think that this is what nosotros're looking at. The [Nautilus] Reference 5711 is a very nice sentinel. But when you compare it with other watches at similar price points, yous'll wonder why you're paying Southward$70,000 for a steel sports sentinel that's not exactly rare or discontinued."
The scout'due south RRP is S$39,300. "It's just a matter of fourth dimension earlier people start to question this [logic]," Chng added. "[For S$70,000], you could buy a complication model from a brand with a like heritage. Peradventure not as hot, but in the same league. When people start realising that, the market will start to normalise."
While waiting for the fever to die down, Chng believes it's a good time to pick up pieces that take been disregarded past other collectors, such as the Audemars Piguet Star Bike, a rare model from the 90s that he bought in Hong Kong recently.
Ultimately, Tee believes that acquiring vintage watches should remain a hobby, because "One time you treat it like an investment, you lose the soul of collecting… There is little true love and equally a consequence, brands rise and fall similar seasons modify… One time you lot want to care for [vintage lookout collecting] like a portfolio, then you lot'll take to get your charts out and kickoff a program with a fund," he said.
READ: How to collect watches as an investment: Tips from the world'due south foremost watch auctioneer
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/style/vintage-watches-less-a-hobby-more-a-financial-investment-238836
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