Sell your Rolex Daytona and you could make almost double what you paid
Collecting vintage watches used to exist a leisurely pursuit. A dedicated hobbyist – say, your dad, uncle or grandfather – might accept spent an entire Sunday poking effectually second-manus dealers or flea markets, only to return home for dinner to regale the family with tales from that afternoon's hunt.
When Shawn Tan first started Heirloom Gallery in 2000, for example, his customers were generally enthusiasts. "[These were collectors] who collected watches as a passion… and regarded it as a form of fine art collection and appreciation," he told CNA Lifestyle.
These days, however, vintage watches are big business concern. Over the last 5 years, a new grouping of more discerning collectors have surfaced, what Tan refers to as "serious collectors, astute investors and prolific dealers all-in-ane". They are younger, web- and social media-savvy and, crucially, bigger spenders.
"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 sentry, equally most informed collectors would regard their spending as an educated purchase, an informed investment with a potential for value appreciation," shared Tan.
So there are the astronomical figures realised at auctions, which have fabricated even those exterior the watch-collecting community sit upwards and take notice. How could they not, when a timepiece sells for nearly U.s.a.$18 one thousand thousand (S$25 million)? That record-breaking sum was achieved in Oct 2022 by the Rolex "Paul Newman" Daytona Reference 6239.
At US$17.8 million, it was – and still is – the most 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 take 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 boilerplate spending of a few yard dollars on a unmarried purchase in the past, we are now seeing… spending in the tens of thousands and more than on a watch.
"The sale of the 'Paul Newman' Daytona… was like 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 October. "Information technology single-handedly made that type of punch – the Panda punch – very of import. At present, watches in that genre are commanding top dollar across the board. We discover steel Daytonas with Panda dials fetching anywhere from US$125,000 to U.s.a.$800,000."
Every bit Alexandre Bigler, a consultant at Christie'south Hong Kong Watch Department, put it: "Today, having money in the banking company doesn't get y'all anything. On the contrary, it might price you lot. There's a lot of cash in the marketplace, and [people] don't desire to shop information technology. They'd rather put information technology in something they can savor."
And that something is vintage watches. "Vintage watches are 'safe'," added Bigler. "If you're a newcomer on the stock market place, what practice you do? You buy what'south safe. You get for the blue chips. They perform well, and at to the lowest degree y'all're not going to go burned."
SURGING GLOBAL DEMAND
While it'south difficult to gauge the entirety of the market, Bigler estimates its value – at least in the auction realm – at effectually US$350 million. Jonathan Tee, founder of local vintage watch specialist Passions Watch, puts the figure at somewhere betwixt United states of america$200 one thousand thousand to U.s.$500 million.
"We'll never know [the total value] because many transactions are unaccounted for," said Tee. "In contempo years, a lot of collectors, some dealers and privateers take moved to merchandise on social media, such equally Facebook, Carousell and Instagram."
Regardless of how large the market is, there's no dubiety that the demand for vintage watches is huge and growing. So much so that homegrown, public-listed pawnshop Maxi-Greenbacks held its countdown "pre-loved timepiece festival", Faces of Time, in September.
"We noticed that every time people come in to trade watches, or when there are unredeemed [watches] – which means they've been pledged but not redeemed – they get snapped up almost immediately when we put it in the store. That shows that in that location's a very stiff demand for pre-owned watches," offered Maxi-Cash CEO Ng Leok Cheng.
Another reason for the demand: The scarcity of watches on the chief market. In other words, when consumers tin can't get their desired watches first-mitt. This is due to two factors: Manufacturers deliberately restricting the supply to drive up demand, and the long waiting listing for popular models.
Today, having money in the bank doesn't get you lot anything. On the contrary, it might cost you lot.
"Some watches have 5- or eight-year waiting lists," said Ng, naming models similar the Rolex GMT-Main Two, affectionately known as "Pepsi" and "Batman" depending on the colour of their bezels (red and blue or black and blue). "A lot of customers are not willing to wait. They have the cash, and they want to wearable it at present."
Their fervour comes at a price.
"The hottest model correct now is a steel Daytona with blackness bezel. The pre-owned asking cost is almost S$30,000. Nosotros only sold one for S$26,000. At an authorised dealer, they're but asking S$sixteen,000 to S$eighteen,000," said Ng. The recommended retail price (RRP) listed on rolex.com is S$16,600.
Halfway effectually the world, Rolex is also a top performer. On the models that receive the most attention as well the Daytona, Betteridge's La Du offered: "Annihilation in the Professional Series, which includes the GMT-Master, Submariner, Explorer and Yacht-Primary, is very much in demand. Every bit Rolex has reduced the availability of those watches, it's created an upward inertia. Everybody wants to buy them."
"Patek Philippes and Audemars Piguets are also hot," Ng added. "[Audemars Piguet] Imperial Oak Offshores are going up [in price] similar crazy. We also go a lot of enquiries for the [Patek Philippe Nautilus] References 5711 and 5712. The waitlist is perhaps two to three years."
La Du had a similar story. "I just had a client who came dorsum from Patek Philippe's Place Vendome shop in Paris, and the first affair the sales assistant had told him was, 'Practise you accept 10 years to wait?' He was really shocked."
Tom Chng, founder of the Singapore Watch Order, noted that the tables have turned. "Traditionally, you'd buy the Nautiluses and Aquanauts to build towards a higher-end complexity [model]. But now, you'd need to buy a Perpetual Calendar to get on the listing to buy a Nautilus! That's ridiculous. Things take completely flipped around."
WILL THE BUBBLE BURST?
With the potential to brand a handsome turn a profit – in some cases, doubling the principal with models similar the Rolex Daytona or the Patek Philippe Nautilus – it's no surprise that enthusiasts are increasingly seeing vintage watches as less of a hobby than a form of fiscal investment. Some accept turned to reselling to brand a quick buck.
"Many collectors are now flippers, buying watches every bit an asset and selling in an instant following trends and prices," observed Tee.
With speculative behaviour rife, is a chimera imminent? And, maybe more importantly, will the bubble flare-up?
Many collectors are now flippers, buying watches as an nugget and selling in an instant following trends and prices.
Chng believes then. "I definitely think that this is what we're looking at. The [Nautilus] Reference 5711 is a very nice lookout. Merely when y'all compare information technology with other watches at similar price points, yous'll wonder why you lot're paying S$70,000 for a steel sports picket that'due south not exactly rare or discontinued."
The lookout'south RRP is S$39,300. "It's just a matter of fourth dimension before people start to question this [logic]," Chng added. "[For Due south$70,000], y'all could buy a complication model from a brand with a similar heritage. Perchance non every bit hot, merely in the same league. When people start realising that, the market volition start to normalise."
While waiting for the fever to dice down, Chng believes information technology's a good time to choice up pieces that accept been overlooked past other collectors, such as the Audemars Piguet Star Wheel, 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 "Once y'all care for it like an investment, you lose the soul of collecting… There is picayune true love and every bit a result, brands ascension and fall like seasons change… Once you want to treat [vintage sentry collecting] like a portfolio, and then yous'll have to go your charts out and start a programme with a fund," he said.
READ: How to collect watches as an investment: Tips from the globe's foremost lookout man auctioneer
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/style/vintage-watches-less-a-hobby-more-a-financial-investment-238836
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