An owners guide to the pre-owned watch market

rolex_daytona_with_leather_strap.fw So you've decided to enter the luxury watch market and have perused a few pre owned watches for sale. How do you know what is a good price? Can you determine whether the watch you're considering is a decent investment or something you should pass on?

Greater Transparency Across the Board

Thankfully, it's now much easier for relatively new watch buyers in the UK to find their way into and around the used watch market and understand where the particular model they're considering stands. Much of the confusion that surrounds this huge and often expensive section of the watch market is removed thanks to information that's available via the internet. Previously, it was difficult to tell how much a watch was worth, with buyers and sellers relying on the word of one or two dealers they could reach on the high street. This gave dealers a distinct advantage, which they no longer have. With used watch prices becoming more transparent, resale watch prices on some models have become lower. Does this mean either buyers or sellers can let down their guard? No, not at all. Despite there being more used watches changing hands through online auction sites than ever before, there's still the need to recognise the difference in value between used and new watches. You need to understand what drives up the prices, or conversely what causes a watch to lose value. In the car market simply driving the car off the forecourt reduces its value, and similarly second-hand watches lose value over against new counterparts as soon as they are bought.

Quick Returns vs. Long-Term Investment

The way to combat the short-term losses is to choose models that have collectible value. If you're buying as an investment, rather than from a simple desire to own a prestigious watch, choosing models with a proven track record for holding their value, and even increasing in resale value as time passes, is the way to ensure a more secure investment. The Rolex Daytona, for instance, has a keen following, and as time passes more model numbers fall into the rarer categories. The earliest series watches are the most valuable of all, commanding prices in the hundreds of thousands of pounds. Watch buyers in the UK are best advised to research previous sale values and compare prices over a number of years. The availability of this information on the internet makes it a relatively straightforward operation. Similarly, watch enthusiast forums can be a mine of information, but take everything written in such venues with a pinch of salt and double-check all information. Reputable online dealers will still value watches, giving those seeking pre owned watches for sale an additional starting point if you really don't know where to start.