Unlocking the Trends: Insider Takes on Pre-Owned Watches

The secondary watch market is a fascinating beast. Over the last decade it has been growing strongly year on year. The market place for pre owned watches was valued at 24.38 Billion USD in 2023 and expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 9.2% between 2024 and 2030. But what is really going on out there? Its never easy to know — so I enlisted the support of five key players to give you there take on where we are currently in the market, what’s selling and what’s not as well as the under the radar “investment” picks. Enjoy. 

Daniel Somlo, Co-Owner, Somlo London  

What is your take on the current market?
After the craziness of the last few years I think the whole  industry has taken a step back to normalise. Certain watches were selling for far more than they ever had a right to and the subsequent crash of these 'hype' watches has shaken confidence in the modern market. However, for the vintage side, it has had an interesting effect: the age of the steel sports watch may finally be coming to a close and we have seen skyrocketing interest in smaller, more dress focused pieces. 

What’s moving? 
Modern fashionable watch sizes have been getting smaller and we've seen a big increase in interest for precious metal. This may go some way to explain the recent rise of Piaget and Cartier and their historic pieces. Likewise our omega dress pieces are a fantastic way to get into vintage watch collecting and they have seen a surge in popularity as appreciation in smaller sizes and the 'vintage look' has developed. Personally, I think this shift is long overdue and it's about time that these criminally undervalued watches get some attention!

Top under the radar watch to keep an eye out for?
One to definitely watch are the old 60s Omega constellations. The very best Omega had to offer at the time with fantastic movements and great styles. Easily the best way into a genta designed watch without the Royal Oak price tag... Although starting to gain traction now!

Tim Green, Head of Commercial, Subdial 

What is your take on the current market? 
On the face of it, the market has looked fairly weak for the last few months. Values of the Subdial x Bloomberg index are down 2.8% in the last six months (see pic), which is a continuation of the trend we've seen for some time now. However, the data on volume of transactions shows quite a different story. In contrast to values, transaction volumes are really quite healthy, and almost unwavering during the same period, despite the usual summer slowdown. In simple language, buyers are still picking up new watches, just at a lower, comparatively cheaper price point.

What’s moving? 
Low-to-medium value sports and dress watches. High-value items are much slower to transact, which is seemingly true of both the pre-owned and new market. In the UK, rare and interesting Cartier, Piaget, Chopard are still "hot" as buyers continue to look for pieces that express their individual character, as opposed to conforming to what others are sharing on Instagram as they have done in recent years.

What’s not and where are we going?
High value steel sports (Nautilus, Royal Oak and Overseas) that have not kept up with market pricing (!), and, disappointly, A. Lange & Shöne too... The gap between retail and pre-owned Lange prices continues to widen across the model range. As a result, once again, you can find some incredible value propositions on the market right now. We're optimistic about the future of the watch market. As interest rates in the UK begin to fall, and the "summer slowdown" comes to an end, the market conditions are ripe for improvement. We're seeing a growing number of collectors who are beginning to "buy the dip," in the hope that prices will begin to climb once again. Time will tell as to whether that's the right decision or not.

Top under the radar watch to keep an eye on?
Smaller, dressier, rare and "interesting" watches are certainly in vogue, as people look to the Tyler the Creator's of the world for inspiration. My personal pick is the Patek 96; the original and iconic Calatrava, which has flown under the radar for far too long. Gone are the days when 31mm is classed as "a ladies watch", it's time to embrace watch design in its purest form, and not care what your Offshore-wearing pals say. They'll be wearing them too in no time…

Ben Dunn, Owner, Watch Brothers London 

What is your take on the current market?
Experienced collectors are busy buying the best examples, whether that is in steadily growing markets such as Breguet where the top models still trade at a reasonable price or finally getting their hands on top "hype models" of old at considerable discounts. It is a buyers market right now and for 1980-2000’s pieces there is a lot of activity in terms of trading, collecting and scholarship. The modern market I am less familiar with but it seems there is a lot of stock and deals to be had. 

What’s moving? 
For me what’s really moving is in niche collecting circles that are slow burners but have solid organic growth, brands such as Breguet, Blancpain and 80/90’s AP/VC to some extent. These markets have a passionate and relatively small following, drawing in a different type of buyer/collector. Word of mouth, hands on experience and research drives these markets. Overall market growth here is slower of course as its not on the wrist of the hottest celeb but feels sustainable on many levels from the pricing to the type of buyer/collector.

What’s not and where are we going?
Honestly I have dabbled with some of the "pop culture" pieces such as Piaget and find them to be fairly terrible sellers, I would imagine it just doesn’t align with my audience however others appear to trade them ok. I’m seeing models such as 90’s Royal Oak and Daytona hitting new lows and sitting for a long time. Personally I’m now buying Royal Oaks as I now feel they represent value, in a number of areas, and you can collect the top/rare pieces for considerable discounts with many representing huge slices of horological and brand history. Cariter appears to be holding, not that I dabble much so my experience here is limited. Finally people are still "trying to be" unique in their collection, I say this with some hesitation as the hype wheel still continues to drive people in the same direction does it not? It is a very interesting time to be in the watch market, happy hunting!

Top under the radar watch to keep an eye out for?
Breguet reference 3350 or 3357. Not so unknown, however with Breguet still retailing the 3357 at almost 4x the price it can be found on the pre-owned market it feels a lot of watch for the money especially considering the horological importance of the Tourbillon, Daniel Roth’s work and the brand itself.

Oliver King, Owner, Patina Nationale

What is your take on the current market?
I think the vintage market is still buoyant, but more considered with more and more collectors and buyers I think consolidating their collections and looking for best offers and potential trades to help finance future purchases. I don’t see many continually just buying and buying. And I think service is a big contributing factor this year more than ever now with so many watches and options on the market. Buyers are looking to feel comfortable with who they buy from whether that’s a store or a dealer. The market has reset and once again there are great options to be had at prices far far less than a few years back, which is a good thing.

What’s moving?
Personally for me it's the usual suspects, vintage divers and military pieces, especially the slightly rarer stuff in great condition and with provenance. I’m in agreement on box and papers not being the deal breaker, but good genuine provenance with a military piece or diver can make the difference. I can’t get enough of these pieces but it's becoming more difficult to source genuine versions.

What’s not? Where are we going?
Newer pieces. 95% of my stock is vintage so I am fortunate, but I think with their being so many watches on the market currently, and new releases that seem to be happening every month it’s hard to be competitive so I leave that to other dealers. So many different platforms to buy on too, it’s great if you are a buyer as I think there are great prices to be had if you search around, especially in this climate. I think more of the same, maybe a softer reset on certain lines and brands, more re issues or manufactured collectibles from brands trying to ride the hype on certain references, when you can still find great options on the OG’S (Originals). I think the opportunity for collectors to perhaps get closer to a piece that was out of range maybe 2 / 3 years ago.

Top under the radar watch to keep an eye out for?
No surprises here, I’m going classic 4 digit classic Rolex Sports models, for instance a great example of a 5513 / 5512 / 1680 is a very different price to what it was 3 years ago. Some absolute beauties out there. Can’t go wrong with a vintage Tudor Submariner in Blue or Black either. Classics never date so that’s where I would be going. Tricky for me as I don’t buy many new watches but I’m always interested in what Tudor are releasing as they seem to be nailing it right now. And I can’t forget CWC from the UK I have a real soft spot for them. 

Eric Wind, Owner, Wind Vintage 

What is your take on the current market?
The market is interesting right now. I feel very blessed and fortunate that we are selling a lot of great watches and at a high volume. 

What’s moving? 
I think special vintage watches in great condition are selling well. We had a 3941J from 1989 with a pink doré dial that we just listed that sold within about less than a day, as an example. We have had a lot of demand for vintage Daytonas across references and GMT-Master reference 1675s, as well. Top quality examples in unpolished condition remain our bread and butter. 

Top under the radar watch to keep an eye out for?
I feel like vintage Submariners are a bit soft right now and offer a great value. The same is the case for vintage Speedmasters. I love vintage Heuer chronographs right now and feel they are also unloved right now. My best advice remains: condition, condition, condition trumps rarity, rarity, rarity. I think more and more people are taking that to heart.

Toby Sutton, Owner, Watches of Knightsbridge

What’s going on in the market?
Current market prices overall are trending down - only a few brands/models are bucking the trend. Vintage/rare watches holding better than modern. Far fewer speculators/investors buying now and we are seeing privates/collectors buying the watches they actually want or need!

What's Moving:
Cartier is the brand that has been bucking the trend over the past year or two -  vintage models are still highly sought after and hard to find. Also vintage Piaget, Boucheron, Breguet - most of which are still good value compared to new retail prices and they all have some great vintage pieces from the 1950s to 1980s.

What’s not where we going:
Modern watches I can only see trending down in price for the foreseeable future. Too many available on the pre-owned market. This will bottom out until prices become amazing value compared to new retail prices and some niche models/limited editions become sought after by collectors.

Top under the radar one to watch:
If you want a real outsiders bet then I would say Roy King - they were made in England with some very cool Cartier-Piaget esque designs in the 1970s/80s with swiss Bueche-Girod movements.