Rolex and used price increases..

techguy

Hello
I'm thinking about buy myself a Rolex. I've grown to love them and it has been between Rolex and Breitling. While I like the Chronomat 44, I like the idea that a Rolex is like holding cash (would have actually fared better post brexit vote ) and they can be sold easily and retain value well i've been told.
Do they really hold their value that well and do the actually increase? It's all well and good if that is the case but can they also be easily sold?
For example, if I manage to get my hands on a green steel Submariner, what would I likely sell that for on the used market and is it easy to find buyers?
You could be forgiven for thinking I am setting out to start flipping watches as a sideline. That is not the case, i'm just wondering if I drop £6/7k on a watch I can get a reasonable portion of that back if needs be, if that makes sense.
I'm based in London if that makes a different (market wise). Thanks.

Bluefoam

I wouldn't buy a watch based on how much I could sell it for... that just doesn't make sense to me.

If you can afford a watch you like, then buy it. If you have to worry if you can recoup your costs then you're boxing above your weight. On the other hand, if you are a knowledgeable horologist & understand timepieces, markets and values... Why not use your knowledge to make a few quid and to get watches into the hands of those who want them... You don't strike me as the latter. Buying a Rolex is like buying a Volkswagen... It cost more than another brand that does the same thing, it's resale value is slightly more than other comparable models of the same age and function, but that is built into the original purchase price.

BTW, the watch market is highly reliant on the financial markets (particularly in London), especially Christmas bonuses. With Brexit coming, banks leaving the UK, others staying but not knowing whats going on, bonuses won't be what they have been for a couple of years. Bankers will not have the same job security so the overall market will be effected.

Buy the watch you can afford watch and enjoy it... If you think your financial situation will mean you have to sell it in a few years to recoup the cost, then you can't afford it. If you think you'll be bored of it in two years and will have to sell it, then it's not right for you in the first place. Make good strong decisions and don't regret them...

Cyrus

to answer the question, if you can get your hands on a Sub LV (presume ceramic, the pre ceramic are getting very expensive), if everything remains as it is you should generally be able to sell it for retail give or take 10%.

the reason that they can increase in values are generally 3 fold:

price increase by rolex increases RRP and thus increases second hand values
scarcity means certain watches can trade at a premium, daytona GMT BLNR and Sub C LV
finally certain watches become desirable as time passes for some bizarre reason like the 4 on the bezel is different and they only made 1000 with this flat 4 or some other nonsense

if you buy a breitling and its not at at least 30% discount you will take a bath

techguy

Bluefoam wrote: »

I wouldn't buy a watch based on how much I could sell it for... that just doesn't make sense to me.

If you can afford a watch you like, then buy it. If you have to worry if you can recoup your costs then you're boxing above your weight. On the other hand, if you are a knowledgeable horologist & understand timepieces, markets and values... Why not use your knowledge to make a few quid and to get watches into the hands of those who want them... You don't strike me as the latter. Buying a Rolex is like buying a Volkswagen... It cost more than another brand that does the same thing, it's resale value is slightly more than other comparable models of the same age and function, but that is built into the original purchase price.

BTW, the watch market is highly reliant on the financial markets (particularly in London), especially Christmas bonuses. With Brexit coming, banks leaving the UK, others staying but not knowing whats going on, bonuses won't be what they have been for a couple of years. Bankers will not have the same job security so the overall market will be effected.

Buy the watch you can afford watch and enjoy it... If you think your financial situation will mean you have to sell it in a few years to recoup the cost, then you can't afford it. If you think you'll be bored of it in two years and will have to sell it, then it's not right for you in the first place. Make good strong decisions and don't regret them...

I see your points but.. I'm not necessarily thinking of buying a watch based on it's future resale value. It is a mere consideration, i'm curious about selling in the future. You see it's not all about having to recoup costs to cover financial difficulty. Some say nothing is forever and I may turn to dislike the watch and favour another in the future. It is not uncommon for people to sell watches to finance another.
I agree with the Brexit situation here. And I also do make strong decisions and don't regret anything thus far but thanks. Re: Affording one of these, i'm buying this with bonus money that I never banked on coming in.

Cyrus wrote: »

to answer the question, if you can get your hands on a Sub LV (presume ceramic, the pre ceramic are getting very expensive), if everything remains as it is you should generally be able to sell it for retail give or take 10%.

the reason that they can increase in values are generally 3 fold:

price increase by rolex increases RRP and thus increases second hand values
scarcity means certain watches can trade at a premium, daytona GMT BLNR and Sub C LV
finally certain watches become desirable as time passes for some bizarre reason like the 4 on the bezel is different and they only made 1000 with this flat 4 or some other nonsense

if you buy a breitling and its not at at least 30% discount you will take a bath

Cheers dude. What's the story with Breitling. I read online that ADs can often give pretty steep discounts, whats this about? Could I get 30% or more off in IRL? What re Weirs (Dublin) and Keanes (Limerick) like to deal with for discount do you know?

Thanks

Cyrus

techguy wrote: »

I see your points but.. I'm not necessarily thinking of buying a watch based on it's future resale value. It is a mere consideration, i'm curious about selling in the future. You see it's not all about having to recoup costs to cover financial difficulty. Some say nothing is forever and I may turn to dislike the watch and favour another in the future. It is not uncommon for people to sell watches to finance another.
I agree with the Brexit situation here. And I also do make strong decisions and don't regret anything thus far but thanks. Re: Affording one of these, i'm buying this with bonus money that I never banked on coming in.

Cheers dude. What's the story with Breitling. I read online that ADs can often give pretty steep discounts, whats this about? Could I get 30% or more off in IRL? What re Weirs (Dublin) and Keanes (Limerick) like to deal with for discount do you know?

Thanks

id be amazed if you got 30% off in weirs to be honest, and i dont even know if it would be worth the hassle.

id find the one i liked from a trusted seller on chrono24 and take a nice trip to italy to collect it

Eoin

techguy wrote: »

I see your points but.. I'm not necessarily thinking of buying a watch based on it's future resale value. It is a mere consideration, i'm curious about selling in the future. You see it's not all about having to recoup costs to cover financial difficulty. Some say nothing is forever and I may turn to dislike the watch and favour another in the future. It is not uncommon for people to sell watches to finance another.

I totally agree. Just because you don't want to write off a large chunk of the purchase price, doesn't mean it's unaffordable.

For what it's worth, I've been keeping an eye on 2nd hand Rolex submariner prices over the last couple of years, and while they rarely drop below 3K (and that's for a pretty tired example, sometimes on a leather strap), I did notice that the SubC did dip for a while - as low as £3800 at one stage. Same for the Explorer II 42mm. You can add on another 25% easily now most likely, they're probably the guts of 1K more now.

That's quite a lot of fluctuation and at the time I think that was pre-Brexit stuff.

I am sure some models will hold their value much better though.

Bluefoam

I've approached Weirs, Paul Sheerans & Fields for discounts in Ireland... None would budge. In fact I have a 10% discount card for Fields and they wouldn't honor it on a decent watch....

I buy my watches heavily discounted, but I've been very lucky in finding the watch that I want at the right price. While I was browsing in the IWC Boutique in Singapore, they offered me 30%, even without me indicating whether I was interested in purchasing or not...

Rolex are notorious for not allowing discounts. I think the days of getting discounts are a thing of the past, flooding the market with grey stock has been proven to be bad for business and the industry in general. The watch makers are now controlling the sale and the price of their product as closely as possible... Even the US market, where 20% discount was considered standard seems to be becoming more ridged. Your best bet may be to work off currency values rather than discounts.

There is a US (authorized dealer) source that is generally willing to beat their competitors... If you want details PM me. But You'll have to deal with customs and tax or not...