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The Resale Report
Which watch brands and models are the most likely to appear on resale sites?
It’s no secret that building your own luxury watch collection can be an expensive hobby. Fortunately, resale sites mean luxury watches don’t have to come with a luxury price tag.
The global pre-owned luxury watch market is worth over £17 billion, showing just how many people take advantage of resellers. Whether you’re looking for iconic men’s watches , such as the Montblanc Villeret or Patek Philippe Calatrava, or you’re searching for classic women’s watches, like the Cartier Panthère or Bvlgari Serpenti, there’s a whole range of brands to choose from.
Some of the rarest commercially available timepieces like the Patek Philippe 1518 or the Paul Newman Rolex Daytona can fetch hundreds of thousands on the resale market thanks to their scarcity, making them very profitable investment opportunities. But which watch brands and models are the most likely to appear on resale sites?
As well as revealing what the most commonly listed watches are, we will also showcase the most-wanted pre-owned watch brands by comparing Google search data to understand what watch lovers are really searching for.
We’ll also be offering some expert commentary on how to choose the perfect pieces for investing and resale ambitions, for those who are wanting to either start or develop their luxury watch collection.
Rolex is the Most Commonly Listed Watch Brand on Resale Sites
1. Rolex
Storming to the top spot of the most commonly listed watch brands on resale sites is Rolex, with over 62,000 listings. The company was founded in 1905 by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis, before officially becoming Rolex in 1908, and is now possibly the most iconic watch brand of all time. Rolex has been the official timekeeper for the Le Mans 24 Hours motor race since 2001 and has been advertised by the former Formula 1 driver Jackie Stewart since 1968.
62,215
Listings on resale sites
2. Omega
In second place is Omega, which has over 22,000 listings on resale sites. The Swiss luxury watchmaker was founded in 1848 by Louis Brandt and previously operated under the name La Generale Watch Co., before incorporating the name Omega in 1903. The company has been the official timekeeper of the Olympics since 1932 and was the main partner of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
22,209
Listings on resale sites
3. Cartier
The third most commonly listed watch brand on resale sites is Cartier, with almost 13,000 listings. The company, which was founded in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier, is known for selling various luxury items such as watches, jewellery and leather goods. In 1904, Brazilian aeronaut Alberto Santos-Dumont requested a watch from Louis Cartier, which led to the creation of the first men’s wristwatch, the Santos de Cartier.
12,806
Listings on resale sites
The Rolex Datejust is the Most Commonly Listed Watch Model on Resale Sites
1. Rolex Datejust
Storming to the top spot yet again is the iconic Rolex brand, whose Datejust model has almost 21,500 listings on resale sites and sells for between £3,510 and £41,970 on average.
Rolex’s Datejust model was created in 1945 and made history within the watchmaking world by becoming the first self-winding waterproof chronometer wristwatch to feature a date window. During the same year, a special Jubilee bracelet for the Datejust was created to commemorate Rolex’s Jubilee (40-year) anniversary. Over the years, the model has also been spotted on the wrists of major historical figures including former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the 34th U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and civil rights activist Martin Luther King.
21,478
Listings on resale sites
2. Omega Seamaster
The watch model with the second highest number of listings on resale sites is the Omega Seamaster, with 8,263 listings and sells for between £2,820 and £53,410 on average.
Omega first introduced the Seamaster model back in 1948, with its design enabling divers to explore safely and accurately. The model is extremely water resistant and can withstand deep water pressure, meaning that divers can be sure that their watch will be durable underwater. In addition to this, the luminescent watch face makes it easy for the divers to read when conditions shift. Omega’s Seamaster model has also been dubbed the ‘James Bond watch’, as they have been worn by the character in all films since 1995.
8,263
Listings on resale sites
3. Rolex Submariner
Making another appearance on the list is Rolex, this time with their Submariner watch model, which has 6,686 listings across three popular resale sites and will set collectors back by between £7,480 and £83,940 on average.
Rolex’s Submariner model was launched back in 1953 and was the first divers' wristwatch to be waterproof to a depth of 100 metres. As the model has been developed over the years, it is now waterproof to a depth of 300 metres. The unidirectional and rotatable bezel of the Submariner model helps divers to monitor their time underwater and is made from a corrosion-resistant ceramic. This means that it is virtually scratchproof and the colour of the watch is unaffected by ultraviolet rays, seawater or chlorinated water.
6,686
Listings on resale sites
KEY:
Lowest model price
Highest model price
Total no. of watches on resale sites
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Rolex is the Most-Wanted Pre-Owned Watch Brand
1. Rolex
Topping the list for the third time, and therefore the most-wanted pre-owned watch brand is Rolex. There were 798,900 searches for pre-owned Rolex watches on Google between June 2022 and May 2023, including 386,600 searches for “used Rolex”, and 292,300 searches for “pre-owned Rolex”. In addition to this, there were also 108,000 searches for the term “used Rolex watch” and 12,000 searches for the term “pre-owned Rolex watch”.
798,900
Google searches
2. Omega
In second place is Omega, which received 117,640 Google searches between the specified dates. This included 66,400 searches for the phrase “used Omega watch”, and 20,100 searches for the phrase “pre-owned Omega”. There were also 19,200 searches for “used Omega”, and 11,940 searches for “pre-owned Omega watch”.
117,640
Google searches
3. Cartier
The third most-wanted pre-owned watch brand is Cartier, gathering 102,780 Google searches within the specified time period. There were 45,700 searches for the term “used Cartier watch”, and 31,800 searches for the term “pre-owned Cartier watch”. In addition to this, there were also 13,980 searches for “pre-owned Cartier”, and 11,300 searches for “used Cartier”.
102,780
Google searches
KEY:
No. of searches for "Pre-owned [BRAND] watch"
No. of searches for "Pre-owned [BRAND]"
No. of searches for "Used [BRAND] watch"
No. of searches for "Used [BRAND]"
Total no. of searches
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3 Top Tips on How to Choose and Care for Your Luxury Watch Collection
1
Set yourself a budget
One of the first things to do when starting your luxury watch collection is to set yourself a budget. Luxury watches can vary considerably in price, depending on things such as the brand, the intricacy of the design and whether any precious metals have been used. For example, you can find pre-owned watches from brands such as Longines and MeisterSinger for around the £1,000 mark.
Pre-owned Blancpain, Panerai and Tudor watches are great options for those wanting to stretch their budget a little more, and for anyone wanting to go really high-end, then brands such as Rolex, Omega and Patek Philippe are, of course, the most popular options.
It’s important to set your price range according to what you can realistically afford; there’s nothing wrong with curating your luxury watch collection, and carefully choosing the highest quality watches within your price range.
2
Find your style
There are so many different styles of watches to choose from that it can sometimes be overwhelming to make a selection, but there are particular features of watch styles that set them apart from the others and make them a lot more lucrative on the resale market. For example, the Rolex Day-Date fetches a high resale price thanks to being almost exclusively crafted from 18 carat gold or 950 part platinum. Diving watches like the Omega Seamaster can vary drastically in price depending on the number of features included, as smaller models forgo the helium escape valve and chronograph, making it half the price of larger models. So remember to take the time to research the features of each watch style and decide which ones are the best investment for you.
3
Take good care of any watches that you purchase
One of the most important things when building a luxury watch collection is to take good care of your timepieces. Not only does this ensure that your watches will always look their best and be operating properly, but it also increases your chances of being able to resell in the future, if you decide to. Some tips on how to care for your watch include being mindful of water, heat and magnets, cleaning your watch regularly and ensuring that you’re reaching any hard-to-access places, and getting it serviced. You can find more tips on how to care for your luxury watches by visiting our blog.
Methodology
We began by creating a comprehensive list of 50 luxury watch brands, including the likes of Rolex, Omega, Cartier and Patek Philippe. We did this by using the websites of some of the most popular watch retailers, including Watch Pilot and Goldsmiths
Next, we used three retail sites for pre-owned watches, Watchbox, Chrono24, and Watchfinder, to find out how many listings there were for each luxury brand. All data was collected on 13th June 2023 and therefore may now differ.
We then used sources such as Gear Patrol, Gentlemans Gazette, Wrist Enthusias, and The Trend Spotter, to create a list of 50 of the best and most iconic watch models.
After this, we used Watchbox, Chrono24, and Watchfinder again to discover how many listings there were for each watch model. We also gathered the average prices of the least and most expensive variants of each model. All data was collected on 14th June 2023 and therefore may now differ.
Finally, we used Google Keyword Planner to discover how many searches there were for each brand for the following search terms: “pre-owned [BRAND] watch”, “pre-owned [BRAND]”, “used [BRAND] watch”, and “used [BRAND]”. This helped us to determine which pre-owned luxury watch brand was the most wanted. All data was collected on 15th June 2023, for the time period between June 20233 and May 2023, and therefore may now differ. No data was available for Certina, MeisterSinger, Nomos Glashütte or Roamer.
