Pre-owned Luxury Watch Market Witnesses Smallest Price Decline in Years: Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier, and Omega Lead

In an unexpected - and encouraging - turn of market events, pricing in the pre-owned Swiss luxury watch sector exhibited relatively steady second-quarter behaviour. Major brands such as Patek Philippe, Rolex, Cartier, and Omega led this solid performance. In detailing this development, a recent report from Morgan Stanley, using secondary market data from WatchCharts, showed less of a decline in prices than expected. From April to the end of June, average prices slipped just 0.3% from the previous quarter - a mild improvement on the 0.4% decline from the first quarter. This slow-rate descent marks the best performing quarter for the market in the last three years. Specifically, the report points out performances of the four ‘Blue Chip’ brands. Pre-owned Rolex supply is finding equilibrium, and absorption rates are rebounding. Additionally, demand for mid-tier brands such as Cartier, Omega, and IWC Swiss watches has grown, hitting record levels in the second quarter. An attraction to these established, notable brands is responsible for this trend, as used watch buyers seem to be valuing brand prestige over lesser-known counterparts. For instance, Richemont’s Cartier watches saw a 0.9% price increase in this period, driven by robust demand for models like the Tank and Santos. However, the industry still faced challenges. For the 13th consecutive quarter since the post-pandemic zenith, prices for pre-owned Swiss watches slipped. 29 out of 35 Swiss brands tracked experienced more quarter-to-quarter negative performance during this period, and 25 reported an average price decrease of a minimum of 1%. Nevertheless, amidst these declines, Rolex and Omega, two industry giants, experienced an almost flat or minor fall in price changes, while Patek Philippe’s prices actually ascended by 1.1%. Crucially, these secondary market price developments offer substantial insights about a brand’s perceived equity value and strength among consumers. They serve as pivotal indicators of market health, given the highly discretionary and luxury nature of watch purchases. Presently, the sector is witnessing a surge in overall value retention. Despite the imposed US tariffs on Swiss, European, and Japanese imports, nearly all brands are pushing up US retail prices by 2% to 10%. This perpetuates overall stability and fosters competitiveness within the luxury watch industry. In conclusion, while the Swiss watch industry still has hurdles to overcome, the trend towards stabilisation, particularly among the top-tier brands, offers promising signals of the market’s resilience and enduring allure of luxury timepieces.