1、Luxury Preowned Watches,Your Time Has Come March 2023By Pierre Dupreelle,Sarah Willersdorf,Nicolas Llinas,Matthias Schuler,and Jim Brennan1 LUXURY PREOWNED WATCHES,YOUR TIME HAS COMELuxury Preowned Watches,Your Time Has ComeLuxury watches are in demand as alternative investments.Buyers are paying hi

2、gh premiums for preowned models from top brands such as Rolex,Patek Philippe,and Aude-mars Piguet,as well as from leading independents such as F.P.Journe and De Bethune,with the expectation that the value of these watches will continue to rise.They have reason to believe.Luxury watches have per-form

3、ed well,especially over the long term,in comparison with traditional investment categories.From August 2018 to January 2023,average prices in the secondhand market for top models from the three largest luxury brandsRolex,Patek Philippe,and Audemars Piguetrose at an annual rate of 20%,despite broader

4、 market downturns during the pandemic,compared with an annual rate of 8%for the S&P 500 index.Although prices declined during 2022,echoing declining stock market and cryptocurrency exchanges,watches have performed well relative to stocks.Luxury watch prices also outperformed the S&P during the 20072

5、009 recession and took less than two years to recov-er from the 2008 market crash,while many traditional financial categories and consumer products categories took longer.(See Exhibit 1.)The positive financial performance has attracted new buy-ers,fueling market growth.Preowned watch sales reached$2

6、2 billion in 2021,accounting for nearly one-third of the overall$75 billion luxury watch market.The segment is growing faster than the firsthand market,and that trend is likely to continue.(See Exhibit 2).The Investment Market for Watches Is GrowingThe secondhand watch market once evoked images of b