As Demand for Luxury Watches Outpaces Supply, the Secondhand Market Is Booming—Here's How and What to Buy
Buying a new luxury watch might not be as simple as you think, especially if you have a sought-after model in mind, such as a specific Rolex or Patek Philippe. Walk into a store to do so, and you might well be faced with a scant offering in the cases, and the reality of long – highly competitive – waiting lists.
To put things in perspective, a watch dealer described to me the sales job he loved as morphing into that of a bad-tempered receptionist: “I just pick up the phone and say no all day long.”
Even watches without eye-watering price tags can be difficult to secure, as the furore surrounding the recent Audemars Piguet x Swatch collaboration demonstrated. Riots outside Swatch stores around the world on launch day, including in London and Birmingham, forced the brand to close its shops.
While you navigate the lengthy waiting lists and search for an easier way to acquire the luxury watch you desire, may we suggest going vintage? Not only does this give you access to leading luxury brands and collectible models, but there is also a good chance you'll find a great deal. Here's what you need to know.
The first step is deciding where to buy, and with the market for pre-owned watches booming, there is lots of choice. For those of us who love the in-store experience, most traditional jewellers and watch stores now offer vintage watches alongside new timepieces. This can be a great way to buy from a local store that you trust, and many will offer guarantees or service plans. For example, Pragnell, which has stores in London and Stratford-upon-Avon, offers a two-year guarantee on all its pre-owned watches for peace of mind. “Our team has extensive horological knowledge, and we thoroughly assess each timepiece for authenticity, service, cleaning, and polishing to ensure the highest quality,” notes managing director Charlie Pragnell.
Another option, and one that is great for quick access to a wide variety of watches or for finding specific hard-to-come-by models, is to buy online at a dedicated digital marketplace such as Watchfinder or Chrono24. These sites allow you to sell and buy watches, and have huge databases of listings – Chrono24 claims it is used by 9 million watch lovers every month. eBay is also heavily invested in watches now, with its listings of jewellery and watches increasing 20% in the first quarter of this year, and many of those for serious models from Omega, Cartier, Rolex and Patek Philippe. With eBay, you can also treat it like a piggy bank, selling enough of your old items and keeping the cash banked as you save up for a luxury watch. Or you can use it to sell one watch to help you trade up to a new one.
Should you enjoy the thrill of the bid, auctions are another fantastic source for watches. Auction houses are a mixed bag, however, and you should pick your vendor carefully if you are not a watch expert. A lower-tier auctioneer specialising in house clearances might turn up a bargain, but you could similarly end up with a dud. “Finding someone trustworthy and with a decent reputation is paramount,” advises Tom Heap, senior watch specialist at Christie’s. “Buy the seller, as they say.” Going along to auction sale previews when you can is not just important to assess the quality of what you might bid on, it is also fun and a less pressured shopping environment than traditional retail. “There is no hard sell,” explains Charles Tearle, head of watches at auctioneer Lyon & Turnbull. “If you walk into a retailer, a lot of people feel obliged to take out a credit card and buy something. You cannot do that with an auction [preview]. You can try on as much as you want, and then if you like it you have the opportunity to bid – if it goes too high, that's okay; if you buy it for what you want, great.” Tearle advises that if you are keen on a watch at a preview, ask the auctioneer what they think it will go for on the day, and always request a condition report – that way, you will know for sure whether the watch is in working order or not.
Which vintage watches are the best investment?The golden rule of vintage watch buying is to first and foremost buy what you love. As Tom Heap at Christie’s says: “It is important to remember, it is an avenue of pleasure”. That being said, if you are buying with an eye on future resale or long-term value, there are some relatively safe bets. At Christie’s, Heap says that collectors often bid for classic Rolex Datejusts or Cartier Tank Louis models as they “do tend to have an established market if you ever decide to sell or trade up”.
At Watchfinder, it is similarly the big brands that are considered safe havens. “If I had to single out one ‘safe’ buy, it would be the Rolex Lady-Datejust,” says UK country manager Ben Staniforth. “Rolex continues to dominate the secondary market in terms of both resale stability and liquidity, and the Datejust has enjoyed decades of uninterrupted desirability. It is classic, versatile, relatively straightforward to service, and consistently easy to resell – all qualities that matter when considering long-term value retention.”
Prices on the secondary market are dictated by demand, so popular watches command higher prices. In its Watchlist Trend Report, eBay lists six of the top-growing watch models in 2026, based on a combination of sales price and category listing growth. The Patek Philippe Nautilus is up 154% on its ranking system, and all the other watches to make the list are by Cartier, with the Demoiselle up 80%, the Tank Américane up 43%, the Tank Française up 39%, the Baignore up 21%, and the Ballon Bleu up 23%. It would seem that the French maison is having a moment on the secondary watch market.
“We have seen an explosion in interest in vintage Cartier,” agrees Tom Heap at Christie’s. “They are so collectible as they’re very varied but always quite familiar and easier to approach for budding vintage collectors.” He also describes a resurgence in what he terms “neo vintage” watches, which date from the 1980s to mid 2000s, driven by younger collectors.
The ‘boyfriend watch’ trend of the 2000s is also back, according to Ben Staniforth at Watchfinder: “We’re seeing more clients gravitate towards pieces like the Rolex Datejust 31 or 36, Oyster Perpetuals, and even Royal Oaks and Nautilus models that traditionally may have been marketed more towards men.” Conversely, he says, there is also a trend for dainty styles – smaller case sizes and vintage styling such as hardstone dials and textured metals.
Watch brands discontinuing models can also cause a surge in popularity. Kirsty Keoghan, eBay’s GM of fashion and luxury in the EU, says that when Rolex called time on its GMT-Master II ‘Pepsi’ and its white gold Submariner ‘Cookie Monster’ (the unofficial nicknames relate to bezel colours) during Swiss watch show Watches and Wonders in April, she instantly saw a spike in searches for them. “Straight away, you suddenly see that [impact in] the secondary market because people are concerned that they're not going to have that watch as part of their collection because it won't be produced anymore,” she says.
How will I know if the watch is authentic?Buying on the secondary market comes with its risks, which makes choosing a store, marketplace or auction house you trust all the more important – as well as some sort of official authentication guarantee.
“With superfakes on the rise, expert authentication is more important than ever,” says Thomas Mummery, Watchfinder’s head of authentication. “At Watchfinder, each watch undergoes a rigorous 60-step inspection and authentication process by trained and accredited watchmakers, with tens of thousands of watches passing through our experts’ hands each year. Every watch also comes with a 24-month warranty for added reassurance.”
eBay has launched its own watch authentication service in partnership with independent London-based watch repair business Stoll & Co. Watches prices at £1,500 or more are automatically enrolled for this service, at no cost to the buyer or seller. A blue tick on the listing shows that it will go through this process.
Watchmakers check the timepieces against the listing to make sure they are as described, and also check to make sure they are authentic. If the watches pass the test, they are sent on to the buyer along with an NFC chip and QR code that guarantees it passed inspection. Since the launch of this service in 2020, eBay has verified 15 million items across all categories.
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