Certain Omega & Cartier Watches Are Now Outperforming Rolexes On The Pre-Owned Market
Mid-price luxury watch prices are surging.
(Omega)
Top-shelf timepieces from Rolex and Audemars Piguet are stylish solid investments, but current trends indicate that mid-priced luxury watches may offer the best returns on the secondary market.
According to the Bloomberg, prices of Omega and Cartier models are outperforming the most popular Rollies, Patek Phillipe and Audemars Piguet models on the secondary market.
The Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index, which tracks the 50 most traded pre-owned luxury watches by value, has fallen by 1.4 percent in the past month and 16 percent over the past year.
The financial media company posits that higher interest rates, unstable economic growth and the collapse of cryptocurrency values have contributed to an increased supply and widespread price drops in the luxury timepiece sector. However, citing data from UK-based used watch dealer Subdial, Bloomberg reports that a group of five watches have bucked the trend.
The racy Tag Heuer Caliber 16 has increased in value by a whopping 22 percent over the past year. The Cartier Santos 100 (up 19.4 percent), Cartier Santos Galbee 2960 (up 15.2 percent), Tudor Black Bay Dark (up 14.4 percent) and Omega Seamaster 36mm (up 12.6 percent) are all also performing exceptionally well.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Subdial co-founder Christy Davis said that the Omega Seamaster 36mm in particular, which currently fetches around $5,253, is seeing a surge in price because of its smaller size. The same is true for the $5,060 Santos Galbee, which measures a petite 28mm and also appeals to those seeking a “neo-vintage” look.
Even with the uptick in mid-tier watch values, the Rolex Datejust 36 was the top-performing model on the Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index over the past 30 days. The smaller-sized Swiss watch gained 3.4 percent in a single month to trade at around $10,200.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley have predicted that prices for the most in-demand Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet watches will continue to fall throughout 2023 as supply levels increase.