Time to buy some Watches.

[Butcher82]

Hey guys, I started to think about buying some luxury watches. The goal is to keep them for 3-5 years and then resell. Or maybe keep them further if they pick up more value and then sell and retire LOL
Has anyone been investing into the watches?
Have you been buying new or used ones? I am thinking of Patek, Rolex and Audemars.
Where to buy them new? I've called like 10 Rolex dealership in EU and they all have nothing or just 1 model for 30-50k, which I don't want to start with. I'd rather get 3-4 watches for 10k each to diversify. Are Patek and Audemars easy to buy in dealerships? Rolex is crazy with their policy of shortage.
Is Chrono24 a reliable place to buy and sell? Which watches are easier to sell and more liquid?
Guys, please share your experience to the new watches hunter LOL

 

[icecold]

Was looking into the same years ago, never got further with the idea.

You wait 1 - 2 years for a Rolex. They artificially keep supplies low to drive the price up, just like they do with diamonds.

 

[Butcher82]

You wait 1 - 2 years for a Rolex.

Yeah I hate to wait 1-2 years to have the honor to give them 10k Want to buy it now.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

And some people say those who buy btc are crazy
Why should you pay thousands of $ for an object that costs just a few hundreds to produce and performs its function poorly?

 

[Butcher82]

Why should you pay thousands of $ for an object that costs just a few hundreds to produce and performs its function poorly?

Well because it's cost rises. just as an investment.
I donno how much it cost Da Vinci to draw Mona Lisa, those paints didn't cost much. But it costs probably 1B now

 

[JohnnyDoe]

Well because its cost rises. just as an investment.

If you like to call it that way

I donno how much it cost Da Vinci to draw Mona Lisa, those paints didn't cost much. But it costs probably 1B now

I can’t believe I just read this.

 

[Butcher82]

I can’t believe I just read this.

what's wrong with that?

 

[daniels27]

Is Chrono24 a reliable place to buy and sell? Which watches are easier to sell and more liquid?

Don't think it is where the main business happens.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

what's wrong with that?

Nothing wrong. Comparing a mass produced poorly working useless piece of junk with one of humanity’s greatest masterpieces is a clear reflection of the decline of society.

 

[icecold]

There is essentially no difference between the Mona Lisa painting and a Rolex. One is paper and ink, and the other is metal and a bit of glass.

So if you think a watch costing hundreds of thousands or more is useless (I agree), then one could also say that a piece of paper and some ink worth a billion or more is equally useless.

Btw. chrono24.com is a high trafficated website with a lot of sellers and byers, you need to know what you are doing.

 

[cherry]

I almost dabbled with this as a side hustle, then eventually stuck with gold rings - Less moving parts to worry about, and can flip more quickly. Still would be interested in people's knowledge of Rolex flipping... What to look out for, what types, etc.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

There is essentially no difference between the Mona Lisa painting and a Rolex.

I’m done

 

[daniels27]

There is essentially no difference between the Mona Lisa painting and a Rolex. One is paper and ink, and the other is metal and a bit of glass.

So if you think a watch costing hundreds of thousands or more is useless (I agree), then one could also say that a piece of paper and some ink worth a billion or more is equally useless.

Btw. chrono24.com is a high trafficated website with a lot of sellers and byers, you need to know what you are doing.

Only difference is that there is 1 Mona Lisa and about 1 billion Rolexes on the market, most of which already now quite worthless.

 

[Butcher82]

I’m done

It is all about the Personal Opinion. Someone will die for Mona Lisa. Someone will die for Rolex and doesn't even know Mona Lisa exists. More people will die for Rolex. Like people sell kidleys for iPhones LOL. Let's monetize it. Unfortunately I can't resell Mona Lisa. (I wish I could. )

 

[Butcher82]

Rolex flipping

From what I have read Patek and Audemars add value better with time. They are more expensive to enter though.

 

[daniels27]

It is all about the Personal Opinion. Someone will die for Mona Lisa. Someone will die for Rolex and doesn't even know Mona Lisa exists. More people will die for Rolex. Like people sell kidleys for iPhones LOL. Let's monetize it. Unfortunately I can't resell Mona Lisa. (I wish I could. )

Then how about you keep selling kidneys and livers to the Japanese Yakuza?

 

[Butcher82]

Then how about you keep selling kidneys and livers to the Japanese Yakuza?

How come you decided I do that? I gave an example that people sell their kidneys to buy iphones. Which might be super useless to you and others will die for them. And it happened in China, not Japan.

 

[daniels27]

How come you decided I do that? I gave an example that people sell their kidneys to buy iphones. Which might be super useless to you and others will die for them. And it happened in China, not Japan.

Well, if @JohnnyDoe is done it usually is better to act fast.

 

[icecold]

When I was looking into collecting those kinds of watches a few years ago, I decided to only buy from authorized dealers so I wouldn’t risk being scammed on authenticity or potential defects. Above all, the watch is more likely to retain its value if you don’t wear it.

As for buying truly rare watches, that’s not going to happen with the budget you’re talking about. 10K for a watch is nothing, especially not for the rare ones, which sometimes sell for 100K or even 400K and up.

 

[apres777]

Buying watches can be great but is it really an investment I guess it depends.

I bought some Rolex Models (2018 - 2022) nothing crazy, mostly their steel watches. Them telling you they don't have a watch is BS. (Pretty much every watch for Rolex is obtainable besides the Platinum ones they are actually rarely delivered to the retailers.)

It depends mostly where you live and how much "time" you got. You can stop by the store every couple of weeks and I'm certain they will sell you watch over time as long as you don't seem too interested in flipping it asap and make a good appearance. A good relationship to the retailer is essential, therefore I wouldn't start straight to flip but rather develop this relationship and then slowly you can start to "off-load" some of your "unwanted" pieces.

Within recent years Greece has been a good place to buy watches for retail. (Retailers often had good stock willing to sell to you even as a tourist)

I wouldn't buy watches for crazy grey market prices, a lot of people who bought into the "hype" market especially more expensive models lost a ton of money.

So if you can get your hands on one for retail great go for it, you have something nice you can enjoy and maybe make some money on the side but purely for investing I think other options are more suitable.

Unless of course you're really familiar with the market and run it as your "main" business.

Start with Rolex Steel Models (maybe some Datejust 41 or a Sub or GMT if you can get your hands on those)

As a "watch newbie" you can forget Patek and Audemars, they are way more selective and won't sell to you as a "beginner" for retail. Both brands are also way stricter than Rolex tracking down the watches you might have sold and tend to blacklist you fast. (AP mostly sells through their own stores nowadays and therefore track sales and serial numbers more precisely)