Rolex, Patek, and AP Are Fueling The Secondary Watch Market Boom

While brand boutiques continue raising retail prices and creating waiting lists that stretch for years, the secondary watch market has quietly evolved into a sophisticated financial ecosystem where serious money is being made and lost daily.

The old perception of “used watches” as the domain of dusty pawn shops and questionable dealers has given way to a legitimate investment arena where Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet trade like blue-chip stocks.

Morgan Stanley’s latest collaboration with WatchCharts reveals that Patek Philippe gained 1.1% quarter-over-quarter in Q2 2025, while Rolex showed resilience with just a 0.2% decline, demonstrating the stability that makes these brands attractive to serious investors.

The Secondary Watch Market in 2025

The numbers coming out of the secondary watch market paint a picture of explosive growth and increasing sophistication that’s catching the attention of institutional investors. EveryWatch’s pulse data from July 2025 shows transaction values surging 30.6% month-over-month, while listings jumped an impressive 46%, indicating both abundant supply and active buyer participation.

This combination suggests a healthy, liquid market where buyers can find inventory while sellers can achieve fair valuations.

Chrono24’s ChronoPulse Index provides additional context, showing that while 2024 ended relatively flat with just a 1% decline in Q2 2024, the overall price stability throughout 2024 has given way to more dynamic, brand-specific movements in 2025.

WatchCharts’ continuous tracking of 300 liquid references shows small monthly fluctuations but an encouraging six straight months of gains for Patek Philippe through September 2025, demonstrating the resilience of blue-chip watch investments.

The auction market continues reshaping access to trophy-grade timepieces, with major houses like Sotheby’s posting strong multi-sale totals throughout 2025. Sotheby’s Important Watches Geneva sale in May 2025 exemplified this trend, keeping high-end supply visible and ensuring transparent price discovery for the market’s most valuable segments.

Why Rolex, Patek, and AP Dominate Resale Value

The secondary watch market has evolved into what essentially amounts to a three-brand dictatorship, with Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet wielding pricing power that borders on market manipulation.

Data from Screwdowncrown.com reveals that without the top four brands—Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier, and Omega—the secondary market “would have looked like a proper disaster” in Q2 2025.

Deloitte’s research highlights how Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) program rollouts and heritage positioning have strengthened the pricing power of blue-chip brands throughout 2024 and 2025. These programs legitimize the secondary market while providing authentication and warranties that give mainstream buyers confidence to enter what was previously considered a specialist’s domain.

The result is expanded demand for the same limited supply of premium timepieces.

Model-level analysis through Chrono24’s brand and model indices shows remarkable consistency in appreciation patterns, with certain references from these top brands delivering steady gains while competitors struggle for relevance.

Are Secondary Watches Becoming a Mainstream Investment?

Deloitte’s research reveals that one in five consumers now explicitly view watches as investments, a fundamental reframing that changes everything about how these objects are bought, sold, and valued.

The professionalization of watch market data has reached Wall Street levels of sophistication, with WatchCharts Market Index, Chrono24’s ChronoPulse, and Morgan Stanley’s quarterly reviews providing the kind of analytical firepower that was previously reserved for equities and bonds.

This isn’t just transparency, it’s the infrastructure required for institutional money to feel comfortable entering what was historically an opaque, relationship-driven market.

Rolex’s expansion of their Certified Pre-Owned program to include watches as young as two years old represents a seismic shift in brand strategy. When the world’s most powerful watch manufacturer actively legitimizes and supports the secondary market, it signals that “pre-owned” has officially shed its stigma and entered the realm of respectable finance.

Risks Investors Should Watch For

The watch market’s newfound sophistication hasn’t eliminated its capacity for brutal punishment of those who mistake popularity for performance. WatchCharts data reveals sharp divergences even within the luxury tier, with Patek Philippe advancing while other historically reliable brands stagnate or decline.

This sector rotation can devastate collectors who assume all luxury watches move in lockstep.

Liquidity evaporates with shocking speed outside the charmed circle of blue-chip brands. While Sotheby’s confirms that most auction lots clear their reserves, the bidding depth falls off a cliff beyond Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet. This creates a two-tiered market where the elite brands enjoy stock-like liquidity while everything else resembles illiquid real estate.

The counterfeit threat has evolved into an existential crisis that sophisticated investors ignore at their peril. Claims Journal estimates 40 million fake watches flood global markets annually, with “superfakes” representing 10% of production, many undetectable without factory-level inspection.

U.S. Customs seizures in 2025 netted 516 counterfeit pieces with estimated genuine values exceeding $9.2 million, while Reuters chronicles global enforcement actions that underscore both the problem’s scale and the legal jeopardy facing anyone caught in counterfeit networks.

The Future of the Secondary Watch Market

Growth forecasts paint an optimistic picture for luxury watch investments, with Mordor Intelligence projecting the global luxury watch market will expand from $54.2 billion in 2025 to approximately $73 billion by 2030, representing a 6.1% compound annual growth rate.

This macro tailwind should benefit both primary and pre-owned markets, as rising prices in the new market continue driving buyers toward secondary alternatives.

Demographic shifts support long-term market expansion, with Deloitte noting rising engagement from Generation Z and Millennial collectors who are comfortable with digital platforms and trade-in/CPO pathways. These younger buyers represent not just current demand but the foundation for decades of future collecting activity, as they build wealth and develop more sophisticated tastes in luxury timepieces.

Fractional ownership platforms represent an emerging frontier that could democratize luxury watch investing while creating new forms of liquidity. Early-stage platforms like Elephants and Koia are promoting fractional ownership of luxury watches, though these remain experimental rather than mainstream.

However, their development indicates the broader financialization trend that has transformed other luxury asset categories from exclusive collecting niches into sophisticated investment markets.

The expansion of brand-owned CPO programs, particularly Rolex’s partnership with authorized retailers like Tourneau and 1916 Company, should continue de-risking secondary market purchases for mainstream consumers. This institutional support will likely drive both transaction volumes and pricing confidence, creating the market depth and stability that serious investors require for meaningful capital allocation.

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