In late 2021, a Patek Philippe Nautilus watch with a dial stamped by Tiffany & Co. sold at auction for more than US$6-million, over 100 times its US$52,000 retail price. Seven-figure results aren’t unusual for Patek Philippe models at auction, but such prices are usually reserved for pieces with ultra-complicated movements and ornately handworked details, not time-and-date steel sports watches.
“Hype certainly inflates market value, making some of these pieces extremely hard to justify when you know what they retail for. On the other hand, since the opportunity to purchase pieces like at retail is limited to a very small list of top-tier clients, the retail price is irrelevant,” says Verne Ho, a Toronto-based creative director and watch collector who goes by @watchstudies on Instagram.
Making a profit selling a watch, however, is more complicated than it might seem. For one thing, the vast majority of new watches will lose much of their value as soon as they leave the store. For another, preowned watch prices – even for grails like the Rolex Daytona and Patek Philippe Nautilus – have been in steady decline for the last two years.