Why Buy a Luxury Watch?

Buying a luxury watch is a genuine investment, but the returns on that investment are powerful—and more numerous than you might think. Here are 4 reasons to buy a luxury watch.

1- Pleasure

This is undoubtedly the most important reason: pleasure. What a joy it is to wear such a jewel on your wrist! We’re talking, of course, about a mechanical watch with a Swiss movement or a good Japanese movement. First, choose a model you genuinely like; try it on, because you can sometimes be surprised by the difference between the photo (often the “renders” on brands’ websites don’t necessarily do the piece justice) and reality. Pick the dial you love, the brand that speaks to you, the complications you enjoy (GMT? Chronograph? Moon phases? etc.), think about how you’ll use it (city, all-terrain, etc.), and put it on your wrist to see whether the case size suits you.

2- Return on investment

Rarity creates value. By choosing the right brand and the right model, your watch’s market value can skyrocket. Just look at the prices of pre-owned Rolex watches, which are higher than the prices of new ones (around 1.5 times the price). The reason? You have to wait a good year to earn the right to buy a “simple” Rolex Submariner (imagine the waiting time for a Pepsi, a Batman, or a Daytona…)!

This isn’t the case for all brands and models. That said, the second-hand market can be very attractive for “trading” pre-owned watches for sale and purchase.

3- Social impact

Let’s not kid ourselves: wearing a luxury watch on your wrist is a strong social signal. As such, that watch can be useful—because even if clothes don’t make the man, in certain situations a watch can change how the person or people you’re speaking with see you, and give you an edge, especially in a professional context.

4- Capital on your wrist

It’s not for nothing that people say some great reporters covering major conflicts wore a Rolex that could serve as a bargaining chip if they were captured.

Your luxury watch is a concentration of value in a small, timeless object—beyond its function—and one that can be passed down to your descendants, and that’s genuinely very cool.