
Prices of secondhand luxury watches decreased in the final quarter of 2024, the 11th straight quarter they have fallen, according to a new report from WatchCharts and Morgan Stanley.
Compared with the prior three months, prices fell 1.5% in the fourth quarter, said the report, noting the pre-owned watch market reached a peak in May 2022.
The report found the decline in prices was relatively broad-based among brands, with sales of used watches from brands owned by publicly listed companies—such as Richemont, LVMH, and Swatch—underperforming the market as a whole.
Richemont’s brands saw the largest declines, with prices dropping 2.4% quarter-over-quarter. That’s consistent with results Richemont reported today, which showed sales at the conglomerate’s watch division plunging 8% in the quarter ended Dec. 31. (Sales at Richemont’s jewelry division, by contrast, soared 14%.)
Secondhand sales for the “Big Three” watch brands—Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet (all of which are privately held)—declined in 2024, though not as steeply as in 2023. Those three watchmakers accounted for 64% of the secondhand market in 2024, down from 66% in 2023 and 67% in 2022, according to the report.
It noted that Rolex’s much talked-about certified pre-owned (CPO) program grew during the year, from 25 retailers at the beginning of 2024 to 107 currently. Some 217 Rolex dealers—just 15% of the company’s retail footprint—sell CPO watches. Most of the Rolex CPO retailers are part of major chains—namely, Bucherer and Tourneau, both owned by Rolex; Watches of Switzerland; and the 1916 Company. The report forecast that Rolex will eventually take the program into additional markets, including China.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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