Pre-owned watch sales hit $24 billion in 2023, around one-third of the retail value for luxury watch sales, calculated at $75 billion, despite secondary market for the hottest watches from Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet continuing to fall.
EveryWatch, which uses artificial intelligence to track and analyse sales on the secondary market and auctions across the world, suggests that, despite the headwinds, sales for grey market and pre-owned watches grew faster than for new.
The platform also found that luxury watch auction sales increased in the first quarter of 2024 after dramatic falls in prices for the big three brands in 2023, although the rise is helped by an increase in the number of watches crossing the block. EveryWatch says the number of watches sold at auction rose by 51% in Q1 to over 13,000 lots.
By month, January 2024 auction sales were down 16% but then up 53% and 7% in February and March respectively, analysis by industry commentator and investor Danny Younis finds.
“The demand for luxury watches as alternative assets is fuelling the growth of the pre-owned market,” Mr Younis suggests.
“Online platforms have turbocharged the market’s growth, especially gen Zs and millennials who are comfortable buying online – by educating the buyers, encouraging price transparency, and seamlessly bringing buyers and sellers together,” he adds.