Eugene Tutunikov, CEO of SwissWatchExpo, has welcomed the news that Rolex is rolling out a certified pre-owned program for its watches.
The Atlanta-based secondary market specialist, like many of its competitors, has been working for many years to convince the public that second hand luxury watches are safe and legitimate to buy, and Mr Tutunikov (pictured top) believes the Rolex initiative will bring additional credibility to the sector.
“I think the news is overall really good for the pre-owned space. While the reluctance to shop pre-owned has come down in recent years, we still often hear people say they aren’t willing to buy a preowned watch, or their wife wouldn’t accept one as a gift,” he tells WATCHPRO.
“Rolex will take pre-owned even more mainstream than it is now,” he adds.
SwissWatchExpo expects Rolex certified preowned timepieces to cost more as it will be an expensive and time-consuming process to ship the watches to the Rolex centers for authentication and service.
Also, they will be only available through Authorized Sellers. “I expect the authorized dealers once they have these pieces in stock, to market them at a 15%-20% premium to what the top resellers like us will be selling them for,” Mr Tutunikov suggests.
Ultimately, the customer will decide. “A few of us larger players in the pre-owned space have a stellar reputation in terms of both authentication and service, but some consumers will pay the premium to get the Rolex rubber stamp on the product pre purchase,” he predicts. “For many consumers they will opt for a reputable dealer they can trust and have dealt with for many years, finding little need to spend an extra 15% on timepiece.”
Secondary market prices for Rolex’s most traded watches have been falling since the end of March, and large dealers are no longer offering to pay over-retail prices for all but a small handful of references.
Mr Tutunikov expects Rolex’s CPO program to fire up demand for the brand’s watches, which may bring the price fall to a soft landing.
“I think it will drive demand for pre-owned Rolex watches from consumers, as now the authorized dealer network will be a buyer of these timepieces. This adds extra demand which will lead to more price stability and potentially appreciation,” he suggests.
“More people will be willing to buy a preowned watch, knowing there will now be more places they can sell it or trade it in. This is good news for everyone involved,” he concludes.