The demand for pre-owned luxury watches is on the rise and millenials and Gen Z are the cause.
Key Details
- Sales on pre-owned luxury watches are expected to jump by 75% before the end of the decade in large part fueled by demand coming from younger buyers.
- A report from Deloitte found that annual sales of the watches will likely reach $35 billion by 2030.
- Growth in demand for second-hand luxury watches is leading to more luxury brands expanding their secondary-market sales platforms. Luxury goods company Richemont recently acquired Watchfinder, a premium pre-owned watch retailer.
Why it’s news
Pre-owned luxury watches are a relatively untapped market with potential for massive growth. The market largely lies with millennials who are most likely to buy a pre-owned watch.
Sales of luxury watches spiked during the pandemic when consumers had extra spending money on hand saved by not dining out or traveling. Prices on the second-hand timepieces jumped, only to fall back again in April in line with cryptocurrency and stock market declines.
Despite the drop in price, the market for pre-owned watches still exists. Younger buyers are looking for less expensive items that still have the luxury label.
“Our audience is so different than who you assume a traditional watch buyer to be. They’re much younger, they’re buying and selling watches much more often, and they care about pre-owned,” says watch news and retail site Hodinkee founder Ben Clymer.
Surprising statistics
Among pre-owned luxury watches, Rolex still tops the charts as the most popular. Here are the 10 most popular pre-owned timepieces from 2021. . .
- Rolex Datejust
- Rolex Submariner Date
- Rolex GMT-Master II
- Rolex Oyster Perpetual
- Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch
- Rolex Lady-Datejust
- TAG Heuer Carrera
- Omega Seamaster Diver 300M
- Rolex Daytona
- Breitling Superocean Heritage