Prices for a basket of so-called independent brand watches including FP Journe, H. Moser & Cie and De Bethune — a small Swiss producer which is majority owned by WatchBox — returned 15% over the same period. The report touts luxury watches as an alternative asset class to stocks, bonds, art and wine.
Over a longer period, stocks outperformed watches as an investment asset. The S&P 500 had a compound annual growth rate of 12% between 2012 and 2022, while Rolex, Patek and AP watches averaged 7%.
Secondary-market watch price increases accelerated sharply during the pandemic as Millennial and Generation Z consumers, cash-flush and stuck at home, discovered a pricey new hobby collecting Swiss watches. The rise and fall of cryptocurrency values has also correlated with used watch prices.
“Value and transparency are the drivers of the secondary market and that has been a driver of liquidity,” Sarah Willersdorf, a managing director and partner at BCG in New York, said in an interview. — Bloomberg
