“November auctions in Geneva have definitely decreed the vintage watch supremacy over the modern trend”.

“November auctions in Geneva have definitely decreed the vintage watch supremacy over the modern trend”.
So says Giovanni Varesi,
Director of Antiquorum in Italy and Watch Expert of the famous Swiss auction house, to whom we ask about the performance of the vintage watch market. “The market for collectible timepieces, today more than ever, is confirmed as one of the most interesting and productive investments, as well as a consolidated safe-haven asset”. We are curious to know your opinion about the emerging markets. “With China, India, Malaysia and the UAE entering the market, and a sharp downturn concerning modern timepieces, the demand for rare vintage watches in exceptional conservation conditions has literally gone crazy, resulting in a clear increase of the average price, with outstanding peaks for unique objects. International auctions are still the first collectors’ and dealers’ choice to find unusual items or to see the re-proposition
of watches, which had been sold years earlier by the same auction houses and had been put up for auction again by the owners, possibly being attracted by the current valuations”. We ask Giovanni what he thinks about the modern watch market. “Tim Cook has been derided by many when, during a recent keynote, he said Apple is now the second biggest watch producer, behind Rolex and Patek Philippe; probably he has simply taken note that the entrance of smartwatches into luxury watchmaking has certainly wreaked havoc on a market which was thought to be endless, but today it has forced several manufacturers to revise downwards their production numbers, with a further downward forecast for the year to come. It’s nothing new, from our point of view. Indeed, for many years, we have addressed customers and investors towards vintage watches, whose exclusivity and prices are now steeply increasing, and they are set to rise even more in the future. It is clear that those who have bought vintage watches over the past S-10 years, which were original and in excellent conditions (both renowned or unrecognized brands) have now an incredibly higher value, with a potential immediate realization rapidity and a demand which is much higher than the offer. Today, apart from the consolidated sports models by Rolex and Patek Philippe, the tendency is to look for chronographs and divers up to the ‘70s, which are bought at unprecedented amounts. Thanks to its capillarity and several evaluation days, Antiquorum is always able to offer original objects, which were owned by children and grandchildren of collectors who, thanks to their exquisite taste, have jealously protected these Swiss manufacturing masterpieces for decades. Some hammered it earns, such as the Rolex 6238 with transitional black-to-brown dial, or the yellow-gold 6263 with its full original kit, can offer interesting ideas to those who want to try to invest in “different” safe-haven assets, and they are the definitive indication of a rapidly expanding market. Suffice it to the price trend of a hypothetical example of Rolex ref. 6239 with exotic dial (Raul Newman model), which were found in our auctions. It is quite evident that the price has been rising by average 20% per year, for 25 years, which is an incredible performance that would give a stunning profit to a potential investor; far beyond any other financial product”. One last tip before we say goodbye. “The watch collecting is a relatively recent phenomenon, so it is difficult to make long-term forecasts, but if we analyse the rarity of the items and the increasing demand from all’over the world, we are sure that vintage watches can give a lot of satisfaction to collectors who purchase with taste and passion”.

Source: OM Magazine