Luxury watches holding value

Watches are continuing to appreciate in value despite the decrease in consumer spending in the UK and the wider global economic crisis, a watch dealing website has claimed.

The website, watchfinder.co.uk, said watch dealers and luxury watch owners have reason to be upbeat amidst the current economic instability.

The online company sources some of the world’s rarest watches. Focusing on the pre-owned prestige market, it sells up to 150 timepieces a week.

And it pointed out that despite the economic doom and gloom, Rolex put its prices up by 12.5% across the board on October 1 2008. And Cartier, Omega, Breitling, Patek Philippe, Tag Heuer and most of the other top-end manufacturers have all had at least one price increase this year.

The price increases mean that most older models are holding – and in some cases increasing in – value, watchfinder.co.uk said.

Rolex was one of the best brands to invest in with the Submariner Date, the GMT II and the Seadweller holding value particularly well, it added.

The current retail price of a steel Rolex Submariner is £3,470, compared to £2,650 in 2007, and Watchfinder.co.uk expects to sell a 2007 model for between £2,800 and £3,000.

Matt Bowling from Watchfinder.co.uk said: “Rolex, like the other manufacturers, will have researched the market thoroughly and are clearly confident that it can sustain a price increase.

“What they and the other manufacturers are also doing with these regular (sometimes twice a year) price rises is illustrating one of the key benefits of buying a pre-owned watch. Everyone who owns a steel Rolex Submariner Date has almost certainly seen hundreds of pounds added to the retail value of their watch as a result of the market trend.”

Meanwhile, Antiquorum's first auction of the autumn season brought in a total of $9,892,812 (£6,423,903) for the sale of Important Collectors' Wristwatches, Pocket Watches and Clocks.

The sale took place in New York on October 16, and attracted bids from around the globe with more than 34% of the lots sold on the internet.

Lot 403, a Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 first series, was the star of the sale, fetching $1,514,400 (£983,376).

'The results from today's auction are confirmation that despite the current erratic economic climate, important timepieces continue to be extremely sought after, highly collectible and sound tangible investments that have consistently proven to appreciate exponentially over time,' Antiquorum chairman Robert Maron said in a media release.

Antiquorum will hold a 720-lot sale in Geneva from November 15-16, 2008.