advertisement


Affordable watches that may increase in value

Caliente

Caliente

pfm Member
Today for a change I went with the family for a traipse around the shops - I headed for HMV but found the tock to be dissapointing, so with about 90 mins to waste I had a nosey in the shop windows of c12 or so places that deal in watches.

It just started me wondering which makes and models for say up to £500 may actually increase in value? I must admit that some of the makes were new to me i.e Certina, Guess, Ted Baker. Though I must also admit that I couldn't discern any difference between watches costing £100 compared to those at $1k+. I noticed some inexpensive Bulovas that caught my eye - just wondering if these are simply Chinese mass produced jobbies?
 
I automatically ignore any watch brands that carry a ‘designer label’ brand, so Ted Baker, etc, can just do one. Bulovas, I think are an under-appreciated brand, so decent value. Not made in China AFAIK.
 
Nero said:
Buy a watch that you like the look of and tells the time. I like (and wear) all my watches. Any investment return is a bonus, which is currently zero, as I've never got rid of any.
Click to expand...
This is the right advice.

If you want to invest up to £500, carefully selected Lego sets (kept in MISB condition) will yield a better return in the long term.
 
I've a Seiko automatic or two that in mind condition are worth more than I paid. One is on my wrist now and fairly worn, so not worth a great deal, but another only comes out occasionally and has very little wear. I think you could probably repeat this for a number of traditional brand watches.
 
Seiko Monsters seem to do pretty well. I’ve got one of the first orange (SKX781) models and it seems to be worth more than I paid for it new. Some of the limited editions, of which there are many, are worth proper money.
 
At the lower price level, any new watch is unlikely to increase in value with the odd exception of a desirable watch that may have been made in limited quantities. Again, at this price level, while some watches may not be labeled as 'made in China' per se, in reality these watches are likely to be assembled from many Chinese manufactured parts (as allowed by 'Swiss Made' labeling rules).

As has been mentioned, most designer branded watches will not hold much value. They are usually contract manufactured watches (again mostly China made or made from Chinese parts). In fact these days, even China manufacturing may be too expensive -- there are watches made in other parts of South East Asia eg Malaysia, Philippines.

Having said all this, there are some watches in the lower price range that have held their values or have gone up. These are vintage watches, not new, and you really need to know your stuff in order to figure out which ones. For instance, the Seiko 6309 divers from the late 1970s to 1980s have easily doubled in value over the last 10 years. Similarly, the earlier model of the Seiko Alpinist has held its value pretty well.

I'll have to come back to this - if you want a watch that has a high likelihood of increasing in value or at least hold its value, get a Rolex. Otherwise, just buy the watch that you like. At the $500 level, it is pointless to think of investment value.
 
I'm another that won't give a fashion branded watch the time of day, especially as most of the asking price is for the name alone, one built in a different arena.

Another possible area of investment would be some of the brands launching of late that are quite cheap, have large ranges and could, maybe, possibly, if the wind blows in the right direction, become collectable in the same way as Swatch.
The market is, however, a fickle beast so mostly down to luck.

I have my father's old Seiko, apparently a limited edition for the Arabian market, heavily used condition and requires a new prism style crystal, sadly beyond economical repair especially as it is not a style I would wear.
 
My last watch purchase was one of these. I'm looking forward to wearing it at the theatre.
 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
hockman said:
These are vintage watches, not new, and you really need to know your stuff in order to figure out which ones.
Click to expand...

Another issue to watch with vintage watches is condition. A privately bought watch with a clean dial may still need a couple of hundred spent on servicing depending on complexity of movement and condition. A vintage watch from from a shop may have been re-polished or (even worse) re-dialled, both of which will destroy it's value to a collector.
 
I have a nice Seiko chronograph from 1985 and a 1997 Oris Big Crown Commander which have probably held their value, and fall into the "not mad money" watch category.

But I now prefer a Garmin smart watch, Venu 2, as it does so much more and encourages me to keep moving about/exercise/track rides/alerts from phone.

It does all the things that a traditional watch cannot do, but doesn't have the looks. For that I have a Steel HR smart watch, simpler but just as helpful.
 
You just have to ask yourself, why would this appreciate?
If you can find 2 reasons why it might
take a gamble. It's an adventure. They are good for you :)
OR just buy something you love.
 
As the OP I appreciate all the responses which back up what I suspected. I have some day to day stuff from Invicta (yes a homage), an Accurist jobbie from 2009 which looks quite expensive (from a distance), something I bought during lock down from a company called The5th and a mice Rotary that my wife bought me in the mid-90s.

I guess if I wanted to invest to simply make money then I would put the money into a tracker fund (USA or Pacific Rim), that being said next time I'm in town I will have another look and see if anything catches my eye, though I may lean towards a limited edition item.
 
I just bought a Cartier Santos. A lot of vintage Cartier and new models too, are rising in value. If the Santos goes up in value that’s great but I’m really not bothered as I want to keep it longterm.

ixJemob.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: bob
That's a nice classic Cartier. Enjoy it!

At the lower price end, personally, I'd look at Seikos (not that I buy any new watches :)). There are many many models to choose from and they usually look high quality relative to what they cost (whether you like the designs or not, is more of a personal preference). I can't attest to their reliability though. In the past, they have been very reliable but of late, I've heard of some bad experiences with the newer movements.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top