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Marketcheck

Why There’s Never Been A Better Time To Collect Vintage Watches

By Nick Kenyon
1 Mar 2023
7 min read

The rising demand for vintage watches in the pre-owned market has been outpacing that for box-fresh timepieces. We speak to leading collectors and experts to know more about this new trend

With the veritable explosion of interest in watch collecting over the last decade or so, the Swiss watch industry has enjoyed its best-ever success, with both 2021 and 2022 setting consecutive records for horological exports. But as the primary market has grown substantially, the pre-owned market has experienced an even stronger boom as the appetite for vintage watches outpaces even that for box-fresh timepieces.

According to the Federation Of The Swiss Watch Industry, global watch exports have grown more than 53% since 2010 to a total of CHF 24.8 billion last year, despite returning to near-2010 levels during the start of the pandemic in 2020. While the primary market is as strong as it's ever been, the growth of the pre-owned market is one of the fastest-growing segments in the industry, with BCG noting in 2020 that pre-owned watches and jewelry were growing at 8%. While the pre-owned market wasn’t even worth a mention in Deloitte's 2015 watch industry report, by 2022 the same industry report estimated the secondary market would be worth CHF 35 billion by 2030 (likely more than the primary market), showing just how much has changed in the last half-decade. 

Seen here is the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Ref. 101.032

As the market for pre-owned watches has evolved from local dealers selling to the man on the street to a multi-billion franc industry spearheaded by online marketplaces such as Chrono24, international platforms like WatchBox and specialist dealers such as Wristcheck, the watch brands themselves have taken notice. Even a decade ago, the thought of a prestigious Swiss watch brand buying back its own timepieces would have sounded scandalous, but as watch enthusiasts have become more educated about watchmaker's histories and the collectible timepieces they’ve made over the decades, it’s no longer a question of if, but how.

For brands that trade heavily on their own history and create artisanally-made mechanical objects designed to last lifetimes, it only makes sense to embrace the pre-owned market rather than resist it. In recent years, storied watchmakers such as Audemars Piguet, Longines and even Rolex have all established their own certified pre-owned programs, with younger brands such as Richard Mille leading the way after launching their own program back in 2015. 

“There has been a paradigm shift,” said renowned watch collector Roni Madhvani, “where we see brands who have traditionally positioned themselves on their heritage actually walk the talk, rather than just drawing reference to their past.”

Photo Roni Madhvani
According to renowned watch collector, Roni Madhvani, pre-owned programs have received a positive reaction from the community Photo: Roni Madhvani

One of the newest pre-owned programs comes from Jaeger-LeCoultre, which launched The Collectibles line earlier this year to offer the watch community a selection of rare timepieces in peerless condition. Offering timepieces such as the Reverso, Geophysic, Futurematic and Memovox, the Vallée de Joux-based watchmaker promises to service and lightly restore every watch to its original glory, giving vintage-focused clients the chance to own a piece of history.

Photo: Jaeger-LeCoultre
The Reverso, Geophysic, Futurematic, and many more iconic watches are highlighted in 'The Collectibles' written by Jaeger-LeCoultre's technical and historical experts Photo: Jaeger-LeCoultre

Not only will clients purchasing timepieces from The Collectibles capsule enjoy a three-year warranty from Jaeger-LeCoultre, but can wear their timepieces confidently with an extract from the archive that provides detailed information about how the watch first left the factory. The restoration department at Jaeger-LeCoultre is responsible for ensuring everything is in very fine condition, even creating necessary parts from scratch using the original historical records.

Jaeger-LeCoultre, The Collectibles, 1951 Powermatic (left) and 1972 Memovox Speed Beat GT (right) ©Jaeger-LeCoultre
Jaeger-LeCoultre, The Collectibles, 1951 Powermatic (left) and 1972 Memovox Speed Beat GT (right) ©Jaeger-LeCoultre

Mattieu Sauret, the Product Marketing & Heritage Director at Jaeger-LeCoultre and one of the key people behind the launch of The Collectibles, believes the market for vintage watches is shifting as more people understand collecting for rarity and historical significance.

“The vintage market for the Maison has changed a lot in recent years, as research through the use of the internet and Instagram enables aficionados to leave the common trails and discover the stories of rare timepieces with a great pedigree,” he says.

“We expect the vintage market to focus more on timepieces that have brought a difference somehow. Timepieces with a great watchmaking pedigree, which made a change in the way people wore their watches or read the time.”

Mattieu Sauret, the Product Marketing & Heritage Director at Jaeger-LeCoultre believes the market for vintage watches is shifting as more people understand collecting for rarity and historical significance Photo: @stmatthieu/ Instagram
Mattieu Sauret, the Product Marketing & Heritage Director at Jaeger-LeCoultre believes the market for vintage watches is shifting as more people understand collecting for rarity and historical significance Photo: @stmatthieu/ Instagram

This is a thesis he’s putting into practice as he assists with the curation of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s pre-owned program. “The collectibles highlight the story of very unique timepieces which were a breakthrough at the time of their launch,” Sauret explains, “from the very unique Reverso and the very unique Futurematic to the very first alarm diving watch in the Deep Sea Alarm and Polaris Memovox.”

For a watchmaker such as Jaeger-LeCoultre, there is an additional appeal to collectors thanks to the consistency of its manufacturing, which has been almost entirely vertically integrated for nearly two centuries. With the nickname, “the watchmaker’s watchmaker”, Jaeger-LeCoultre also boasts expertise gained through creating calibres for many of the great Swiss watchmakers over the years. 

“The great difference we have from any other maker is that all of our watches with very few exceptions, since the beginning of our Maison in 1833, have been made entirely in our Manufacture – in the very place where we still are based today.”

“We have all the blueprints, all the original documents and even the original stamps to make parts if need be.”

View post on Instagram
 

While this level of openness hasn’t always been the way, this additional support offered to collectors to better understand the watches they own and the references they might want to collect in the future has been enthusiastically received. Madhvani explains such programs have been, “met with a positive reaction from the community, and one that has seen a surge in interest in these brands and their past.

“To sustain this for any watchmaker it is important, as brands can provide a link for collectors to their respective archives, something that underpins the basis of a vintage timepiece,” he says.

View post on Instagram
 

While other watchmakers’ pre-owned programs include more modern timepieces, fellow Richemont stablemate Vacheron Constantin has been running a similarly historically focused pre-owned program since 2018. Known as Les Collectionneurs, it too gathers rare and important examples of its past from auction houses or private sales, before meticulously restoring them and offering them to collectors around the world.

Photo_ Vacheron Constantin (2).png
Vacheron Constantin Model 4218 Ref. 12233, Model 6782 Ref. 12171 and Model 4072 Ref. 12232 (left to right) Photo: Vacheron Constantin

Christian Selmoni, the Style and Heritage Director at Vacheron Constantin explained a similar methodology to that of Jaeger-LeCoultre. “One of the strongest commitments of the Maison is to service and restore every timepiece bearing our signature, no matter its manufacturing year,” he explains. “Consequently, the secondary market for Vacheron Constantin timepieces is considerable and very dynamic.

“The global trend for vintage – and watches in particular – since several years has been a key element in the success of vintage Vacheron Constantin watches today. Vintage has proven to be as well a new entry door to the world of Vacheron Constantin,” Selmoni continues.

©Vacheron Constantin
According to Christian Selmoni, Style & Heritage Director at Vacheron Constantin, the vintage watches market used to be a niche market some decades ago, and now it is much broader and much more dynamic ©Vacheron Constantin

“The vintage watches market used to be a niche market some decades ago, and now it is much broader and much more dynamic. Through Les Collectionneurs and other initiatives, we are showing the presence of the Maison on the vintage market and in addition, we are more and more communicating on this subject. This is – I think – helping watch lovers and collectors into their research and supporting their passion.”

As you might expect from the Heritage Director, Selmoni is personally passionate about vintage references from the brand. Among his favorites includes the quintessentially styled Vacheron Constantin ref. 4261, as well as the, “1972 asymmetrical ‘Prestige de la France’ model, totally encapsulating the spirit of the 1970s with its androgynous and bold design!”

Vacheron Constantin Model 43040 Ref.11345 (left) and Model 4240 Ref.12038 (right) ©Vacheron Constantin
Vacheron Constantin Model 43040 Ref.11345 (left) and Model 4240 Ref.12038 (right) ©Vacheron Constantin

With the pre-owned market for timepieces only going from strength to strength, especially in the world of vintage watches, these programs from the likes of Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantin are almost guaranteed to increase the scope of their offering. 

“The collectibles program will live through the years,” says Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Sauret. “This was the first capsule collection which was quickly sold out. Of course, curating the watches and restoring them takes time so it will be a pretty exclusive program as these watches are rare and even more so when in good condition, but we will definitely have other capsules in the years to come. We can even think of thematic capsules around certain types of watches or time periods.”

For those who love the best vintage watches, there’s never been a better time to be collecting.