Luxury Watches – A Worthy Investment?
In such economically uncertain times, it is hard to know what the best thing is to do with your money. Do you save it all? Withdraw all your money in cash and stash it in some secret safe place? Invest it for some possible return? And if you choose to invest – what has the best potential bang for your buck? Of course, making any investment will always be a gamble. The best way to ensure yourself is by doing your due diligence in researching and familiarizing yourself with whatever it is you choose to invest in. One way to do this is by observing others and their success investing in the same avenue of your choice.
A somewhat unconventional investment option that has grown in popularity in recent years is luxury watches. Like many other industries this year, the luxury industry did take a hit. Fortunately, many sectors have already been showing slow but steady signs of recovery. This is likely because more wealthy people are choosing to invest their money into luxury items like artwork, real estate properties, and other “real assets” – including luxury watches. People are continuing to buy luxury watches despite a prevalent downturn in the market, as most watch collectors and enthusiasts are aware, they are high-commodity items that usually hold good investment value. Luxury timepieces have historically proven not only to retain but also grow in value over time. In other words, watches are still as expensive as they have ever been, and their value is likely not going down anytime soon.
While the concept of investment watches isn’t new, the watch community has seen a steady increase of investors looking to make money buying, selling, and trading watches. Watches have become particularly popular with the millennial generation. At a time when buying a home seems almost entirely out of reach, our guess is that luxury timepieces are somewhat of a “next best thing” as far as worthwhile investments go. High-end and well-known brands such as Rolex, Audemars Piguet, and Patek Philippe are known to produce watches that hold and often increase in value over time – potentially bringing in a solid return if bought and sold at the correct time.
Although seemingly glamorous and alluring, luxury watch investment can also be considered by many as high risk as it is not done in a standardized marketplace such as the stock market. Even with established companies and reselling sites, prices can fluctuate rapidly and by a lot. Therefore, investing in the watch market requires, at the very least, a basic knowledge of watches. The more you know about the many ins and outs of different watch brands, the better you will likely do at watching the market for changes and developments and determining the right time to buy and sell. Having specialized knowledge about watches is also an advantage for the simple reason that, while an average person may know offhand that Rolex is a high-end and expensive brand, somebody more savvy with luxury watches is able to recognize the many intricacies – such as certain models, colors, features, age, and other important details of a watch that may make it considerably more valuable to collectors. Aside from a decent understanding of the watch game, having a good sense for timing is essential for knowing when to strike when the iron is hot and sell your watch(es) at the most opportune time and ensuring the best possible return on an investment watch.
As luxury watches are not your traditional investment item of choice, it may be a bit intimidating for somebody looking to invest – either for the first time or just in a new avenue. Just like with any investment, the goal is to increase value in order to make a solid return on investment. As such, the following pointers are meant to help someone with considering whether watch investment is the best option for them. First, make sure it is an investment that you can afford to make. Luxury watches are high commodity items, so naturally, you must have the money to invest and be able to wait for any given amount of time for the value to grow enough to make any profit. So, if a quick or immediate return on investment is what you are hoping for – watches are likely not the way to go. Like with any industry, you must be able to stay current and on top of the market trends and changes in order to know when the right time is to buy, hold onto, and sell your watch(es) to make some money. Finally, you have to be ready and willing to let go of a watch at any given time once that right timing rolls around – so while it may be tempting with certain watches, do your best not to get too attached to them to avoid missing potential money-making opportunities.