Time to invest in luxury watches

Time to invest in luxury watches

The transition from collecting watches as a hobby to using them for investment is significant but Co-founder of The Watch Exchange London, Arfan Mohammed, explains which luxury timepieces look set to provide a healthy return on investment:


The 60th Anniversary Rolex Day-Date

Appreciating by around £2000 over the last three months, this timepiece represents one of the significant success stories within the world of watch investment and is currently trading at around £36,500.

Released in 2016 and identified by its olive green dial, this model has become one of this year’s hottest precious metal timepieces. Currently trading for around 10% over its retail price, this rose gold watch has become so sought-after that it has joined the ranks of steel sports Rolex models, having a lengthy waiting list of its own.

The Rolex Submariner Hulk

Currently priced around £14,000 and famed for being the only stainless steel Submariner to have a dial that isn’t black, the Hulk is distinctive, rare and increasingly desirable.

Known for its green dial and green cerachrom bezel, the Hulk is the continuation of the beloved 50th-anniversary Submariner ‘Kermit’. In production from 2010 to September this year, the Hulk sold slowly to begin with but the opposite is true in recent times. Its discontinuation is leading to a surge in demand and the Hulk is now becoming a highly sought after collector’s piece.

Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 3800

Made up of horological heavyweight icons like the Rolex Paul Newman Daytona, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and the Heuer Monaco, investing in the vintage market can seem daunting. However, one of the most accessible strategies is to invest in the vintage versions of today’s popular timepieces.

Released in 1980 and discontinued in 2006, the Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 3800 is classic mid-size from the very first generation of the iconic Genta-designed timepiece. What makes it so investable is that its current price (around £38,000) is almost half that of the modern ref. 5711, making it far more accessible and less risky than its modern equivalent. With its market still so underdeveloped, the ref. 3800 has the potential to prove itself as a future four-digit Rolex Daytona equivalent.

With watch buyers making up almost half of new auction buyers at Sothebys, now is the time to invest in these recommended luxury watches.

Arfan Mohammed moved from Middlesbrough to London 15 years ago and quickly grew his contacts within the industry, working with world famous department stores and building up his knowledge to become the watch virtuoso and historian he is today. Arfan has 10 years’ experience with Rolex timepieces alone and over the years has traded luxury watches worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

To find out more about The Watch Exchange London, please visit www.watchexchangelondon.co.uk