THE HOME OF WATCH CULTURE

Do you secretly have a fortune worth of watches sitting in your drawer? Do you secretly have a fortune worth of watches sitting in your drawer?

Do you secretly have a fortune worth of watches sitting in your drawer?

Nick Kenyon

Most watch collectors know, down to the dollar, how much each of their watches are worth. But there’s an even bigger number of watch owners who have no idea of their watches’ true value.  In fact, new data from a Watchfinder & Co report, suggests that $60 billion of watches could be gathering dust in the US alone.

Watchfinder & Co report

In a recent survey of 26,000 respondents by the pre-owned watch specialist, 42% of people said they had no idea the watches they owned could be worth hundreds, or even thousands of dollars. A similar number of people (43%) from the same survey also admitted they had at least one luxury watch that they don’t wear, out of an average of 2.6 luxury watches owned by every respondent. This suggests that there is a veritable goldmine of preowned watches that have been forgotten about in the United States.

Watchfinder & Co report
Image: Watchfinder & Co

In the study, Watchfinder said that, “the luxury watch market is going through a purple patch currently, with many watches reaching all-time highs when it comes to their resale value, making now the perfect time to check.” This was true for a gentleman who appeared recently on Antiques Roadshow seeking a valuation for his father’s Rolex Submariner. To his surprise and delight, the Rolex “Red” Submariner ref. 1680 was estimated to be worth around £20,000, a significant increase from the £132 his father paid in 1972.

antiques roadshow rolex submariner
Image: BBC

“Whilst a large proportion of watch owners around the world keep a very close eye on the value of their watches,” said Arjen Van de Vall, Watchfinder’s CEO. “It’s clear that there are also lots of people who have no idea what their watch is currently worth.”

Watchfinder & Co report
Image: Watchfinder & Co

“It’s widely recognized that a Rolex, Omega or Patek Philippe is likely to be worth quite a bit of money but there are also watches out there made by smaller, more boutique, manufacturers that are lesser known,” he explained.

This is certainly true for brands like Cartier, who have been overlooked by many collectors for decades, until the last 18 months when prices have skyrocketed. So if you’ve got a few watches that have been handed down to you, or perhaps a couple you picked up at a garage sale and have forgotten about, now is definitely the time to check if you’ve got your own fortune in watches just waiting to be evaluated.