Buying a luxury watch at auction can be a unique opportunity to add a very special piece to your collection, but it can also be a lousy investment. Before investing, it is essential to know the piece and the method that is followed in the usual auctions, otherwise, the result may not be the desired one.
This week we take a look at buying a luxury watch at auction and what the typical buying process looks like.
Is it worth looking for watches at auction?
It depends on what you are looking for. Most luxury watches are available in the brand's own boutiques, unless they are discontinued watches or special editions with all parts sold.
Custom Watch Manufacturers offer a unique opportunity to get high-end watches at special prices, fully inspected and certified.
So, are luxury watch auctions worth taking a look at? Actually, yes.
Auctions put unique pieces up for sale. If you are looking for a Patek Philippe Calatrava, it is best to go to a custom store or a boutique of the brand, however, if you want a 1927 Patek Philippe in gold, you will have more opportunities to find it at auction.
Therefore, it is worth knowing the pieces at auction if what you want is a historical and very special watch, although obviously, the investment you will have to make will be much higher, not only because of the characteristics of the watch, but also because of the method for sale at auctions.
Luxury watch at auction
How to bid on a luxury watch at auction？ It may seem easy, you locate the watch you want, wait for the auction to start and bid until the time runs out and your bid is the last, but the process is more complicated.
- If you want a product, you must register on the website of the platform on which you are going to bid. Do it with time, sometimes a prior registration of 24 hours is essential before starting a bid.
- Research is essential. In luxury goods stores you can always consult with an expert in luxury watchmaking, however, in a bid it is your responsibility to know the watch, its history and its value.
- Take into account the premium to the buyer. Normally, a percentage for the auction house must be added to the auction price.
- When bidding, set a maximum price. As with any purchase, define a budget and do not exceed it, if the bid exceeds it, do not worry, you will surely have more opportunities.
- Generally the bids are placed either at the beginning or at the end, there are people who bid a small amount at the beginning and watch the auction proceed, other people make a high bid from the beginning, sometimes a bidder appears last minute of the auction…, your strategy depends on you, although it is always advisable not to be too impulsive.
- The advantages of buying a luxury watch at auction.
- The main advantage of buying a watch at auction is that you can find exceptional pieces, whose value can amount to hundreds of thousands of euros. Auctions represent an excellent opportunity for buyers who want to make stratospheric investments in exceptional timepieces.
Another advantage is that the auction house itself ensures the quality of the object. All auction houses analyze each watch and guarantee its authenticity.
Disadvantages of buying a luxury watch at auction
Although, of course, buying a luxury watch at auction also has disadvantages compared to buying it in regular stores:
- The lack of control over the price is absolute, if you don't know the market you can end up paying a much higher price for a piece than what you could pay in stores.
- The commissions end up increasing the price of the watch in high percentages.
The offer is not as wide as in official stores and luxury custom watch sales establishments. - Buy a historic watch at auction.
- A very common claim for watch buyers at auctions is to get historical watches, or watches that have belonged to a celebrity.
Auctions are the best place to get your hands on an early 20th century watch, even a 19th century classic from major Swiss watch brands. These pieces are highly valued and their owners put them up for auction in the hope of getting a higher value for them.
Another goal of many buyers is to get a watch that has once belonged to a celebrity. Watches of Napoleon, Marilyn Monroe, Russell Crowe and many more famous have been sold. In most cases, these are high-quality watches, whose value is increased by having been part of the life of a celebrity.
Therefore, if you are looking for a unique watch and you do not mind making a really high investment, perhaps at auction you can get the perfect watch for your collection.
Luxury Watches at Custom Watch Manufacturer
Is it advisable to look for a watch in auctions? As we saw, it depends on the type of piece you are looking for. If what you want is to invest safely, with a fixed price and the best advice, at Watches5.com you can do it.
Their experts in luxury watchmaking advise you from the first moment so that you can find the piece you are looking for at the best price, at Chinese Watch Manufacturer you are sure to find the best price on Swiss luxury watches, in addition, they have a wide catalog of watches for both women and men. We work every day to expand our offer, but we only accept truly unique and high-value pieces. They have many years of experience in exclusive watchmaking and many people have already found the piece they were looking for thanks to Watches5.
