Cartier luxury watches were the only major brand to gain in value over the past year on the secondary market as slimmer dress models became more popular with collectors, based on the Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index.
Prices of Cartier watch models rose 2.4% in 12 months on the secondary market, the data compiled by Subdial, a UK-based luxury watch trading platform, and Bloomberg shows.
Watches made by the French jeweler, owned by Switzerland’s Richemont, outperformed the 10.2% decline in the Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index over the same period. The index tracks prices for the 50 most traded watches by value on the used market. Indexes for Swiss brands including Rolex, Patek Philippe and Omega also declined.
Demand for used watches by Cartier, best known for its rectangular Tank and square Santos models, climbed as collectors and enthusiasts looked beyond so-called hype models like the Rolex Daytona or Patek Philippe Nautilus. Average prices for Cartier watches are also lower than Rolex and Patek, with many models changing hands for less than $5,000.
While Cartier prices rose, an index of Rolex watch models declined by about 6%, the Patek Philippe index fell nearly 10% and one for Tudor watches — a lower-priced sister brand of Rolex — fell more than 7%.
Omega, the Swiss brand owned by Swatch Group AG, was the second-best performer among brand indexes over the year, declining by about 2% as secondary market prices for some of its Speedmaster chronograph models gained or held firm.
The Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index fell 1.2% in April, resuming declines after a few months of stability to start the year.
Prices for the 50 most-traded watches by value are at the lowest level in three years following an unprecedented surge during the pandemic that peaked in April of 2022. The Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index has fallen by about 36% in two years.
Flush with cash from not traveling or eating out and spurred on by low lending rates, speculators snapped up Rolex, Patek and other luxury models during 2021 and into 2022, betting that prices would keep increasing. But values for the most in-demand models fell sharply as interest rates jumped and the value of many cryptocurrencies declined.
