Editor’s Note
After years of unprecedented growth, the luxury sports watch market is showing signs of a correction. As this analysis notes, iconic models from Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe have seen significant price declines. This shift prompts a closer look at the market dynamics that have long driven collector demand.
The luxury sports watch market has shown its first price decline in recent years. Compared to previous years, the Royal Oak has fallen by about 16%, the Nautilus by about 18%, and Rolex’s “Oyster Perpetual Submariner Date” also began to drop in price at the end of March 2022.
Sharon Chan, Director of the Watch Department at the venerable auction house Bonhams Hong Kong, examines the reasons why the luxury sports watch market has begun to decline.
In the history of watchmaking, discussions about luxury watches have never been as heated as they are now. In recent years, luxury watches have become a hot topic, from pop songs to social media.
Popular models like Audemars Piguet’s “Royal Oak,” Patek Philippe’s “Nautilus,” and Rolex’s “Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona” have seen their prices in the secondary market rise across the board. However, now that we have grown accustomed to these inflated prices, the luxury sports watch market has shown its first decline in recent years. Compared to previous years, the Royal Oak has fallen by about 16%, the Nautilus by about 18%, and Rolex’s “Oyster Perpetual Submariner Date,” commonly known as the “Green Ghost,” also began to drop in price at the end of March 2022.
This article aims to uncover the reasons behind this wave of market price declines and explore how these changes are affecting the entire watch industry.
The recent global economic situation, with a sluggish stock market, has made investors cautious and less willing to spend large sums on watches as freely as before. At the same time, global inflation has increased the cost of living worldwide, reducing the purchasing power of equivalent currencies. Consumers have become more budget-conscious, making it easier to distinguish between so-called “needs” and “wants.” These two factors have led to a decrease in demand for luxury watches. When specific models no longer sell at high prices, sellers are forced to lower their prices.
Furthermore, since the spread of COVID-19 from 2020, the investment market has become unpredictable, and investors have turned their attention to new investment targets. At that time, watches were seen as profitable, and buyers who didn’t care about the intrinsic value of the watches flooded the market. As the number of buyers increased, competition intensified, drawing intense attention to some models of high-end sports watches that were already in short supply.
However, looking at the bigger picture, this is not necessarily a bad thing. It not only has the potential to stabilize the chaos of the past few years but also gives watch collectors room to explore watches beyond the popular models. At the same time, it allows eager buyers to acquire desired watches at more reasonable prices.
For example, at the Bonhams Hong Kong watch auction held in June 2022, several Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1A and 5712 models, along with a rare stainless steel and platinum “Royal Oak Quantieme Perpetuel,” attracted many watch collectors and achieved excellent hammer prices.
Additionally, a Cartier Mystery Clock “Model A” manufactured in 1928 was hammered for HK$6.87 million, more than three times its pre-sale estimate. This proves that rare and historically significant pieces still capture the attention of watch collectors worldwide, and their value is widely recognized.