One day, you will hold in your hand a collectible preowned watch that you know is your Grail watch. That one watch for which you will sell your entire collection, if only you could own it. The watch that when you started your collection, you just knew in your gut was the one. Some suggest you start searching for your Grail watch early in your watch collector career. It might take decades. But before you get to your Grail watch, there are a few steps to take before becoming a collector of preowned watches.
Set a budget. Watch collecting can get really expensive, really quickly, when you do not set a budget. And keep to it. No watch is worth your financial ruin. Decide what you can afford to start your collection and look for watches in that range.
Consider preowned watches. Research on the Swiss watch industry by a global consultancy, states that brands see the preowned watch market as a way to introduce themselves to a new audience. And 65% of the executives surveyed are implementing a strategy for the certified pre-owned market.
Do your research. There are so many brands and genres to choose from when you start researching luxury watches, it can be overwhelming. Find out which watch brands are reputable and who to avoid. Learn which styles or types of watches excites you. Spend enough time on research, and you will never regret the money spent on the watch that started your collection.
Set up a safe place for your collection. Before bringing your first purchase home, prepare a safe place for them. Get a dedicated watch box or keep your watches in their original boxes in a safe.
Find Your Passion
Your passion can be anything related to luxury watches. A genre such as pilot watches or vintage watches. It might be an era, where you collect luxury watches from the 1970s. Maybe you want to collect watches from certain brands like Cartier or the independent brand F.P. Journe. You might prefer watches made from specific materials like stainless steel, or complications like a chronograph or tourbillon watch.
Tip: When you buy a timepiece, preserve everything that comes with it because it might affect the future resale price. Keep the boxes, warranty cards, operating manual, accessories, and all paperwork.
Choose an Icon
Every watch collector should choose an icon that might be the Grail watch they dream of. Rolex watches like the Submariner or the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak could become an icon in your watch collection. Maybe you would prefer the Breitling Navitimer or Patek Philippe Calatrava.
When you choose an icon, quality and brand history should be key considerations, as well as the story that accompanies the watch. Even when you buy a new Rolex Submariner, it will often be associated with Sean Connery when he wore a Rolex Submariner Ref. 6538 in the early James Bond films. With an icon watch you buy a legacy and join a passionate community. Icon watches tend to keep their value or increase in value on the second-hand market.
Go Deeper, Not Wider
Once you own mechanical watches, learning how to look after them is another step in your collection journey. Now, unless learning how to look after as many luxury Swiss watches as you can is the passion you chose, it is best to go deeper into the brand or watch genre you decided to collect. There is so much to learn about each brand or genre that your watch wish list will grow exponentially longer as time goes by.
Have you found your passion? Is it dive watches, dress watches, or GMT watches? Are you looking for your Grail watch? Time-To-Find is the United Kingdom’s leading online showroom of authentic luxury Swiss watches from authorised, trusted dealers. We have the collectible preowned watch you need. Contact Time-To-Find today.