Why You Should Not Invest In Watches
Watch & Bullion
3 May 2018 | 2 min read
Our last blog was an investment focused spotlight on the Tudor Black Bay Green. I usually refrain from these kinds of blogs, because I believe that despite the ability of watches to generate big profits they should not be inherently considered as an investment.
In the last years, we have seen massive big price hikes in the vintage watch market. And that is not without reason as we are currently near the end of a 9-year economic cycle which is the biggest and longest bull market for the Dow Jones after the second world war.
The day after I published the blog I got curious and looked specifically for other watches with equal value propositions. I gave the web a quick search for “Investment Watches” and found articles by Business Insider, the New York Times, and Esquire, with some good and some plain recommendations (seriously, a Farer Leven as an investment). But these blogs are ignoring the number one rule of investing: past performance is not indicative of future results.
The very idea of a watch investment is so tasty though. Unlike company shares which nowadays are mostly stored digitally, you could actually wear and use your investment. The problem with that is the wear and tear expose your watch losses. The best watches from an investing perspective are usually vintage Rolex, not the kind of watch you’d daily.
Then there is the issue of maintenance. A repair can be very expensive, which I know from first hand. Just to break even you will have to make more than the cost of both inflation and maintenance over the years, dampening your profits greatly.
The biggest problem though is that looking at watches as an investment takes the fun out of it. You will start looking only at the numbers, buying not what you like but what you think might perform well in the future. Most likely you will not even wear your watch to preserve its value. Don’t rob yourself of the opportunity to express yourself through a unique timepiece in the hopes of making a quick buck! The best watch for you is the one you want on your wrist every day of the week.