Introducing the ChronoPulse – Watch Index Report: A look at the secondary market for luxury watches in Q1 2024
- Chrono24 analyzes the performance of the secondary market for luxury watches in Q1 2024
- Luxury watch prices nearly stagnated in Q1 2024 and may have bottomed out
- Watch prices increased for 4 out of 14 brands analyzed
Karlsruhe, April 30, 2024. Many luxury watches are purchased not only for their looks and functionality, but also for their ability to hold their value over time. That’s why Chrono24, the world’s leading online marketplace for luxury watches, analyzes the performance of the secondary market for luxury watches on a quarterly basis. To do so, the company evaluates the developments of their in-house ChronoPulse watch index. It’s the world’s only luxury watch price index based on actual sales data. The secondary market for luxury watches showed some signs of recovery in the first quarter of 2024.
Is the secondary market for luxury watches stabilizing?
Overall, prices for luxury watches fell by 0.49% between January 1 and March 31, 2024. Looking at the previous quarter and the same period last year, this is a positive development, considering that luxury watch prices fell by 0.97% in Q4 2023 and by 2.23% in Q1 2023. Moreover, prices for watches from 4 of the 14 brands analyzed by Chrono24 actually rose in the first quarter of the year.
Timepieces from Jaeger-LeCoultre experienced the greatest increase in value (+3.97%). Patek Philippe (+0.41%), TAG Heuer (+0.34%), and Rolex (+0.26%) also showed positive performance across the first quarter of 2024.
Historically, this is also part of a positive trend. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the only watches to increase in value on the secondary market were those from Cartier (+2.31%), Omega (+1.41%), and Breitling (+1.39%). In Q1 2023, this could only be said for two brands, namely Jaeger-LeCoultre (+1.85%) and Omega (+0.52%).
Industry Experts: The Market May Have Bottomed Out
“Prices in the secondary market for luxury watches rose for about two years after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, before slowing in the spring of 2022 and falling since then. We may have now reached the lowest point, given the near stagnation of prices in Q1 2024, as seen in our ChronoPulse watch index,” explains Balazs Ferenczi, Head of Brand Engagement at Chrono24, adding, “It remains to be seen whether we’ll see an upward trend in coming weeks. There are already a few positive signs in this regard, as prices for more than 40% of popular models rose in the first quarter of this year. The watch market could also get a further boost if central banks in Europe and the US cut key interest rates. Chrono24 has recently seen increased demand for luxury watches on the platform. We even set a new record for transactions on our marketplace in Q1 2024. This could also be a sign that watch enthusiasts are speculating that prices will rise again, and thus are getting their dream watch at a potentially lower price.”
Breitling, Cartier, and Omega: Largest Drops in Value
While there were some positive price trends in the secondary market for luxury watches, by the end of the first quarter, the purchase prices of more than two-thirds of the watch brands analyzed were still down compared to January 2024. The greatest loss was seen by Breitling (-4.49 percent). However, watches from Cartier (-3.47%), Omega (-2.92%), Audemars Piguet (-2.24 percent), and Hublot (-2.13%) also decreased in value by over 2 percent in Q1 2024.
Prices for brands like Panerai (-0.91 percent), IWC (-0.38%), and Tudor (-0.16%) likewise fell, albeit only slightly. “We can’t rule out the possibility that price developments for these brands will turn positive again in the next two quarters. If so, this would be the first time since 2022 that more than half of all brands in the ChronoPulse Index would be in the black. We will of course be tracking to see whether this actually happens,”explains Balazs Ferenczi.
Watches With the Best Performance in Q1 2024
Among the watches that increased most in value on the secondary market are two Cartier models. The Cartier Panthère enjoyed a 19.51% jump in value in the first quarter of the year, while prices for the Cartier Santos rose by 18.25%.
Six other models also increased value by more than 15%. These include the Breitling Navitimer (+18%), Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Grande Taille (+17.57%), TAG Heuer Monaco Gulf (+16%), Panerai Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days (+15.92%), Hublot Big Bang (+15.9%), and Grand Seiko Heritage Collection (+15.54%). Market leader Rolex doesn’t appear on the list of watches with the highest increases in value on the secondary market until place 13: Prices for the GMT-Master II “Pepsi” rose by 9.94% in Q1 2024.
You can track price trends on the secondary luxury watch market using the ChronoPulse Watch Index, which is based on real sales data: https://www.chrono24.com/chronopulse.htm
About the ChronoPulse Watch Index
The ChronoPulse watch index is the only watch index based on actual sales data, not just listing data. Based on a points system and data drawn from more than 600,000 transactions, ChronoPulse analyzes the performance of more than 14 watch brands – and 140 individual models – with the highest transaction volume on the secondary market. As a result, ChronoPulse provides accurate insights into the price performance of watches since January 2019. In addition to Rolex, Audemars Piguet, and Patek Philippe, the index includes watches from Cartier, Hublot, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Omega, Panerai, TAG Heuer, Tudor, and Vacheron Constantin.
About Chrono24
“Chrono24 – The World’s Watch Market” has been a leading global online marketplace for luxury watches since 2003. With over 560,000 watches from over 3,000 dealers and 30,000 private sellers in more than 120 countries, the portal reaches more than nine million unique visitors per month. Chrono24 offers a comprehensive service portfolio with a wide and global range of new, used, and vintage watches. This allows buyers and sellers to complete transactions in a trusted environment. Chrono24 employs more than 500 people in its offices in Germany (Karlsruhe and Berlin), New York, Miami, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and other locations.