Updated: Aug 13, 2023
ESTATE PLANNING
Watches are not just for the rich. Everyone should have a watch collection as part of their estate planning.
What are you going to hand down to your kids?
1. House: By the time that inheritance taxes, state taxes and federal taxes are paid, what is left
for your kids, and never mind the infighting between the siblings.
2. Stocks and Bonds: Same thing, the government is going to take their share.
3. Art: The beauty of art is that the value is in the eye of the beholder. Watches fall in this category.
To leave your kids something that you love, will be treasured by your children and their children forever.
We have put together a few examples of reasonable watch collections: Entry, Moderate, and
Extreme. These are just a few examples that we threw together in a few minutes. Your tastes and budget might be different. You can choose from over 1200 pieces on our site, or if you wish, let us know what you're looking for. The odds are we can find you anything that suits your budget..
There is a lot of nonsense out there about watch collecting. It's almost all self-serving BS.
Let me explain: Yes, you can spend $30,000 on a Patek, $20,000 on a Rolex, and $10,000 on an Omega. These top of the line pieces are probably overpriced and will have very little appreciation over the next five years. This $60,000 collection might be worth $66,000 in five years, or a 10% increase.
On the other hand, a modest collection of a $3000 Omega, $2500 Rado, and a $2000 Seiko might appreciate by 50% in five years to $11,250. This is a much better return because Rado and Seiko are below the radar right now even though they are beautiful watches.
Rich people collect watches because they recognize that watches are portable, private wealth that they actually own and can privately hand down to their kids.
We believe that watches should be part of everyone's estate planning.
Everyone is different. Check with your financial advisor.
Don't go crazy, but think about it.
Enjoy!
Updated: Apr 23, 2022
WatchArtExchange believes vintage watches are a good investment.
Why? They ain’t making them anymore!
Art
Prices of raw or unrestored vintage watches are soaring. Scarcity is the number one reason. Vintage watches are becoming hard to come by.
Mint condition or factory condition vintage watches are nearly impossible to find, except at WatchArtExchange.
You can buy a Rolex, Omega, or even a Seiko on the internet and take it to your local
Jeweler to repair and restore, but this is often unsuccessful because he doesn’t have the skillset nor the tools to do the job correctly.
Don’t believe us?
Try it.
WatchArtExchange is the only place that can restore your vintage watch to perfection or factory condition.
Vintage watches reflect the pinnacle of human art and engineering. Watches truly are valuable pieces of art.
Is precious art a good investment?
You bet it is!
Automation
Vintage watches are valuable because they were hand made and each is unique. It took a master watchmaker over 30 hours to make just one watch.
Back in the day, a Rolex, a Rado, and even a Seiko cost about the same. It took a lot of work to make a watch.
Modern day watches use machines to mass produce watches to save money. Labor is very expensive. As an example of modernization, Rolex manufactures over a million watches per year and only has 30 thousand employees.
Every modern Rolex Submariner, Omega Moon Watch, and Steinhart Ocean is exactly the same.
Below is a comparison of a Rolex and a Steinhart. The Rolex sells new for $10,000 and the Steinhart sells new for under $800. Both beautiful watches. Both are Swiss made. Both keep accurate time. Why pay 10X more for the Rolex?
In our opinion, modern watches are a victim of their own success. The manufacturers have been able to automate watch manufacturing and significantly reduce their expenses. It is true that the higher brands like Rolex, Omega, and Patek for example do add an element of human labor to the timepiece in the form of embellishments, but the profit margin is immense and not passed down to the consumer. This is why they fear Chinese copies which are essentially the same watch for much less.
Vintage watches were made by hand. Each watch was a little different. Vintage watches cannot be mass produced, by definition.
The vintage watch is fairly priced, if it took over 30 hours to make. The vintage watch is worth more if it is unique and scarce. The vintage watch is worth more if it is a piece of horological art.
Investment
Yes, we believe a mint condition or factory condition vintage watch is not only beautiful to look at, not only will your watch turn heads and get you compliments, but as all fine art, it will appreciate over time.
From personal experience we can tell you that vintage watches in their broken, scratched up condition are going up in price well above inflation. The problem is that there is no one out there that can properly restore these watches to new condition and therefore make them so desirable that we can call them investment grade.
Vintage Rolexes have skyrocketed in price, especially in good condition. The vintage Rolex is expensive and the amount of appreciation is limited because it is fairly priced. In our opinion, the Rolex is nice, but boring. They all look the same. There are better buys out there.
Rado as an example, is a beautiful watch, better made than it’s contemporary Rolex cousin, and in the 1950’s and 1960’s actually cost more than a Rolex!
Blasphemy!
No, this is the truth. Check out this link with prices and availability of Rado Watches:
Modern Seikos also are boring. Honestly, they all look the same and it’s hard to justify paying 10X more for a modern Grand Seiko (GS) just because it says GS on the dial. We are well aware that they are not the same. We understand that the Asian ethos is to be subtle and humble, but it was not always that way.
Vintage Seikos are beautiful, colorful and in most cases better made than their contemporary Rolex counterpart. Take a look at our Seiko collection. You will be blown away with the variety and beauty.
Traditionally, rich people invest in real estate, stocks/bonds, and art.
In our opinion, the vintage watch is affordable art for the common man.
If you have the money, then maybe a Picasso or Mona Lisa might be a better investment.
We believe a balanced watch collection will serve you well now and in the distant future.
Yes, the vintage watch has always been and will continue to be a good investment.
We are not investment advisors. Check with your advisor.
Thank you for reading!
WatchArtExchange
Updated: Jun 12, 2023
Isabella and I had breakfast at Balthazar in the city. We hadn't really talked in years. She opened up a little bit and told me about her job in private equity. She said she was going to buy a Patek. I asked her, what is that? She said, a watch. I said how much. She said $30,000! I almost fell off my chair. She told me, there are only a few ways that she could show status to her clients.
Isabella never bought that Patek, but she did send me on a fantastic journey into the Watch World.
Isabella was right, watches show status, but they are so much more.
People have survived the ravages of war with the inherent value of a luxury watch.
Vintage watches are the ultimate bitcoin. Their value has outpaced inflation and even the price of gold over time. Will modern watches that are essentially machine made by the millions be a good investment, time will tell.
Most of us can't afford a Mona Lisa, but we can afford a beautiful watch.
Our watches are one of a kind mint condition luxury watches.
We don't sell junk.
When you receive our watch, you won't believe it is 10, 20, or even 50 years old.
Our watches look and feel like the day they left the factory, or your money back!
Enjoy!!!
Love you Isabella