The last couple of years haven’t been the best for investing in watches. Some of the biggest brands and models have been in a bit of a slump that’s yet to recover. But that, of course, is only for investors. For collectors on the other hand, it’s a great time to be a watch lover.
Gone are the hundreds of watch flippers out to make a quick buck, offering popular yet uninteresting watches for many times their retail price. Instead, it’s a collectors’ market. By that, we mean that there are some seriously cool watches you can get hold of for far less than you might have before. As the UK’s premier marketplace for fine watches, Watch Collecting knows a thing or two about that.
Over the past few months, the online platform has sold an incredible spread of watches. The choice ranges from undervalued bargains that should go for a lot more to insanely high-end pieces that just don’t crop up often on the open market. To give you just a snapshot of the watches passing through Watch Collecting, we’ve selected some of the most interesting that have been sold in recent weeks. That of course means that these exact pieces are no longer available but keep your eyes open. This isn’t the first time they’ve cropped up and it won’t be the last.
Rolex Cellini, £1,499 (1990)
Even after being discontinued, the Rolex Cellini doesn’t get nearly as much love as it should. It’s a perfect little dress watch and the unusual rectangular version here, with its President-adjacent gold-on-gold look, is a lovely counterpoint to modern Rolex. It’s pure minimalism except for the quirky minute markers notched directly into the bezel. It just goes to show the disproportionate spotlight that’s shone on Rolex’s steel sports models. A rare vintage Rolex for £1,499? On paper that seems insane. On Watch Collecting, it’s the norm for the underappreciated Cellini.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Platinum Number One, £14,500 (2000s)
As soon as you head off the beaten path of Royal Oaks, Daytonas, and Nautili, you’ll be surprised at the value you can get in pre-owned watches. Reversible case in point, a platinum watch with a magnificently skeletonised dial from one of the most long-standing maisons in Swiss watchmaking – for less than £15,000. Not only was this Reverso Jaeger-LeCoultre’s first series production in platinum, but it was also limited to 500 pieces, making this both a rarity and an important watch for the brand. Given how many collectors are sleeping on older JLC models right now, this was a fantastic buy – and there’s more where that came from.
Cartier Crash Skeleton, £85,000 (2017)
In recent years the asymmetrical Crash has become a touchstone among the artier of horological aficionados; yet another case shaped feather the Parisian tour de force has in their well-heeled cap. These days that makes it a bit of an auction regular, though rarely with quite the cache of the skeleton version. The way that the skeletonised bridges curve with the case is downright magnificent, even by Cartier standards and makes this model something of a stand-out among Crash references.
Richard Mille RM67-01, £120,000 (2021)
It’s hard to call any Richard Mille well- priced given the eye-watering numbers the watchmaker tends to pull in, but the RM67-01 here is a genuinely fascinating piece. Most watches of this calibre either go to auction or pass between private sellers and seeing it here is a testament to Watch Collecting as a platform. Then there’s the watch itself, which is a beauty. Defined by its diamond-set case, it happens to be one of Richard Mille’s slimmest (it was the thinnest of all when introduced in 2016). It’s an exemplary Richard Mille and netted the seller £120,000. I’m sure the buyer agrees that it was worth every penny.
Rolex Daytona ‘Le Mans’, £133,000 (2024)
Sure, the market’s a little depressed, but that was never going to stop collectors jumping on the Daytona wherever it pops up. That’s especially true of the 2024 ‘Le Mans’, a special edition tribute to the famous endurance race, created in honour of the 2024 competition in the (almost) spitting image of the annual winners’ watch. It has all the modern bells and whistles – a ceramic tachymeter scale, a calibre 4132 Rolex movement, and a full white gold case. Understandably, very few of these are ever sold. Not only are they rare, but if there’s one in your collection, it’s likely never leaving. It achieved a sky-high price tag, but not nearly as much as it would have a few years ago.
More details at Watch Collecting.
