Written by: Griffiths & Armour on: 11 Apr 2022
Is it time to reassess the value of your luxury watch?
Last week, Geneva in Switzerland hosted ‘Watches And Wonders’ one of the world’s most prestigious Luxury Watch events and included the long awaited release of many new luxury watch models including brands such as Patek Philippe and Rolex.
Whether it’s for personal use, a gift for a loved one or a purchase primarily for investment purposes, these brands have historically increased in their value every year – making it even more important that your insurance cover reflects the value of these possessions accurately throughout the year.
Why has the price of luxury watches increased?
There are a number of factors that have contributed to this trend of increased purchase price and value, one of which includes waiting lists tend to be long for purchasing collectable watches directly from official watch dealers.
This contributes to a price difference between the primary and secondary market. In respect of the secondary market, prices not only inflate because of this growing demand, but also in some cases because of the discontinuation of models, auction sales (which invariably result in driving further price rises) or the ever growing ‘influencer’ effect which involves high-profile personalities promoting demand for these brands as aspirational ‘must-haves’.
Taking one specific brand, Rolex, we have recently seen their price increase across the entire range. More generally, almost all luxury steel watches have had the most significant increase of over 10%, for example a Rolex Submariner purchased in 2021 with an RRP of £7,305 now has an RRP of £8,050 in 2022.
So generally, this is great news if you own a luxury watch however it’s important to recognise that this increase in value will have a knock-on effect to the immediate replacement value should you ever need to claim for damage or loss.
Almost all Rolex watches command a premium for immediate replacement, this figure will now be higher as a result of the retail price rising so it is more important than ever to have an up to date valuation of your watch to avoid under insurance.
Next steps
At Griffiths & Armour, whether it’s for luxury and exclusive watches or any high value possessions that may increase in value throughout the year, our Private Clients team are ready to assist in any re-valuation of your current insured items at any time throughout your insurance cover as well as the standard practice of valuating your possessions at the point of your renewal.
If you have any questions about the sums insured under your current insurance policy, please click below to submit your enquiry to Head of Private Clients, Ed Dunphy.
