Understanding The Pricing of Luxury Timepieces

What makes the difference between a $20 watch and a $10,000 luxury timepiece? More than just the materials used, and branding! When you get down to the history of watchmaking, you will learn the difference. In 16^th Century Europe, watchmakers created wearable timepieces with technology evolved from spring-driven clocks. Watches have been powered by an ever-increasing complexity of springs, gears and other components for 600 years hence. Only watchmakers with highly specialized skills could craft something to complex and beautiful – and that price, of course, was factored into the watch’s selling price. Today, most watches are made with quartz crystals and run on electricity and are much faster and less skill intensive to make. Luxury timepieces are priced according to these factors:

Superior Level of Craftsmanship

It takes a keen eye and a knowledgeable wearer to know the high level of craftsmanship that goes into each and every luxury timepiece. Crafting a watch is a unique skill, and with the prevalence of cheap knockoffs these days, there are fewer and fewer of these highly skilled craftsmen around. Paying for a watch also supports the talents of these artisans.

High-Quality Materials

Luxury timepieces often come in gold, silver, titanium, or with high-quality leather straps. It’s no surprise then that a gold watch would cost much more than a silver one, all other factors equal, just by the value of the materials alone. The good news is, this actually factors into you receiving a high price for it should you be thinking about selling your watch.

Scarcity of the Brand or Model

As luxury watches are not mass produced, there are only so many of these works of art made per year. Due to this scarcity, each individual timepiece can often fetch up to tens of thousands of dollars. Vintage watches have their own value as well, and in fact the scarcity increases as some watches inevitably get lost or broken, hence the value to collectors tends to increase.

Fashion Trends

When dealing in works of art, as luxury timepieces are often considered, prices tend to depend strongly on what’s in trend – or “in vogue”, as we sometimes say. A luxury watch could be worn by a famous celebrity and suddenly the price would shoot up as public attention and hence demand for the watch increases. Furthermore, there is always a rise and fall in the interest of vintage items, including vintage timepieces. A watch made in the 1970s could be of great interest to a collector or vintage lover who has money to pay for it.

A luxury timepiece in your possession could fetch a hefty sum. Should you ever consider selling it, you should always go to a trusted jewelry buyer who specializes in the appraisal and purchasing of luxury items. In the NY and NJ area, a good specialist to turn to would be Global Gold and Silver. Many sellers have parted with their watches for a good price with us. Find out more about selling your watch, and you can even check out how much others have received for their watches.