Luxury watches 'do not depreciate in value'

First published: 21-12-2009

People wanting to put money into something which will never depreciate in value ought to consider the market for luxury, limited edition or high-end watches, it has been reported.

Charles Tearle, the watch director of the world-famous Antiquorum international auction house which specialises in timekeeping items, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that people must realise that very few watches are genuinely valuable, but those that are will never depreciate in value.

The report continued: "The watches that command huge amounts privately and at auction are pre-ordered or produced in very limited edition. Serious money is in unique and highly sophisticated precision watches crafted by master watchmakers.

"Age is not a factor: Some are new as yesterday."

He noted that brands that specialise in such timepieces are Rolex and Jaeger-LeCoultre, providing rarefied and highly-desirable watches.

A Rolex watch worn by a CIA agent in Afghanistan in the 1970s and 1980s was recently discussed on Hodinkee, with the source noting that the prized possession can be seen as international currency should anyone get in a sticky situation, underlining the worth of the timepiece.