One of the many reasons people use expensive watch brands asides from the status perception is because they value longevity. Luxury watch brands like Rolex and Patek Philippe last many generations and can serve as a family heirloom, being enjoyed by several others aside from the original owner.
As a matter of fact, most purchases of premium watches are based on longevity, technology, functionality, and status rather than mere aesthetics. Luxury watches are made with more glamorous materials than the more affordable brands. They sometimes come in limited editions and when properly cared for, stay around for longer when compared to a cheaper brand or wristwatch.
You should absolutely consider a luxury watch brand when buying a watch.
Luxury watch brands—made with more glamorous and expensive materials
When compared to more affordable brands, watches from luxury watch brands are made from more alluring and expensive materials that make them worth all the hype. For instance, some are set in titanium, platinum, and carbon fiber down to real diamonds.
These expensive watch brands are usually not bluffing, they have a brand to protect. And this they do by incorporating the finest attention to detail into the design of their watches.
Some other extravagant materials luxury watch brands come in are rose gold, yellow gold, white gold, and platinum. Only the best or nothing.
Now, let’s take a look at some of our expensive watch brands and why they stand out.
Rolex
Rolex has established itself as one of the world’s most famous luxury watch brands. With the cutting-edge technology, impeccable design, and reliability that characterizes every Rolex piece, it’s no wonder that it sits at the table, King among other kings.
Rolex sends an invite with its outstanding pieces. With timeless pieces like Daytona and GMT-Master II, Rolex invites its customers to ‘Chase new horizons’ or ‘Seize the day’.
With customers ranging from famed celebrities to top oil magnates and businessmen, Rolex yearly rolls out exquisite top-quality designs you will always want to check out and be seen wearing.
Its Day-Date 40—‘Seize the day’—watch for instance is crafted in 18-ct yellow gold, featuring Roman numerals, a fluted bezel, and a President bracelet. This watch in particular is the first watch in the world to display the day and date in full, allowing you to literally ‘seize the day’ as you live through its endless possibilities.
Also famed as the ultimate watch of prestige, the Day-Date watch made its debut in 1956 and has incorporated its traditional look into the modern-day design. The watch is waterproof. It comes in a variety of oyster-platinum, oyster-white gold, oyster-everose gold, and oyster-yellow gold with its bezel either fluted like the Day-Date 40, smooth or arrayed in gemstones.
Looking for more? There are other varieties under their belt to keep you coming back like the Yacht-Master and DateJust. Whatever you’re looking for in your luxury watch brand, be sure that Rolex’s attention to detail is sure to catch your eye and cuff your wrist.
Patek Philippe
Patek Philippe has consistently topped the charts as the world’s best watch company with its designs synonymous with a status symbol like none other.
A luxury watch brand in a class of its own, the Patek Philippe has mastered the art of watchmaking. From the hand-winding two-hand watch and watches with functions like an annual calendar or second-time zone to sophisticated masterpieces with minute repeaters, tourbillons, and split-seconds chronographs, the brand incorporates masterful craftsmanship with modern technology in ways that make it stand out from the crowd.
For Patek Philippe’s 6002R, the brand combines hand-stitched square-scaled alligator leather with an 18k gold dial plate to create one of the most astonishing sights in the history of watchmaking.
The double-faced wristwatch features a minute repeater with “cathedral” gongs, crowns, slide pieces, hour/minute hands, and a fold-over clasp that are entirely hand-engraved with volutes and arabesques. The front dial combines Grand Feu champlevé and cloisonné enameling in a rose gold finish.
This extraordinary timepiece of artistry and skills is the second most complicated Patek Philippe wristwatch with 12 complications. Orders are delivered with a pair of matching cufflinks in a rose gold, sapphire-crystal case back.
Cartier
The Cartier luxury brand has a rich history of high-quality watches running on their motto of “Never imitate, always innovate”.
A king in its own right, the luxury watch brand has built a reputation for itself, paving the way with its technical mastery and timeless innovations. Common with many Emperors and Empresses, the brand’s collections adeptly incorporate minimalism, style, and timelessness into their pieces. Essentially, a pre-owned Cartier watch still offers its owner the same value it did decades ago.
One of the most expensive of the Cartier collection is the Cartier Secret Phoenix Décor Watch. This watch is made of 18k rhodium-plated white gold, the eyes of the phoenix are made of emeralds while the watch is enclosed in about 3010 diamonds leading to an overall weight of about 80k. Talk about a piece that appreciates with time and you have this!
Another must-have Cartier watch is the Drive De Cartier. This collection is designed for those who enjoy a sportier look on their wrist as the design is inspired by the gauges of vintage cars. The Drive De Cartier watch features a large date, retrograde second time zone, and day-night indicator.
If you’re interested in getting this watch, you might want to look out for its 18k rose gold model with Roman numerals, guilloche dial with sub-seconds hands at 6:00, and date indication at 3:00.
On this luxury watch brand, it’s safe to say that you can never go wrong with longevity and style.
Covid 19’s impact on the luxury watches industry
By now, it’s established that a true luxury watch brand does not lose its value. If anything at all, it’s one of the best investments to make in 2022. Despite the restrictions on social gatherings due to the pandemic, the status-symbol watch industry has experienced a 74% increase in demand since 2020.
The reason is not far-fetched. Although the Pandemic adversely affected the earning power of most businesses, the luxury watch brands have found a way to strategically cause scarcity for their products leading to increased demand—and value—for their brands. What better time to invest than now?
One major driving force for this market is that the original value doubles or triples when production ceases, multiplying your investment in one go! A classic example of this is the Patek Phillipe Nautilus Ref. 5711. With the production of the watch discontinued in 2021, the watch value has experienced a 61% increase in value, selling for about £4.87 million in December 2021. Even stocks don’t experience such a phenomenal increase in such a short time.
Another solid investment for the year 2022 is the Rolex Daytona. This collection is one of the scarcest models in the primary market, leading to a 37% interest in its value. Unlike luxury cars, top brand watches do not depreciate easily, holding value any day, anytime.
One interesting fact about investing in luxury watch brands is that you get to wear the watch regularly—establishing your status as an expensive watch brand owner—while still being able to turn the watch into cash when you need it. Talk about eating your cake and having it.
Benefits of buying luxury watches
In the course of this article, we have mentioned the different benefits of owning a luxury watch brand. However, in this section, we would briefly highlight and summarize some of the best reasons for buying luxury watch brands.
Great gift
Luxury watch brands are a great gift to give. When you give a top watch brand, you communicate your idea of value to the recipient. In essence, you let your recipient know that you value your relationship and it’s as priceless as the gift you’re giving.
Another reason expensive watch brands are a great gift is that they are sustainable. They last. Going on and on, possibly as a family heirloom. And when it’s passed to its new owner, the story of its origins in the family might be repeated, again reflecting the long-term value you stand for.
Status symbol
The best way to make a statement about your status is in the luxury items you use. Luxury cars. Luxury phones. Designer outfits. But what complements these obvious details better than a subtle one? A luxury watch brand.
Unlike the obvious other luxurious items, expensive watch brands are not only the little details that make the complete luxurious look, they are the best way to say that you are expensive and you want them to know about it.
Top-notch quality
What’s luxury without quality? Each of the top brand watches we have discussed in this article is some of the best picks from anywhere in the world.
From the detailing of their bezels, tourbillon, chronograph, dials, faces, straps, and glamorous materials, these luxury watch brands speak top-notch quality louder than a trombone!
How the trade process works
As mentioned in the previous section, one of the most practical things people do when they own expensive watch brands is to trade their old watch in for a newer model. At our store, the trade process is really simple and seamless. You can just follow these steps to trade your watch for another one:
- On our website, identify the watch you are most interested in and select the “Trade in for This Watch” button on the listings page to initiate the process.
- Describe your current watch via the online trade form directly on the watch details page of the timepiece that you’re interested in.
- After this, you would be made an initial offer for the trade. View and accept the offer.
- Sign your customer agreement to receive the pre-paid and fully insured shipping labels via email.
- After the customer agreement is signed, you’ll get the opportunity to speak with or email one of our experts who will place the watch on reserve.
- Ship the watch to us for inspection to receive your final offer.
- At this point, you’re almost done. Complete your trade process by using the store’s payment mode to purchase your new watch placed on reserve for you. You would need to make up any difference between the price of your old watch and the new one.
- Get your new watch mailed to you after the order is completed and fully processed.
Interesting watch facts you probably don’t know
As we wind down on the subject of luxury watch brands, we have some interesting watch facts that will tickle your fancy:
Pocket watches used to dominate the market
Up until World War I, the pocket watch used to dominate the market and was the epitome of fashion to the most fashionable at the time. The designs have gone through the phases of being large, bulky, and worn around the neck to becoming the simple and light actual pocket watch a lot of people are now familiar with.
In the interim, there were times when they were ‘notorious’ for being inaccurate in telling the time—sometimes up to an hour ahead—due to their verge escapement mechanism. This problem was first resolved by Jean de Hautefeuille and then improved upon by inventor Thomas Mudge.
Women’s luxury watches that are sleek, feminine and timeless
Women’s luxury watch brands are created to cover the diversity of tastes and purposes that women may have for their watches.
From two-tone diamond watches, round, square, or rectangle silhouettes, ceramic, leather or stainless-steel materials perfected with either simplicity or gemstones, a variety of luxury collections exists to meet women’s tastes. Of course, with style as a top priority!
There is something about looking good that lifts the mood and promises a beautiful day or evening ahead. This is what most Women’s watch brands promise to women—and deliver on. Sleek watches, perfect for everyday wear, diamond-encrusted pieces, an excellent addition to your dinner dress, and sparks conversations…there’s hardly a replacement that completes the woman’s look like a sleek luxury wristwatch.
Most expensive luxury watches in the world
At this point, you might begin to wonder why luxury watch brands are so expensive? The reason is not far-fetched. They are worth it. It’s that simple.
The artistry and skills of the master craftsmen for designing each piece, the attention to detail in choosing the high-end materials and setting the chronographs per time zone, the rare jewels that are embedded in some dials and bezels, the rarity in production volume compared to cheaper brands, the sustainability built into the watch to appreciate over time… The basis is clear. Luxury watch brands are expensive because they are the stuff luxury is made of.
Nevertheless, below are some of the top watches brands that keep a high profile. You should look out for them:
Watch Model | Sale Price |
---|---|
Patek Philippe Worldtimer Guilloché Ref. 2523/1 | $5.5 million |
Patek Philippe Platinum World Time Ref. 1415 | $5.8 million |
Patek Philippe Yellow Gold Calibre 89 | $6 million |
Rolex Daytona Unicorn Ref. 6265 | $6.1 million |
Patek Philippe Titanium Ref. 5208T-010 | $6.6 million |
Patek Philippe Gold Chronograph Ref. 1527 | $6.8 million |
Patek Philippe White Gold Calibre 89 | $6.6 million |
Patek Philippe Gold Chronograph Ref. 1527 | $6.8 million |
Patek Philippe White Gold Calibre 89 | $6.9 million |
How much does a watch depreciate?
The depreciation of a luxury watch depends largely on how much demand there is for the brand or the watch in particular. Brands that do not hold their value, as well as Rolex or Patek Phillipe, usually tend to lose their value faster due to low demand for their pre-owned watches. Which makes it pretty logical that expensive watch brands without much demand will depreciate much faster than brands with demand for them in the market.
Statistics have shown that like all classes of watches, luxury watches depreciate after the first year of purchase. For the average luxury watch, it is estimated that there will be a loss of value up to 39.8% while cheaper brands would lose only about 19.4% of their value.
But then again, the value of a luxury watch brand lies in the long term, which can appreciate high enough to trade in an old model for a newer model almost without any additional cost to you. So, it’s definitely always a good investment.
What defines a watch as a luxury watch?
It’s hard to accurately articulate what defines a premium watch. However, there are some characteristics that are common to all luxury watch brands:
Name
Everyone wants to wear a Rolex or a Patek Phillipe. People get excited when gifted one and this is because these brands have positioned themselves over decades as a luxury brand to be reckoned with. Due to this, it’s harder for newer brands to compete with their image and pedigree.
Some people even go as far as buying an inauthentic Rolex just to have that crown emblem on their wristwatches. It’s that serious!
Price
What’s expensive is perceived as more valuable. It’s pricing psychology. And so, when you wear a brand that is widely known as expensive, it automatically conveys a status symbol to you which would not be the same situation as if you were wearing a cheaper brand.
So, if the cost of our wristwatches would make people perceive us as filthy rich? Then so be it.
Feeling of success
Nothing beats the feeling of success that comes with wearing a luxury brand. In the same way, wearing make-up or getting compliments makes a woman feel more beautiful, this is the same state with luxury brands.
Knowing the value of what you’re wearing gives you a feeling of success because it shows that you have more than enough to cover the basics like expensive food and clothes and so, a luxury watch brand is not a big deal for you.