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 [Watches](/style/watches) 

 



 /  28 May 2025  

#  Why It’s A Good Time To Get Into Pre-Owned Watches  


 Christy Davis is a founder of Subdial, a trading platform that’s dragging the secondary watch market out of windowless backrooms and into the fresh, transparent air of the 2020s. Andy Collins has been investing in watches ever since he made a couple of hundred quid buying and selling a Breitling as a schoolkid. We spoke to them both about how much the market has changed recently, and why it’s an exciting time to take an interest in pre-owned timepieces…  
 

 



ByTobias Gourlay

 

 

  Image: @m.adcock81 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

***Did you come into the watches game with a passion? Or has that come later?***

CHRISTY: I was a complete outsider when I started [Subdial](https://subdial.com/) with my co-founder Ross. We’d left our jobs to start a different company, but it didn’t gain any traction. We had £5,000 in the bank and wanted to turn it into something that would pay the rent. We started buying and selling bikes — doing them up, posting online, flipping them on eBay. Then, because we had a casual interest in them, we did the same with watches.

ANDY: I picked up a love of watches from my dad. I can’t remember a time I wasn’t into them.

***Is that the same for your clients, Christy?***

CHRISTY: People buy watches because of passion. The financials are secondary, but important. If someone was looking to spend £40,000 on a watch but thought of it as ‘burning’ £40,000, not many would go through with it. But because there's a sense that a watch is a place to park your money – that it *feels* like an investment – that changes things. I see watches as passion assets. Without the passion, it’s lifeless. Without the asset value, it’s hard to participate seriously. Both sides matter.

***Tell us a bit more about those clients…***

CHRISTY: Our customers are obviously affluent – our average sale price is around £14,000 – and they’re active collectors. They skew pretty young – 75% are under 45 – and they might be actors, CEOs or footballers. But they’re not just buying and hoarding. They’re always looking for what’s next in collectability and emerging trends, so they’re selling to fund their next piece. Sure, we have some ultra-high-net-worth clients, but our bread and butter is the engaged collector – not necessarily super-yacht-owning, oil-rich types. Our business model is based on trade, so that works really well for us.

***And how price sensitive are they?***

CHRISTY: I’ve found there’s an interesting dynamic. We get people who are very well off, and they’ve got a list of watches they want to buy and are really passionate about. They could afford to go out and buy them all tomorrow, but they don’t, because part of collecting is ‘buying well’. They want to find the right piece at the right time, at the right price. That’s part of the skill and the practice of collecting, but financial returns are not the primary motivation. People aren’t sat there staring at price graphs. They’re reading about the history, the design, and the nuances of each piece. That’s what really drives them.

***How did you get started as a trader, Andy?***

ANDY: I was around 11 or 12. I set up an eBay account in my grandma’s name and bought a [Breitling](https://www.breitling.com/gb-en/) for about £400 from the US, then flipped it for £600 or £700. That was my first taste of how the exchange rate made US watches cheaper even after import duty. Through my teens, I kept flipping Breitlings and [Tags](https://www.tagheuer.com/gb/en/) as they were within my budget. Over time, I became more aware of how watches could actually gain value. The [Rolex Daytona](https://www.rolex.com/watches/cosmograph-daytona) was the big story at the time: it had a years-long waitlist and traded second-hand at prices above retail. That stuck with me: how could something you wear appreciate in value – unlike cars, which depreciate as soon as you put your keys in the ignition, even it's a [Ferrari](https://www.ferrari.com/en-GB) or [Rolls-Royce](https://www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com/en_GB/home.html)?

 

> [View this post on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/DGsE29AIHgY/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading)[A post shared by Tourbillionaire (@thetourbillionaire)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DGsE29AIHgY/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading)

  

 

> [View this post on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/DHKYaSZhAds/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading)[A post shared by Johnathan Chan (@watchbruh)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DHKYaSZhAds/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading)

  

 

 

***You’ve already told us about how Subdial started, Christy. Why do you think it worked?***

CHRISTY: We’d seen that selling a watch was a pretty terrible experience. Buying’s not so bad because even if you overpay, you get a trusted retailer and a 24-month warranty or whatever. But selling? It was dodgy. Vague pricing, long forms, weird interactions. So we focused on that: building a great, clean, easy process for selling. Once we had the watches, especially early on, Rolex had already done the branding and marketing for us. If we had a good piece at a fair price, we could just stick it on [eBay](https://www.ebay.co.uk/) and people were interested. We didn’t fully understand why it was going so well at the time – we just leaned into it. That was six years ago, and since then it’s grown, and the customer base has shifted more toward collectors and enthusiasts – people who really care, who are part of a community, who go to events. If you treat them well, and you’re authentic, they’re incredibly loyal.

***Are authenticity – and trust – still big issues in the space?***

CHRISTY: There are still some risks – fakes, ‘frankenwatches’, shady sellers – but if you buy from reputable sources and do your homework, you can navigate these things pretty safely – and trust and transparency are improving all the time. We find people are often more nervous buying a £2,000 watch than a £100,000 one. I think that’s because you can build a reasonable knowledge and get comfortable with this stuff – and also because there are a lot fewer people faking a 2002 Cartier [Tortue CPCP Monopoussoir](https://subdial.com/listing/cartier-tortue-cpcp-monopusher-xl-sd068163) than a [Santos-Dumont](https://subdial.com/listing/cartier-santos-dumont-xl-rose-gold-steel-white-sd067246) or a Rolex [Submariner No Date](https://www.rolex.com/watches/submariner/m124060-0001).

ANDY: Always try to buy watches with their box and papers, especially the certificate of authenticity. It makes reselling much easier. Be careful buying without them, unless you’re in it just to wear the watch. Also, buy from reputable sources or private sellers who can show proof of purchase. There’s a risk around stolen watches – if you buy one and it’s flagged in Rolex’s system, it’s gone – so always get proof of purchase, especially with private sellers. When it comes to selling, I’d recommend going to established traders like [Watchfinder](https://www.watchfinder.co.uk/) or [Trotters](https://trottersjewellers.com/). They’re professional and pay fair prices. Selling to private buyers is riskier – too much emotion, negotiation and potential fraud.

***How often do you buy and sell, Andy?***

ANDY: I actually haven’t bought or sold since 2023. Between 2018 and 2023, I did maybe one a year. I’ve made good money, enough to start my current business, but it doesn’t fit my life full-time now. And if you do it too much, you risk being blacklisted by brands. Some, like [Patek Philippe](https://www.patek.com/en/home), even hold onto your paperwork for a year to discourage quick resales.

***How do you decide when to sell?***

ANDY: This is the hardest part. I’ve sold, and then watched prices continue to climb. As with any investment, timing is everything. Global events like Covid, the war in Ukraine, Israel – these spike demand for liquid, portable assets. People don’t trust banks during crises, so watches become more valuable. You can strap them on and go. After that, it’s trend-watching: what are rappers, footballers and F1 drivers wearing? That drives cultural demand.

***Is that trend-led demand a new thing?***

ANDY: The market has changed a lot. In my 20s, demand skyrocketed, mainly due to growing interest from Chinese and Arab buyers. At the same time, the major Swiss brands make watches by hand, so supply can’t scale. That genuine scarcity underpins the market’s strength. It’s not like trainers, where manufacturers can flood the market. These are handcrafted movements, often made at a pace of one or two per week. During Covid, when production was even scarcer, the Patek Philippe [Nautilus](https://www.patek.com/en/collection/nautilus) – especially the solid gold 5980 – was going for £250,000. It retailed at around £60,000. That’s when I really saw how far prices could climb.

CHRISTY: Historically, watches were more about engineering — more about movement and technical skill. But now, there’s a convergence of design, culture and fashion. You’ve got celebrities and musicians setting the tone — it’s not just James Bond and Omega anymore. People are discovering watches through Instagram, through their favourite artists. There's less snobbery now, too. It’s less about knowing the movement, and more about having taste and a story to tell. That’s opened up the space to a much broader — and more interesting — audience. We’ve just started a YouTube interview series. Our first guest is Oliver Proudlock, who was first known from *Made in Chelsea*. He’s got a [jewellery brand](https://www.sergedenimes.com/) now and a few other ventures, but he has a fresh perspective on watches too. He’s super into the design – he knows about crafting different cases out of metals, the shapes, and the aesthetics. It’s less about horological depth, more about style. I think that’s pretty new – the idea that someone who is passionate but isn’t a technical expert can bring something meaningful to the conversation.

 

 

 

 

> [View this post on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/DIWPFXJx1cl/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading)[A post shared by C4C - Vintage Watch Store - (@c4c\_vintage\_watches)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DIWPFXJx1cl/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading)

  

 

 

***How have prices held up since the tick, tick, boom of Covid?***

CHRISTY: Prices have come down over the last couple of years and really stabilized in the past six months. From a buyer’s perspective, that makes it an attractive time to come in, and we’ve seen a definite uptick in trading, with new collectors entering the space.

ANDY: It’s a good time if you genuinely love watches, have the disposable income and – if you’re going to be buying privately – enjoy negotiation and deal-making. If you’re just looking to make quick money, you're probably better off trading stocks or crypto.

***With all of the new entrants, does the market move faster now?***

CHRISTY: Much faster than it used to be. When we started, vintage Rolex dominated and the market moved pretty slowly. Now, trends emerge all the time. A couple of weeks ago, we listed a [Franck Muller](https://www.franckmuller.com/) Chronograph – circular, 30mm, rose gold with a salmon-toned gear-shaped dial – and it sold within 30 seconds. I’d never seen one before. Franck Muller usually does big, bold shapes, but this was totally different. We’ve since found another. That kind of unexpected discovery is happening more and more, especially with independent brands and the 1980s/90s era.

***Let’s talk current trends then. What are you excited about right now?***

CHRISTY: When we started out, I was really into vintage – proper vintage, pre-1975. I loved Omega [Speedmasters](https://www.omegawatches.com/en-gb/watches/speedmaster) – the nerdy details, the dial variations, the serif fonts, the whole thing. And Rolex, of course. Early on, we had an early Daytona that was a special moment. Over time, I’ve got into what people now call ‘neo-vintage’ – the 80s and 90s. That was post the quartz crisis of the 70s, when mechanical watches had to redefine their place. You see a lot of experimentation in that era — unusual designs, interesting collaborations, [Ulysse Nardin](https://www.ulysse-nardin.com/en-gb) enamelling on dials. Some of the lesser-known [Audemars Piguet](https://www.audemarspiguet.com/com/en/home.html) models from that time are seriously cool. The last 18 months has seen a trend towards jewellery-like, precious-metal watches, driven by Tyler, The Creator in a Cartier [Crash](https://int.cartier.com/en/collections/watches/all-watches/cartier-crash-watches.html) and Timothée Chalamet being more into small Cartier [Panthères](https://www.cartier.com/en-gb/watches/collection-watches/panthere-de-cartier). This is creating an interest in [Piaget’](https://www.piaget.com/gb-en)s stone dial watches of the 70s. Piaget had been completely forgotten as a maker. Watches that would have been the equivalent of $60,000 new have been going for $6,000. There are lots of these cool, super interesting areas of amazing craftsmanship, and where there are great stories about the amazing people who were buying them in the 70s – they were popular with Hollywood celebrities but also cartel leaders in South America. Looking ahead, I think there’s going to be growing interest in some older models too – brands like Audemars Piguet and [Vacheron Constantin](https://www.vacheron-constantin.com/gb/en/home.html) were doing some unusual shapes in the 30s and 40s that haven’t been fully explored yet.

***You mentioned Cartier a couple of times there. Is that the big brand of the moment?***

CHRISTY: Cartier has had a really strong year or two. They’ve got the [V&amp;A exhibition](https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/cartier) going on, a whole bunch of new releases – the Tank Guichets this year – and the celebrity trend, so it’s definitely one to watch.

ANDY: Rolex and Patek Philippe are still the safest bets. With other brands, you need deep knowledge. Those two have consistent resale value and strong demand, especially during market instability.

***Speaking of safe bets, where should a newbie be looking to get started?***

CHRISTY: Go slow. Start by finding a few good, trustworthy sources – people who really know their stuff. The watch world can be really warm and generous – there’s a strong sense of community – so people are often happy to share their knowledge. Learn from them. Social media can help too. Instagram, in particular, is a real hub for collectors. Of course, there’s the side of it where people are icing out Rolexes, but it’s easy to get a sense of who’s doing thoughtful, credible work. YouTube is something we’ve leaned into it more recently – video works so well for storytelling around watches.

***Last question – do you wear your watches, Andy?***

ANDY: I wear one – a Rolex my parents gave me for my 21st. It’s a genuinely lovely watch, but one that hasn’t shot up in value. I think it trades at 20-25% above retail, which is much lower than a Daytona, say. That makes it much easier to wear. With something like a Daytona or Nautilus, I'd always be thinking, ‘Should I sell this now?’

*Subdial is opening a new bricks-and-mortar place in Farringdon very soon. In the meantime, sign up for its weekly* [*Drop*](https://subdial.com/drop/227) *of new-ins.*

 

 

 

 

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