Well, maybe Rolex watches are a good investment

We’ve preached for years that one should not view watch collecting as a means for fruitful investments and that instead you should simply enjoy watches that you like and not be concerned with resale value. While that may be a mantra that works to temper return on investment expectations, there is evidence that nice timeless watches may be a smart investment.

Esquire wrote about this, citing a Bob’s Watches report looking at the 10-year performance of Rolex compared to other assets.

“When it comes to long-term investment strategies, bonds, stocks, gold and real estate often come to mind. However, over the course of the last decade, Rolex watches have outperformed every single one of them—by a lot,” stated the report.

Here’s a mind-blowing figure from the report:

“The average price of a used Rolex watch has gone from less than $5,000 in 2011 to more than $13,000 by the end of 2021. This increase is certainly noteworthy by all standards, but the amount that Rolex prices have gone up since the beginning of the pandemic (2020) is nearly equal to the total price increase that can be observed during the entire previous five-year period, and this trend shows no signs of slowing as we enter the new year.”

What that says to me is that it’s a very smart investment if you were able to purchase your Rolex watch before 2011. That said, I’m not going to sell my Rolex watches because I really enjoy wearing them and they bring up certain memories in my life.

The Esquire writer has a great point: “And while the stock market has grown at a similar rate, well, it's not like you get to wear your shares on your wrist and check the time on them.”

This is exactly why you can purchase a Rolex, enjoy it fully and still perhaps get a return if you decide to sell. So when faced with the option of dropping $20K on an investment on a new restaurant, it’s probably a better bet to invest in classic Rolex. The key is also the ability to find a buyer in any case of collectibles, so make sure the Rolex you decide to invest in is a core model and not a fringe reference that may not be desirable at all in the future. 

With anything related to financial decisions, it’s important to simply look at the facts. What Bob’s Watches’ report tells us is: If you like Rolex watches and are considering buying one it’s a low-risk purchase because if you decide to sell it there’s a strong likelihood that you can earn a bit back. So if you’re sitting on the fence, let us here at Everest be your enabler.