With every new year comes the excitement of new watch releases and trends to look out for. What’s going to be in style this year? What’s the best rare watch investment to make? Is the luxury watch resale market still viable?
Since the pandemic, the market for watches has fluctuated dramatically, and the surge in attention towards both the new and pre-owned watch market was an unexpected surprise. Though sales have begun to dwindle in both markets, one classic channel remains on top: auction houses.
Record sales in auction houses were achieved last year, and this rising market is expected to continue growing. The highest record for a sold watch from an auction house was claimed last year by Sylvester Stallone’s Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime, selling at a whopping 5.4 million dollars.
Buying or selling rare watches with Joshua Kodner is a family affair. As a fourth generation legacy auction house, our team at Joshua Kodner Galleries is ready to help you with your watch needs today.
Best Watches to Collect in 2025
As usual, exclusivity and craftsmanship remain essential in 2025 and the demand for one-of-a-kind, historically significant watches continues to be a top priority for true watch enthusiasts and collectors.
Some of the best watch collecting tips include finding watches that can stand the test of time, always come back in trend, and hold historical value.
Vintage re-editions
Expect more vintage re-editions, like the Zenith’s Diver and Universal Genève’s Polerouter. Brands know that introducing new models pose a difficult challenge to pull customers, since the new models need time to build up reputation and heritage. Instead, they prefer to focus on their own brand history, tweaking new editions of historical models.
Burgundys and reds
Forecasted trend patterns reveal that shades of red will be 2025’s most popular color, and Cartier’s 1917 historical Tank checks off both trend color and historical significance. An added bonus is brand recognition and value, which almost guarantees it as a great rare watch investment that can hold its value over time.
Rolex will always be Rolex
Sales remained strong in 2024 and this is expected to continue throughout 2025 for Rolex. Arguably the most popular luxury watch brand, common audiences and watch enthusiasts have remained attracted to Rolex’s legacy and quality for decades, turning to a timeless classic like the Submariner as a solid option.
Stone and mineral dials
One of the best watches to collect in 2025 will be Piaget’s new Andy Warhol watch because of its unique stone dial, made from minerals like lapis lazuli blue and deep malachite green. Piaget remains masters of these dials, first used in their ultra-thin 1960s Altiplano models and other brands have already been seen adding stones to their dials as well.
Collaborations Will Be Essential
Rare watch investments have gained much more popularity especially with younger generations, and a study showed Gen Z being more likely to spend nearly double on luxury watches than the generation above them.
Though historical maisons have prestige built into their brand, the question of brand interest and loyalty remains. How can historic brands establish continued brand growth with younger generations?
Collaborations offer a way into merging generational differences into one uniting force. Similarly to the Andy Warhol and Piaget collaboration, brands must look beyond their own borders and partner with different industries who share a similar story and brand ethos.
A closely tied cousin for horological maisons are fashion and jewelry houses. MB&F and Bulgari have already stewarded this collaboration in 2024 with their Bvlgari x MB&F Serpenti and we expect to see many more collaborations in 2025.
Big Anniversaries
2025 is a huge year for significant anniversaries from watch maisons and this will come with major releases, with new innovative technology and hopefully, some re-introductions to the rarest watches ever released.
Rolex
Celebrating their 80th anniversary of the Datejust and the 70th anniversary of the GMT-Master means new upgrades in dials, gems, and limited edition versions.
Vacheron Constantin
The horological maison with the longest history is celebrating their 270th year in 2025 and we should expect to see special models released this year by Vacheron Constantin.
The first choice for emperors, kings, popes and the entire aristocracy in the early 1900s, top segment watch collectors should take note for auctions — though their history is long and rich, they’ve built far fewer models of all their watches, making their watches even more valuable than ever.
Audemars Piguet
Coming in at 150 years is Audemars Piguet. Expect exciting campaigns and bold product launches as they continue to expand and innovate their technology.
Can I Resell My Watch?
The luxury watch resale market has shifted these past few years and this is predominantly due to Rolex’s certified pre-owned (CPO) watch program that was recently introduced by the world’s largest Rolex retailer, Bucherer.
The pre-owned watch market has expanded greatly and now, many manufacturers and companies have started to offer CPOs, like Longines’s “Collector’s Corner” based in Geneva.
CPO programs have helped gain interest in rare and vintage watches from a wider pool of customers. For many brands, the luxury watch resale market can be a great tool for developing a completely new type of customer relationship while still fostering loyalty and retaining customers long term.
Joshua Kodner Can Help You
Get in touch with us here at Joshua Kodner Galleries and see how we can help you auction or appraise your vintage watch. With 2025’s strengthening in demand for luxury watches, don’t miss out on this opportunity to buy or sell the watch of your dreams.
