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Condition and Value: How Wear Affects the Resale Price of Your Watch


Luxury watches

If you’ve been wearing a luxury watch for a while or have a vintage one put away for special occasions, you may be wondering how its resale value is affected by time and use. There are seven areas you can look at to find out.  


Seven Areas of Watch Wear

There are seven main areas on a watch. The condition of any one of these can greatly affect the watch’s resale value.

Area

Description

Effect on Resale Value

Bracelet*

Strap

Wear or gouges: up to - 30%

Movement

mechanisms inside

• Non-brand replacements: up to - 50%

• Factory part replacements or original parts**: no deduction

Dial

watch face

• Refinished with a non-branded dial: up to - 50%

• Original dial with patina***: no deduction

Crown

button used for winding

• Damaged: - 20%

• Missing: - 30%

Crystal

clear cover that protects the watch face

• Chips: - 10%

• Shattered: up to -70%

Bezel

rim that fastens the watch crystal in place

• Depends on the level of wear: up to - 60%

Watch Case

metal case that encloses and protects the watch

• Slight scratches: up to - 5%

• Significant dents and nicks that will require extensive repolishing and may affect the shape of the watch: up to - 50%

 *A note about bracelets: Keep all links of a metal strap, for they can cost $60 to $700 to replace. They also help maintain your watch’s resale value (see below).

 

**A note about replacements: The table above clearly shows the importance of choosing your replacement parts carefully. Any non-brand replacement cuts the resale value of your watch in half, while worn original parts help your watch maintain its resale value. When dealing with unique or rare watches, it is particularly important to maintain your watch’s original parts.

 

*** A note about the patina: The patina is a film produced by oxidation on the surface of old bronze. It is a sign of age, and when it is formed in an attractive way, it can add value to the watch’s resale value.

 

Other Factors that Affect Watch Resale Values

The following six factors can also affect the resale value of your watch:

  • brand and model

  • age

  • rarity

  • provenance

  • demand

  • completeness

 

Completeness

In addition to having a complete, vintage luxury watch, having everything else that came with it can greatly help you fetch a nice resale price. Look for the original:

  • box

  • manuals

  • bill of sale

  • warranty papers

  • certificate-of-origin

  • accessories

 

Get an Honest Appraisal in Brossard

To find out the true value of your luxury watch in Brossard, contact Le Lion d’Or for an estimate or an appraisal. We have been a trusted diamond, gold, and watch buyer in the area since 2006. We offer free, no-obligation evaluations on Boulevard Décaire in Montreal. Call us today for more details.




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