Men choose to invest in a good watch for various reasons. For James Bond creator Ian Fleming, “A gentleman’s choice of timepiece says as much about him as does his Saville Row suit.” For the late hardcourt legend Kobe Bryant, a watch “represents who you are, your values and your personal style.” Meanwhile, American actor James Marsden considers “having a great watch as that next step—of making it, of a rite of passage.”
But men are also buying watches these days as long-term investment. To be particular about it, they’re buying Rolex watches which, according to Bob’s Watches—the largest watch reselling website in the United States—has outperformed gold, houses, and even stocks.
The thing is, it’s no longer that easy to snag the Rolex watch you want because a lot of times, there’s just not enough of them going around, if you ask Watch Manila founder, Atty. Sieg Suarez. The watch connoisseur pointed this out during last weekend’s webinar called “Beyond Rolex,” an event presented by Watch Manila and the Greenbelt Group of Ayala Land Premier. Even authorized dealers have limited stocks, says Atty. Sieg. He experienced it firsthand looking for Rolex watches in Singapore and New York prior to the pandemic. Also, according to this report, the brand “clamped down on factory production for three months starting March 2020.”
Atty. Sieg has a sound proposition for the Rolex hunter, however—why not invest in other brands which offer similar or sometimes even greater craftsmanship than a Rolex? He mentions a favorite quote on investing that has served him well thru the years: “Skate to where the puck is going, not to where it is.”
In other words, when investing in watches “You cannot just ride the hype. You have to be there ahead of the hype,” advises the lawyer-collector. One doesn’t even have to ride the hype at all. “You have to buy a watch which would be timeless whether there is hype or not. Never ever buy when there’s too much hype on social and traditional media.”
As an example, he cited the Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 3700, which didn’t get a lot of attention when it was first released. The brand took the risk by releasing it at an SRP of $3,100, when the gold Patek is not priced very far at $4,000. “So why would you buy a very expensive stainless steel watch when you can have a gold one which is a trademark of Patek back then?” says Atty. Sieg.
Some collectors scored the Nautilus simply because they wanted one for keeping, or perhaps was planning to sell it in the future. “Now they are reaping the rewards because the value of these watches has just skyrocketed,” adds the Watch Manila founder.
Another example is Richard Mille. When this brand was launched in 2001, it had no collabs yet with Bubba Watson, Felipe Massa, and Rafael Nadal. There was no hype. But some collectors took the risk and invested in Richard Mille watches anyway. It took at least a decade before the brand’s popularity skyrocketed. It definitely paid off for the collectors because now these watches are very expensive, says Atty. Sieg.
Which brings us to the watch conoisseur’s takeaways when it comes to investing in watches: One, investing takes time. Two, it’s not easy to predict which ones would go up in value. And so, Three, buy a watch not because of the hype but because you like its entirety from design to craftsmanship.
He gives us a list of brands that he thinks are excellent alternatives to Rolex.
Jaeger-LeCoultre
The Swiss brand has a great lineup. It has a trademark Reverso, and the Ultra Thin Moon which Atty. Sieg describes as “absolutely amazing” and has a stunning movement. It’s also a historically important brand. The movement of the first Patek Philippe Nautilus, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, and Overseas Vacheron-Constantin were all made by JLC. “[The brand] really knows their stuff. They have nice watches at really competitive prices. You can own a watch that can compete with Patek but have it at a lower price range.”
A. Lange & Söhne
The craftsmanship of this German brand is topnotch, says the collector-lawyer. “You have a great solid watch and a great history to that watch as well.”
Vacheron-Constantin
It’s Atty. Sieg’s most preferred brand and his favorite watch from its roster is the Overseas. The market has started to appreciate this brand and sees its value going up. “Today, there’s a long wait list for the Overseas. In online websites, they go for at least P2.8 million. They go way up to P3.5 million or P4 million.”
Grand Seiko
Some people may have dismissed the brand at the start, but Atty. Sieg assures collectors that the craftsmanship of a Grand Seiko is remarkable. “You have to see it and give it a chance. It’s as solid as Rolex, probably even better than Rolex. But it doesn’t get much appreciation [because] they don’t have any celebrity endorsers. You really won’t miss out on a Rolex if you have this one,” he says.
IWC
Iconic for its Pilot’s Watch collection. “They are amazing and they fly under the radar,” he says. Atty. Sieg assures that any collector would be happy with the quality of IWC timepieces. But since they’re not very popular to collectors, “Only people who know, know.”
Photos from the brands' official website