The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Well, I'm sure that I am not the only one that appears to have noticed something that is happening to second hand values for Breitling - on the up. I have been a fan of Breitling for over two decades and they have always had a lower second hand value than what I think they should have, but finally it appears that this is coming to an end. A few years ago it started with Rolex and others going up in value considerably, now it seems that Breitlings have caught up and are going for good money. It appears as though they are starting to be appreciated!

As an example, twenty years ago I bought my first Breitling, a Jupiter Pilot. It cost me £590 and has been worth around that sort of money ever since; now, suddenly they are going for double that; looking on Ebay for example you see them on for well over £1,000; and not just the asking price, but the selling price (completed listings). My other 'Ling, a rather beautful Chronomat GT in steel/gold, matching pilot bracelet with pearl dial has always been worth around £2,000 since I got it ten years ago; now I would be looking easily over £3k. One was recently on there for £4k, but this was the 'two tone' version, so probably worth around £500-£1k less than mine.

Of course I will never sell them; but it is rather a nice feeling isn't it; having something that is now starting to gain quite considerable value, or in other words the value I and others on here have known them to be worth all along, finally being realised.

There's a big difference between asking price and selling price. Resale values are going up on relatively recent pieces because list prices have increased so rapidly, but sorry a 10 year old steel / gold Chronomat GT is not worth GBP4,500 - GBP5,000

Actually yes I do agree that the specific price of the Chronomat is a little high; the example I quoted was just one that I noticed for sale the other week, not sure what it went for in the end. However my general point is that there is a definate upward trend in second hand values, which is nice. I have always found Breitlings a little undervalued compared to others, I think that what is happening is that they are finally realising their true value now.

And part of that is just the impact of inflation. Money now isn't worth what it was 20 yrs ago.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

As retail prices raised multiple times it inevitably had some impact on resale prices as Roff eluded to. If I were to sell a mint 2 year old piece, however, the ratio of resale value to retail price now versus 5 years ago would be essentially flat.

_________________
SHARKMAN

Do not quite share the same enthusiam.
Not when I see recent in-house Chronomats, Navis and TOCs just about breaking through the $4K mark.
That's nearly 50% off the retail.

_________________
"It is just a matter of time!"

I´ve noticed the resale value increase too!
...Sort of...

I got my AS in February 2009. It´s listed at about 3500€ with Pro II (the SA was listed at the same price). I got an ok deal for the AS. Due to price increases, today the Avenger and SA with Pro II are listed at around 4800€. So they´ve gone up quite bit in about four years. As others have pointed out, that affects the current resale value.

Locally we have only one watch store that specializes preloved high end watches. A couple weeks ago I bought from them a Chrono Colt Quartz with Pro bracelet for my wife as a gift for our upcoming aniversary. They had one AS and one SA in stock , both second hand and both listed at 3290€. Which is very close to the original list price. That´s pretty cool!

They both sell pretty well for them at around 3100€. They would have happily bought mine on the spot for, surprise surprise... a little more than I got it for!!!
(Though I´ll probably never sell mine! )

As for the colt, I got it for a little over it´s original list price. Which might sound bad for me, but at that time it wasn´t that expensive either.

I´m not trying to say that my watch would´ve increased in value as the value of money has gone down as well. It´s just that compared to my expectations it´s been a pleasent surprise.

Although, as wessa pointed out, with the inhouse stuff, it seems anything bought with in 1-2 year period (not just the inhouse stuff) are still taking a some beating. That´s partly because price increases hasn´t affected them (Yet???). But as the AD:s have had to discount less due to decreased margins, Hasn´t that started to have some positive impact with those too?

Earlier this year i was just outbid on a nearly new, boxed, Chronomat B01 at Fellows Auctions.

It sold for £2,200 + buyers premium, but that was still a massive saving on the new price for a great watch.

There are a lot of people listing used watches at crazily high prices, but generally they are not selling. In particular, some folk trying to sell their used "nearly new" watch, which they paid full RRP on, at prices above the basic dealer discounted price

IMHO it's no surprise that Breitling resale will keep going up, especially for their in-house when Calibre 01 proves its worth over the years and people start appreciating the manufactured movement. Till now I am still very impressed by it's accuracy and consistency. I have used the watch in Switzerland, Paris and Amsterdam where temperature ranged from 0 to 5 degrees, I then used the watch in Dubai after that where it was 33 degrees and so far it has not failed me. It's a fact that Breitlings are excellent pieces which are in no way inferior to Rolex but I guess that the part which obstructed the values are because the designs were changed at certain times which shuns people away and make people feel that Breitling watches will go "out of style" which in turn reduces demand, although the changes were due to certain factors and developments. I feel that the pieces in recent years, especially those in-house ones now have a stronger sense of identity in relation to the brand so I hope that Breitling will maintain that image and not lose it. I believe that by doing that Breitlings will have no reason not to catch up or even surpass Rolex one day in terms of demand. Just my humble opinion because I do not consider myself an expert in this area but I have my own personal views on a good watch and Breitling certainly makes the cut but just gotta improve on their strategy moving forward.

SimonC: Good post and a real moral booster for Breitling owners;)

_________________
Breitling Chronomat 01 Limited Edition
Breitling Navitimer 01 46mm

got to be something to do with David Beckham and the trans-ocean advertising .



think not???????

_________________
Breitling SOH chrono on + ProII soon to be Pro III
B1 + UTC on Fighter A877
Navitimer World GMT on Navi + leather
SO 46mm on OR + Mesh
Avenger M1 Regatta on Pro 1

http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

I love Breitlings but I've not seen an increase not relative to MSRP. To my understanding, the last decade has seem some serious price increases from most of the Swiss makers. As MSRP goes up, so does used value, but used value does not seem to be growing at a faster rate. Inflation explains some of this too as could watches considered 'desirable' that may have been recently discontinued. Most eBay sellers who are jewelers tend to list high with a OBO listing and sell for BO, which is sometimes thousands less than the asking price.

The Breitling Navitimer is the only watch in Breitling line equal in distinction and history to Omega speedmaster moon, Rolex daytona, tag heuer monaco McQueen to claim its place in history. As such Navitimer in its purest form will always substantially increase in value. I have sold gold and steel Old Navi on eBay for $ 6000 five years ago. And bought 3 more since

The gold will increase the value of the watch more than the watch will (see the five-year price of gold). Relative to something like precious metals, watches are not a sound investment IMHO and carry more risks than PMs. A manufacturer change in movement could itself impact the value of older models substantially, as would a change in production numbers. Even social media could impact the value of a watch greatly. You can get Speedmaster Moons and Navitimers for a very reasonable prices second-hand (although not so much the Daytona).