It finally happened: Rolex got into the pre-owned watch business game, with the Rolex Certified Preresponse immediately, but I wanted to wait for the dust to settle before penning a more personal version of the same story in WOW. To summarise, in a long-expected move, which some might insist is long overdue, the world's most important fine watchmaking brand made its move in December in Geneva, and the reverberations will be felt for years to come. In Singapore, we will have to wait till sometime in 2023 to see how things shake out; given that Rolex watches already form the lion's share of pre-owned sales, this is guaranteed to be a developing story, no matter where you are in the world.
Of course, Rolex's move is hardly unprecedented: Audemars Piguet has been trying to sort out its own pre-owned business model for years; Richard Mille has actually made it happen; and the Richemont Group made its own play with the acquisition of Watchfinder & Co, while taking on the challenge of pre-owned sales for some brands (Cartier and Vacheron Constantin, for example) at their own boutiques. Of course, all those names are dwarfed by the colossus that is Rolex, but the most important question has yet to be settled: there is no word on how retailers will handle pricing. That is exactly what we wrote earlier this month, and we do have an answer of sorts now - provisionally.
Denne historien er fra Issue 67-utgaven av WOW Singapore.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 67-utgaven av WOW Singapore.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Worth Its Weight
TAG Heuer scored an unexpected win with the Carrera Chronograph Skipper in the recent past, so the brand returned it to regular production in steel last year. For 2024, red gold marks the Skipper's triumph
When Imitation Is Criminal
In the second part of our special on the phenomenon of counterfeiting in watchmaking, we look at some surprising reasons behind consumer demand
The Conversation: Greater Expectations
With Geneva Watch Week behind us, the editors exchange views on the novelty showcases, the novelties themselves and all the watch news that is fit to print and some that is not)
GOLDEN HOURS
The first timekeepers may not have been cased in any precious metal but, given how precious time is, gold and silver soon made their marks here
FINE TIME
Precious metals promise to put the fine’ back into fine watchmaking, after years of being overshadowed by more prosaic materials. This special section continues the journey we began last issue, with a deep dive into that most desirable of all metals, gold. Of course, platinum is also back...
RED DAWN
Grand Seiko celebrates the 20th birthday of Spring Drive with a special edition Chronograph GMT SBGC275 with a unique dial
NEW DEPTHS
Breguet surprises with the gem-set Marine Chronograph 5529, opening up new vistas for the collection
NEW AND NOTED
As you might expect, we have been covering Watches and Wonders Geneva since it began as a physical fair in 2022 and of course when it was confined to the ether, from 2020.
OPEN SEASON
The world's biggest and most important watch fair gets a little bigger and a little better. As for the watches, they got more than a little precious...
GREAT LEAP FORWARD
With the Portugieser Eternal Calendar, WC demonstrates its mastery in the realms of the calendar and moon phase complications
