Audemars Piguet moves into the pre-owned luxury watch market

Audemars Piguet is moving into the market for second-hand luxury watches. The manufacture based in Le Brassus, in the Vallée de Joux in the canton of Vaud, is launching its own online platform called "The Watch Keepers". Owners of an AP can list their watch for sale there, while buyers receive a certificate of authenticity and a two-year functional warranty. The brand wants to take firmer control of how its most sought-after models, above all the Royal Oak, are resold, and to win new customers along the way.

The move is no surprise. The pre-owned luxury watch trade is a multi-billion market that is growing fast. In 2023, Boston Consulting Group forecast global sales of around 35 billion dollars for this year. Much of that business has so far run through independent dealers, online platforms and auction houses, bypassing the manufacturers entirely.

A marketplace, not a buy-back scheme

For watchmakers, that has real drawbacks. They do not know who the new owners of their watches are, have no say over the condition in which pieces are offered, and cannot always be sure they are genuine. This is exactly where Audemars Piguet wants to step in.

With The Watch Keepers, AP has chosen a marketplace model. The brand does not buy or sell the used watches itself. Instead it brings buyers and sellers together, inspects the watches and handles the transactions. The pieces carry a "Certified Pre-Owned" label. The platform's systems are linked to those of AP's boutiques: anyone who buys a used watch through The Watch Keepers becomes a registered customer of the manufacture, and the purchase appears in the same customer history as a new watch bought in a boutique. "We make no distinction between customers of our boutiques and customers of the CPO platform," says chief executive Ilaria Resta.

Why does AP not buy the watches itself? Such a model would be awkward. The manufacture would have to explain to a customer why a coveted Royal Oak is unavailable new but on offer second-hand, from AP itself, at a much higher price. Conversely, it might have to tell sellers that their once-expensive watch has lost much of its value. On the platform, sellers therefore set their own price, choosing between a fixed price and an auction. If no buyer comes forward, it is up to them to lower it. "We will not interfere with market dynamics," says Resta.

How a sale works

Anyone wishing to sell must first submit the serial number and proof of ownership. Only watches whose first sale took place at least two years ago are accepted, a rule clearly designed to keep speculators out. A courier collects the watch and takes it to the manufacture, where it is authenticated against the company's own archives and its condition is checked. Professional photographs and a listing follow. Until it is sold, the watch remains the seller's property but is kept in AP's custody.

If a watch runs perfectly, it does not have to be opened; any servicing needed can be carried out on top. The service comes at a price. AP charges a tiered commission: 20 per cent on the first 25,000 Swiss francs of the sale price, 15 per cent on the next 25,000 francs and 10 per cent on anything above that. On a sale price of 52,000 francs, that comes to 8,950 francs, or 17.2 per cent. A calculator on the platform shows sellers how much they will keep.

Even so, The Watch Keepers is not meant to become a business in its own right. "The platform is not primarily designed to generate revenue or profit," Resta says. The commissions are intended to cover the cost of running the service, inspecting the watches and securing the transactions, something that will not yet fully succeed at the start. AP will also offer a small number of watches from its own stock, such as production reserves, to round out the selection. The vast majority of pieces, however, are to come from customers.

The middle way between Rolex and Richard Mille

Audemars Piguet is following other big names in the industry, but on its own terms. Rolex launched its own CPO programme at the end of 2022. The industry giant, which makes around 1.2 million watches a year, leaves buying and selling to its authorised retailers, including Bucherer, which Rolex has owned since 2023. The brand itself handles certification.

Richard Mille has been active in the second-hand market since 2015 and runs the business directly: the brand, founded in 2000 and producing around 6,000 watches a year, operates its own CPO boutiques. Like Richard Mille, AP now works with hardly any independent retailers. But the manufacture has existed for more than 150 years and currently produces around 53,000 watches a year, so a large stock of its watches from different eras is circulating on the secondary market.

What it means for Switzerland

At launch, The Watch Keepers is aimed at customers in Switzerland and Europe, with further markets to follow. The service is online only, so buyers cannot try a watch on before purchasing; they decide on the basis of photographs and descriptions. Around a hundred pieces from different eras and collections are expected to be on offer at any one time.

For the Swiss watch industry, it is another sign that the leading brands no longer want to leave the secondary market to others. Controlling authenticity, condition and the customer relationship protects the value of a brand, and keeps the link with buyers even when a watch changes hands for the second or third time. For collectors in Switzerland, it opens a new route, checked directly by the manufacture, to buy or sell a Royal Oak or another model from the Vallée de Joux.