For some, watches serve more profound functions beyond being a time-telling piece of fashion accessories. It serves as a symbol of status and a declaration of style and identity. Brand watches depict these representations, and that’s why people who can afford them spend a fortune doing so.
Naturally, one would think people can only pay high prices for new and faultless brand watches. Surprisingly, people spend so much money buying faulty brand watches. That begs the question of why these people feel comfortable paying such amounts on faulty brand watches.
If you’ve been preoccupied with this question, you have found the place to get answers. This post will discuss why faulty brand watches are sold at high prices despite their defects. We will also highlight the type of brand watches that fall into this category, among other essential details. So, let’s begin by discussing what brand watches are.
What are Brand Watches?
Generally, brand watches are wristwatches manufactured by established watchmaking companies with global reputations. These watchmaking brands are renowned for their expertise in creating elegant, stylish, and timeless wristwatches (pun intended). These brands have world-class designers with high-quality craftsmanship and expertise in horology.
The unique style of brand watches resonates through their products, which are mostly exclusive and highly valuable. They are also regarded as luxury watches, distinct from mass-produced regular watches. There are several brand watchmakers, but some of the most famous ones include:
Rolex
Patek Philippe
Hublot
Omega
TAG Heuer
The luxury watches above, as they are popularly called, and a couple of others stand head and shoulders above other regular watches. While some erroneously think these types of watches are valuable because of their price, we are here to tell you that is untrue.
Brand watches are valuable because they combine vital features you wouldn’t find in regular watches. That’s why they are so valuable, exclusive, and highly coveted among those who can afford them.
What Makes Brand Watches Valuable?
As we mentioned earlier, luxury watches are valuable because they have vital features lacking in regular watch brands. Some of these features include the following:
1. High-Quality Production Materials
High-quality production material is a crucial factor that enhances the value of a luxury watch. Manufacturers of these watches don’t use regular materials that are susceptible to easy wear and tear. They use highly durable materials that retain their watches’ beauty, elegance, and statement for an extended period.
Additionally, these watches are made with precious metals like gold or platinum, giving them a unique outlook and sustaining their originality for a long time. These precious metals and other exotic production materials make the final product highly valuable.
2. Brilliant Craftsmanship
Brand watches are also valuable because of the brilliant artistry the producers put into crafting each piece. The artisans observe a meticulous combination of precision and attention to detail in placing each part of the watch to make an attractive whole.
The most exciting part about the quality of craftsmanship in luxury watches is its consistency. The top-notch craftsmanship you find in a particular piece of luxury watch is retained in every other watch, depending on the design of the watch. This consistency has remained unchanged for decades, giving the brands so much value.
3. Design
Time and time again, we’ve seen luxury watches’ intricate, unique, and distinctive designs. These watches are models that other regular brands adopt to create their pieces. The brands allocate so much resources in creating designs for their watches because they need to give each watch production uniqueness and elegance.
They also embrace innovative technologies to give their watches exclusive features and complex movements. Some even attach themes to their productions to appeal to a particular customer base. The idea behind these efforts is to give it a unique value immune to the marching of time.
4. Exclusivity
Exclusivity is a significant feature of luxury watches that makes them so valuable. As mentioned earlier, regular watches are generally mass-produced, making them surplus, accessible, and cheap. Luxury watches, on the other hand, mostly undergo limited production and sales.
The limited production and sales of these watches make them exclusive to only a few people who can afford them. They become rare as some are special editions produced once and discontinued. This exclusivity gives the watches a high value, lacking in other regular watches.
5. Brand Reputation
If, for instance, Rolex releases a limited edition of a new wristwatch, rest assured some people would have made a pre-order regardless of its price. While several factors motivate this decision, one of them is the reputation of the Rolex brand.
On the larger picture, many luxury watches are precious because of the reputation of the producing brand. These companies are known for producing high-end watches, and their reputation spans several decades. So, having any of their products is a valuable possession.
Other factors that make brand watches valuable include customization, high prices, and limited collaboration with other brands.
Why are Faulty Brand Watches Bought at a Higher Price?
We listed the features of brand watches above because they are precursors to why they are sold at high prices even when faulty. Simply put, the fundamental reason why brand watches are sold at high prices despite being faulty is because they retain all the features that make them valuable in the first place, except for the defect.
The features include quality materials, excellent craftsmanship, unique design, exclusive productions and sales, and brand reputation. Unknown to many, luxury watches retain value even if they aren’t functional.
Some stores collect them to fix the defects and offer them for fresh sale as pre-owned. Additionally, many of these watches are collector’s items bought cheaply and kept to increase value due to their rarity. So, if you have a brand watch that’s not working, don’t throw it away because you may be losing value by doing that.
However, you must understand that there are specific brand watches that have enough value to be sold at high prices, even if they are faulty. A collector or a reseller wouldn’t just take any watch because it is dubbed luxurious by a particular brand. As a result, we would highlight the type of faulty brand watches that sell at a high price.
What Kinds of Watches are Bought at High Prices Despite Being Faulty
You must understand that there are specific watches that sell at high prices, even if they are faulty. These watches include the following:
1. Premier Model Watches
The premier models of many luxury watches are still available but very rare. Premier models don’t necessarily mean classic models; they can also mean watch models produced with limited sale time and discontinued. Watches with limited sale time are often premium, with higher demands than supply.
If you possess this type of item, you can get a high price even if it’s not working. If you wish to confirm the watch’s price, you can take it to an auction to see how much people may be willing to pay for it or type in the product number online to see its cost.
2. Watches from Brands With High Product Demand
While there are numerous luxury brands, some receive more patronage than others. While the patronage they accept is limited, people still make so much demand for their products. As a result, people quickly pay high prices for these products because demands are high.
So, if you have watches from brands in high demand, you will surely sell them at a higher price, even if they are faulty. Once these types of watches are recovered, they are distributed among collectors, dealers, and resellers at reasonable prices to secure expensive components of the watch.
3. Watches With a Complete Range of Accessories
Many reputable watch brands have special product packaging at the point of sale. Some brands add accessories to their packaging, making owning the watch even more special. The accessories may include branded boxes, bracelets, ultrafine microfiber pieces of cloth, and instruction manuals, among many others.
A watch with all these accessories will sell at a higher price, even if it’s faulty. The idea behind it is that the accessories enhance the existing value of the watch. Additionally, even if the collector or dealer cannot repair the watch, they can take out essential pieces in the watch and the accessory to add to other premium watches.
Why Do Dealers Buy Brand Watches Even When They Are Faulty?
If you’ve followed closely, you may have realized why dealers buy brand watches even if they are faulty. But for the sake of clarity, we will outline below some of the reasons why dealers purchase these types of watches:
1. Because the Watches Can Be Repaired
Dealers collect broken brand watches because they have the human and material resources to repair them. While that depends on the extent of the damage, you also can’t take a written-off watch to a dealer and expect to get a high price. Many dealers have skilled artisans who are excellent craftsmen of these luxury watches.
The dealers leverage the expertise of their artisans to fix the watches and offer them for sale as pre-owned. Dealers always try to buy these watches for a price lower than what they’ll eventually sell them. That’s because of the repair cost to bring the watch back to its quality state.
2. Because there is a Market for the Watches Locally and Abroad
What would it mean if dealers buy broken watches and they can’t regain higher value for them? The truth is that, in addition to the value of these broken brand watches, dealers are happy to collect them and offer a specific price for them because there’s a market for them. This market is for brand watches and other brand fashion items.
These markets are available locally and internationally. However, dealers ensure that the products are allowed to be distributed locally. If they aren’t allowed, they are shipped abroad, where acceptable. Their channels either sell to consumers or other companies with different needs for them.
3. Because the Parts are Removable and Utilized Elsewhere
Brand watches are made with high-quality materials; in most cases, these materials remain durable even if the watches are faulty. As a result, dealers buy them faulty because these parts can be removed and offered new utility. The parts are mostly removed to provide a replacement for other wristwatches lacking them.
So, dealers look for value, even if the luxury watch isn’t working. They try to determine at first sight if the watch still has enough value to be utilized elsewhere. Or if the watch only needs a minor repair to be sold as pre-owned. Whatever the case, it’s a win for all parties involved.
Things to Do Before Taking Out Your Faulty Brand Watch
Don’t just take out your brand watch for sale because it’s faulty. That’s because it may retain value you can enjoy or recoup money from. So what should you do when you have a defective brand watch? Below are our suggestions:
Check if it Only Needs Repair
You should only offer your faulty brand watch out for sale if you can’t repair it or want a new one. If it only needs repair, you can take it to a reputable repairer and have it fixed. You can take it to a dealer for good cash if it needs more than a minor repair.
Know the Market Value
Indeed, dealers wouldn’t buy a faulty brand watch at market value. But you must know the market value to know what the watch is worth. This would allow you to determine whether the dealer offers a fair deal.
Confirm if you Truly Have a Valuable Brand Watch.
Authenticity is one of the many currencies of luxury watches. Hence, you must ensure you have an authentic brand watch. No dealer will buy a counterfeit product from you, no matter how low you’re willing to accept. So, confirm your watch is authentic before visiting a dealer to sell it.
Do Mild Maintenance
You don’t have to bother if your faulty wristwatch only needs repair, and the repair is beyond what you can do. Carry out mild maintenance like polishing with a soft microfiber cloth to remove specks of dirt and make scratches as unnoticeable as possible. Ensure to do this carefully.
In Summary
The value of many luxury watches is timeless. So whether you have a classic or modern brand watch, you can get a high price even if it’s faulty or has a slight defect. All you have to do is determine the market value and find a dealer who is willing to buy it.
