In times of economic uncertainty, such as we are currently experiencing thanks to rampant inflation, geopolitical tensions, and confusion over tariffs, blue-chip investments that will not only hold their value but increase over time, no matter what external pressures are brought to bear, are ever more appealing. Stock market and currency volatility in particular, leads investors to look beyond traditional financial instruments when seeking a safe haven for their hard-earned gains.
We here at Bob’s Watches have long maintained that Rolex watches are one of the best investments you can make, as most models have steadily increased in value over time. And a new study out of Switzerland backs this up with hard data that should remove any lingering doubt on the subject: luxury watches are indeed a very good investment – with the added benefit that you can wear and enjoy them as well – and the likes of Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet are the best performing of all.
Inside the Swiss Study Validating Watch Investment Potential
The new study comes from Philippe Weisskopf, a professor of finance at EHL Hospitality Business School, and his colleague Philippe Masset. Founded in 1893 as Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, EHL is an important and prestigious institution in Switzerland, highly-ranked, and consistently recognized as a world leader in its field. As Business Insider reports, the study was recently published on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN), a valuable platform for disseminating scholarly research and reports.
Weisskopf and Masset’s findings reveal that “luxury watches saw less market volatility than real estate, stocks, and ‘fixed income’ or bonds when examining various indices that track the performance of those assets between January 2019 and September 2024,” i.e. over the last six years. This is important because it represents a significant period of time, beyond the usual reports that merely cite year-over-year increases, or declines, providing a snapshot but not much else.
“The study’s findings suggest that high-end timepieces could be an ‘attractive option’ for investors looking to diversify their portfolios because they have a low correlation with the stock market, making them lower-risk investments,” Business Insider reports. “The watch market’s volatility – 3.90% annually – and range are the lowest of any asset class,” the study declares. “The closest asset class in terms of risk is fixed income, with a volatility of 5 to 8%.” And the watch market outperformed both fixed-income and real estate.
By focusing on the bigger picture of six years worth of data, one can argue that the EHL study is the most reliable yet produced about the luxury watch industry. As top marketing and data management firm Informa TechTarget notes, having just one year’s worth of data means that an analyst is looking at just one cycle of business, and analysts are always concerned that if they study just one cycle’s worth of numbers, that there could be a “bias in that cycle,” throwing off the results or offering an incomplete assessment at best.
Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet Lead the Pack
Weisskopf’s study also found that certain iconic luxury watch brands, when considered individually, performed much better than the overall luxury watch market, especially when certain significant time periods are isolated. Between 2019 and 2022, Patek Philippe, maker of the Nautilus, and Audemars Piguet, maker of the Royal Oak, tripled in value between 2019 and 2022, while Rolex, maker of the Submariner, Daytona, GMT-Master, Sky-Dweller and more, showed a return of more than 50% after 2022. Impressive to say the least.
