The true cost of owning a luxury watch

A luxury watch rarely costs what the receipt says. Some of the money comes back when you sell, some of it leaks away in ways nobody mentions at the counter. If you want to buy well, you need a rough idea of the real number before you commit.

The formula

Take what you paid, subtract what you could realistically sell the watch for, then add servicing, insurance, and any repairs. Divide by the number of years you own it. That is your true cost of ownership per year, and it is the honest way to compare one watch with another.

The biggest cost: the spread

For most watches, the largest single cost is the gap between what you pay and what someone will pay you. Dealers need margin to recondition, hold, and resell. Hilco Global notes that a dealer might pay roughly 80 to 85 cents on the dollar even for a trusted client’s trade-in. Buy at an inflated price and that gap gets wider, permanently.

Servicing

Mechanical watches need periodic servicing. Rolex recommends a service roughly every ten years, and has offered a five-year international guarantee on new watches since 2015. In 2021 a complete Rolex service cost about 650 to 800 EUR depending on the model, for example around 650 EUR for a Datejust and 800 EUR for a Daytona. Those figures are several years old and have likely risen, so ask for a current quote. Other brands often recommend shorter intervals.

Insurance

A watch worth several thousand euros may not be fully covered by standard home contents insurance, particularly when you are wearing it outside the home. Check your policy limits, consider specialist cover, and treat the premium as a yearly cost of owning the watch. Get a quote before you buy, not after.

A worked example

Illustration only, not market data. You buy a watch for 9,000 EUR and keep it for six years. At the end, a dealer offers 7,500 EUR. You pay an assumed 150 EUR a year for insurance and no service falls due. Your total cost is 1,500 EUR of lost value plus 900 EUR of insurance, 2,400 EUR in all, or 400 EUR a year. Had you paid an inflated 11,000 EUR for the same watch, the yearly cost would rise to about 733 EUR.

Cost per year depends on how long you keep it

The spread is a one-off cost, so the longer you own the watch, the less it costs per year. This illustration assumes a €10,000 watch bought at fair value, a flat market, insurance at 1.5% of value a year, one service costing €750 in year five, and a sale to a dealer at 82% of market value.

Years owned	Spread (dealer sale)	Insurance	Service	Total cost	Cost per year
1	€1,800	€150	None	€1,950	€1,950
3	€1,800	€450	None	€2,250	€750
5	€1,800	€750	€750	€3,300	€660
10	€1,800	€1,500	€750	€4,050	€405

A watch you sell after a year is expensive to own. A watch you keep for a decade costs less per year than many people spend on coffee. This is the single strongest argument for buying the watch you actually want, rather than a watch you plan to trade up from quickly.

The variable that dominates: the market

Over a long holding period, the change in market value usually outweighs every other cost. Here is the same €10,000 watch held for five years, with different yearly market moves, sold either privately (after a 6.5% selling cost) or to a dealer at 82% of value.

Market change per year	Value after 5 years	Total cost, private sale	Total cost, dealer sale
−5%	€7,738	€4,194	€5,084
−3%	€8,587	€3,427	€4,415
0%	€10,000	€2,150	€3,300
+3%	€11,593	€707	€2,040
+5%	€12,763	A gain of €354	€1,113

Two conclusions follow. First, you need a rising market just to break even after costs, and roughly 5% a year to come out ahead when selling privately. Second, the way you sell matters almost as much as the market: on a flat market, a dealer sale costs over €1,000 more than a private sale. The Deal Analyzer solves the break-even rate for any watch and price.

Think of it as rent. If you assume the market is flat, the cost per year is what you pay to wear the watch. If that number feels fair for the pleasure you get, buy it. If it only works when prices rise, it is a bet.

Service costs and intervals by brand

Service intervals and prices vary by brand, model, and country. These are the planning assumptions we use in the Deal Analyzer. They are estimates for budgeting, not quotes. The Rolex figure is in line with the 2021 prices reported by Swisswatches, allowing for increases since.

Brand	Planning cost per full service	Planning interval	Cost per year of ownership
Rolex	€750	10 years	About €75
Tudor	€500	10 years	About €50
Omega	€700	8 years	About €90
Cartier	€600	7 years	About €85
Audemars Piguet	€1,300	7 years	About €185
Patek Philippe	€1,500	7 years	About €215

Servicing is a small part of the total for most owners. It becomes significant on complicated watches, on watches bought just before a service is due, and on watches whose last service is unknown. If you buy a watch with no service history, assume a full service in the first year and deduct it from what you are willing to pay.

How you sell changes the cost

How you sell	What you typically receive	Trade-off
Sell to a dealer	80 to 85% of market value (Hilco Global)	Fast and simple, lowest return
Part-exchange with a dealer	Often a little better than a straight sale	Only works if you are buying another watch from them
Consignment with a dealer	Market value less the dealer’s commission	Better return, slower, and the price is not guaranteed
Private sale or marketplace	Market value less fees, around 6.5% in our model	Best return, more work and more risk

The hidden costs people forget

• Insured shipping. Sending a watch for service or sale needs fully insured, tracked shipping.
• Authentication and inspection. An independent inspection before you buy costs money, and is worth it.
• Import VAT and duties. Buying abroad can trigger VAT and duties when you bring the watch home.
• Straps and bracelet parts. Original straps and links are expensive to replace.
• Polishing. It is often included in a service. Declining it can preserve value, since heavy polishing reduces what collectors pay.
• Storage. A safe or a bank box costs money, and some insurers require one above certain values.

New or pre-owned: which costs less to own?

The answer depends on where the reference trades against retail. There are three cases, and each one changes the cost of ownership.

Situation	Example	Lower cost of ownership
Market trades well below retail	Many dress watches and mid-tier models	Pre-owned. The first owner has already absorbed the drop.
Market trades close to retail	Many Omega, Tudor, and Cartier references	Often similar. New gives you the full guarantee, pre-owned may give you a discount.
Market trades well above retail	Popular steel Rolex sports models	New at retail, if you can get one. Pre-owned means paying the premium.

A new watch also comes with the full manufacturer guarantee, five years in the case of Rolex, and with a clean history. A pre-owned watch may need a service sooner. Put a value on both when you compare prices. If a pre-owned example costs only a little less than new, the guarantee and the certainty are often worth the difference.

The Market context tab of the Deal Analyzer shows how far each reference trades above or below retail, using published 2026 data.

How to keep the cost down

• Buy at or near the sold-price range for the exact reference, never at the highest asking price.
• Keep everything: box, papers, receipts, and service records.
• Service when the watch needs it, using the brand or a qualified watchmaker, and keep the paperwork.
• Avoid heavy polishing. It removes metal and can reduce value.
• If resale matters to you, favour liquid references that sell quickly at predictable prices.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to own a luxury watch per year?

It depends mostly on the price you pay, how long you keep it, and how the market moves. In a flat market, a €10,000 watch held five years costs roughly €430 to €660 a year including the resale spread, insurance, and one service.

How much does it cost to service a Rolex?

In 2021 a full Rolex service cost about €650 to €800 depending on the model, according to Swisswatches. Prices have likely risen since, so ask an Official Rolex Jeweler or Rolex service centre for a current quote.

How much does watch insurance cost?

It varies by insurer, country, and value. We assume 1.5% of the watch’s value a year for planning, but quotes can be lower or higher. Check whether your home insurance covers the watch outside the home.

Do luxury watches lose value?

Most do once you account for the spread between buying and selling. A few references have risen in value over long periods, but entry price and how you sell matter more than the brand.

Is it cheaper to sell a watch privately?

Usually, yes. A dealer typically pays 80 to 85% of market value, while a private or marketplace sale returns market value less fees. The trade-off is time, effort, and fraud risk.

Sources

• Hilco Global, Collateral In Question: A Mid-2026 Assessment of the Luxury Watch Segment for Asset-Based Lenders (2026).
• Swisswatches Magazine, Rolex service: all facts and figures (2021).

This article is educational and is not financial advice.