While luxury and antique watch collectors are nothing new, their are now hedge funds dedicated to investing in the art of horology. Precious Time is one such hedge fund that has been capitalizing on the luxury and antique watch market for the last two years. The collectors market for luxury and antique watches formed around the 1970s, making it still a young market.
With the record for “world’s most expensive watch” seemingly being broken on a regular basis and Christie’s Auction house seeing record watch auction sales, interest in a dedicated hedge fund can only grow. For instance Christie’s has sold 18 Patek Philippe watches for over $1 million since 2006. The global market for watches, including modern and collector pieces, is estimated at around $6.6 billion USD annually.
Precious Time has provided a breakdown of their fund:
70% antique watches, 30% modern watches
80% complications, 20% simple mechanical watches
In their third quarter, they had a brand breakdown of the number of watches they hold:
116 Patek Philippe (42.5%), 102 Rolex (37.3%), 32 Vacheron Constantin (11.7%), 9 Audemars Piguet (3.3%), 8 Cartier (2.9%), 4 Longines (1.5%), 1 Jaeger-LeCoultre (0.4%), 1 Panerai (0.4%)
So they aim to hold about 50% Patek Philippe on average. And looking at the examples below of high-priced antique watches recently sold at auction, Patek looks like a favorite:
Source and Images: Business Insider
Albert Einstein's Longines - Sold for $596,000
1943 Patek Philippe - Sold for $5.7 million
Mahatma Ghandis Zenith pocket watch- Sold for $2.1 million (with sandals and glasses)
Patek Philippe reference 2499 - Sold for $1.3 million
Patek Philippe Reference 2497 - Sold for $3.3 million
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