Selling a luxury watch in Birmingham: outright sale or consignment?

Most people selling a luxury watch for the first time assume there is one price and one process. There are two of each, and picking the wrong one can cost you a meaningful amount of money — or several months of waiting for money you needed last week.

Here is the honest version of how it works.

Outright sale

A dealer buys the watch from you. You agree a figure, the watch changes hands, you get paid.

The advantage is certainty. You know the number, you know when the funds arrive, and the moment the deal is done the watch is no longer your problem — not the market moving, not finding a buyer, not the risk of holding something valuable.

The trade-off is that you are selling at trade price, not retail. The dealer is taking on the cost of holding the watch, insuring it, marketing it and waiting for a buyer, and that risk is priced in. Nobody is doing anything underhand; that gap is what the service costs.

Choose this if you want speed and certainty, or you are funding something else and need to know the exact figure.

Consignment

The dealer sells the watch on your behalf. It is listed, marketed and shown to buyers, and when it sells you take the proceeds minus an agreed commission.

Consignment usually nets you more, because the watch is being sold at retail rather than trade. On a five-figure watch that difference is not academic.

The trade-off is time and uncertainty. A common reference in a popular configuration may move quickly. Something unusual — an odd dial, a less-wanted metal, a watch without its papers — can sit. You do not know which you have until it is listed.

Choose this if you are not in a hurry and want the higher net figure.

Questions to ask whoever you sell to

Ask these of us and of anyone else you approach. The answers tell you a great deal.

• What is the commission, in writing, before I leave the watch? A straight answer should be immediate.
• Is my watch insured while you hold it, and where is it kept? You are handing over something worth as much as a car.
• What happens if it does not sell? Get the exit route clear at the start.
• Can I have the offer broken down? Understanding what is being valued tells you whether the person has actually looked properly.

What actually moves the price

The reference number, not the model name. Two watches that both look like a Datejust can be separated by thousands depending on dial, bezel and bracelet. This is the single biggest factor and the one sellers most often overlook.

Box and papers. A full set commands more. Watch-only sells perfectly well, but expect the difference to be reflected. If the papers are in a drawer somewhere, find them before you get a valuation.

Condition, honestly assessed. Ordinary wear is expected on a pre-owned watch and priced in. What hurts value is a bad polish that has softened the case lines, or replacement parts that are not original.

Service history. Evidence of proper servicing helps. So does a watch that is currently running well.

The market on the day. Pre-owned values move. A figure quoted three months ago is not a figure today, in either direction.

Before you come in

You can get most of the way to a number without leaving the house. Send us:

• The reference number — usually between the lugs, or on the papers
• Clear photographs of the dial, case, bracelet and clasp
• Whether you have box and papers
• Anything you know about service history

That is enough for an indicative figure before you travel. A firm offer follows an inspection in person, because there are things no photograph shows.

A word on where you sell

Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter has been the centre of the British trade for more than two centuries, and there is a practical benefit to that concentration: you can get more than one opinion in an afternoon, on foot. If you are selling something significant, do exactly that. A dealer confident in their offer will not mind you getting a second one.

Talk to us

We buy and take on consignment across Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille. Full details are on our sell or consign your watch page.

Send photographs and a reference number to +44 7898 659493 on WhatsApp, or email info@andreandco.co.uk. We are at 81–83 Spencer Street in the Jewellery Quarter, Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm.