Luxury Watch Value Retention: What the Data Shows

Which Luxury Watch Brands Hold Value Best in 2026?

A. Lange & Söhne leads the seven tracked brands on five-year performance, with its WatchCharts index up 13.1 percent to 54,394 USD as of October 24, 2026. Patek Philippe follows at 7.8 percent over five years and posts the strongest one-year gain of the group, 16.2 percent, to 141,968 USD. Cartier is the only other brand in positive five-year territory, up 4.4 percent.

Every one of the seven brand indexes rose over the past twelve months, from 1.4 percent for IWC to 16.2 percent for Patek Philippe. The three-year column separates the recoveries: Cartier is up 12.3 percent and Patek Philippe 11.2 percent over three years, while Vacheron Constantin and IWC remain down 11.0 and 13.2 percent. The one-year number shows momentum; the five-year number shows what an owner actually kept.

Each figure is a WatchCharts index value in US dollars, read on the dates shown under the table. The 1Y, 3Y and 5Y columns measure the change in secondary market price over each period, not the ratio of market price to retail. An index is weighted by reference, so a single watch can dominate it: the IWC Pilot ref. 506003 carries 33.2 percent of the IWC index.

How Much Have Luxury Watch Prices Changed Over Five Years?

Four of the seven WatchCharts brand indexes are lower than five years ago: Audemars Piguet by 8.8 percent, Vacheron Constantin by 10.1 percent, Rolex by 11.8 percent and IWC by 18.2 percent. Only A. Lange & Söhne, Patek Philippe and Cartier hold gains over the full period. The ranking runs against the assumption that the Big Three of Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet are the default store of value.

The Rolex index is up 1.5 percent over three years but down 11.8 percent over five, which places the loss in the earlier part of the window rather than in the recent market. A buyer who entered three years ago is roughly level today; a buyer who entered five years ago is not. The entry point matters as much as the brand. Reference-level secondary pricing for the current catalogue is in the Rolex collector’s guide.

WatchCharts reported in its 1Q26 Market Report, published June 4, 2026, that nearly all in-production Audemars Piguet Royal Oak references trade above retail. That is a different measure from the index figures above, which track changes in secondary market price rather than the ratio of market price to retail. A watch bought at an authorised dealer and later sold pre-owned carries that second variable, the gap between retail and market price on the day of purchase. The Royal Oak is the clearest case where the gap favours the owner.

What Determines Whether a Watch Holds Value?

The WatchCharts index for watches above 100,000 USD rose 15.0 percent over twelve months to 161,476 USD (accessed October 26, 2026), against 10.1 percent for the 50,000 to 100,000 USD band and 3.0 percent for the 10,000 to 20,000 USD band. Price tier is the clearest pattern in the current data. Secondary prices have risen fastest at the top of the market.

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak index rose 9.6 percent over twelve months while Royal Oak Offshore fell 2.1 percent and CODE 11.59 fell 2.2 percent. Vacheron Constantin shows the same split, with Overseas up 10.3 percent and Patrimony down 2.2 percent, and at Patek Philippe the Nautilus index gained 15.5 percent against 7.7 percent for the Calatrava. Collection matters more than the name on the dial.

Dubai Customs charges 5 percent duty on the CIF value of an imported watch, and the UAE Federal Tax Authority applies 5 percent import VAT on CIF plus duty, which puts duty and tax at 10.25 percent of CIF before logistics and clearance fees. In Saudi Arabia, ZATCA applies 15 percent VAT on top of the same 5 percent duty, for 20.75 percent of CIF. For a Gulf collector, that is the real break-even point: an imported watch has to appreciate past it before resale covers its landed cost. Where to buy pre-owned in the Gulf, platform by platform, is covered in the pre-owned guide.

How Are Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet Performing?

The Patek Philippe Market Index rose 16.2 percent over twelve months to 141,968 USD as of October 22, 2026, the strongest one-year gain among the seven brands. The Nautilus ref. 5711/1A-010 trades at 119,943 USD, up 14.9 percent, and the rose gold ref. 5711/1R at 197,218 USD, up 31.5 percent. The Nautilus ref. 5712/1R gained 39.2 percent to 258,444 USD. The production history behind the steel 5711 is covered in the Nautilus ref. 5711 article.

The Aquanaut collection index gained 16.3 percent over the same period, and the Aquanaut ref. 5167A-001 trades at 69,539 USD, up 16.8 percent. The dress collections moved more slowly, with Calatrava up 7.7 percent and Gondolo up 5.4 percent.

The Rolex Market Index rose 5.1 percent over twelve months to 27,891 USD as of October 22, 2026, the second-weakest one-year result in the table after IWC. The Daytona ref. 116500LN with white dial trades at 29,878 USD, up 6.3 percent, and the black dial variant at 25,965 USD, up 5.2 percent. The GMT-Master II ref. 126710BLRO trades at 22,042 USD, up 11.9 percent, against 17,385 USD and 5.4 percent for the ref. 126710BLNR.

The Rolex ref. 126720 trades at 16,123 USD, down 2.2 percent, and the Submariner collection index gained only 3.1 percent. Day-Date is the strongest Rolex collection by index value, at 48,190 USD and up 7.2 percent. Not every Rolex reference is rising.

The Audemars Piguet Market Index rose 8.8 percent over twelve months to 80,273 USD as of October 24, 2026. The Royal Oak ref. 15202ST trades at 68,679 USD, up 16.5 percent, and the ref. 15407ST at 141,362 USD, up 4.9 percent. Royal Oak Offshore sits on the other side, with the ref. 26420SO.OO.A600CA.01 at 32,070 USD, down 3.9 percent, and the ref. 26420CE at 46,993 USD, down 9.3 percent. Collection-level analysis of the Royal Oak, Offshore and CODE 11.59 is in the Audemars Piguet guide.

Which Brands Beyond the Big Three Are Gaining Value?

A. Lange & Söhne has the best five-year record of the seven brands, up 13.1 percent, and its index rose 9.0 percent over twelve months to 54,394 USD as of October 24, 2026. The Odysseus ref. 363.179, the most heavily weighted watch in the index, trades at 61,639 USD, up 16.0 percent. The Saxonia ref. 405.035 trades at 76,086 USD, up 5.4 percent, while the 1815 ref. 421.025 fell 8.8 percent to 131,280 USD.

The Vacheron Constantin index rose 9.5 percent over twelve months to 46,300 USD but remains 10.1 percent below its level of five years ago. The Overseas ref. 4500V/110A-B128, the most heavily weighted watch in the index, trades at 28,429 USD, up 14.4 percent, and the ref. 7900V/110A-B334 gained 18.6 percent to 31,464 USD. Patrimony is the only Vacheron collection in decline over the year, down 2.2 percent.

The Cartier index rose 8.9 percent over twelve months to 9,675 USD and 12.3 percent over three years, the strongest three-year result among the seven brands. The Santos WSSA0018, the most heavily weighted reference, trades at 7,091 USD, up 11.5 percent. The Tank collection gained 12.1 percent, and the Tank ref. W51008Q3 trades at 2,880 USD, up 12.9 percent.

IWC is the weakest brand in the table: its index rose 1.4 percent over twelve months to 8,976 USD as of October 25, 2026, and is down 18.2 percent over five years. A single reference, the Pilot ref. 506003 at 11,244 USD, carries 33.2 percent of the index weight and rose 7.2 percent. The Pilot and Portugieser collection indexes each rose only 0.6 percent.

Outside the seven brands in the table, the WatchCharts brand index list shows Tudor up 13.1 percent over twelve months, Breguet up 7.1 percent and Jaeger-LeCoultre up 6.2 percent (accessed October 26, 2026). Hammer prices from Phillips, Christie’s and Sotheby’s set the reference points for the rarest pieces and are tracked in the auction records section.

For collectors in the Gulf, The Luxury Closet in Dubai lists authenticated pre-owned luxury watches with duties and taxes included in the price for GCC delivery. Elsewhere, pre-owned examples are listed on Chrono24 and Bob’s Watches.

Where Is the Market Data for Each Brand by Collection and Reference?

The WatchCharts tables by collection and by reference for each brand sit in the Market Data section of its brand guide. They come from the same quarterly update as this page and carry the same dates.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which luxury watch brand holds value best in 2026?

Over five years, A. Lange & Söhne holds value best of the seven brands tracked here, with its WatchCharts index up 13.1 percent as of October 24, 2026. Patek Philippe is second at 7.8 percent and leads on one-year performance at 16.2 percent. Cartier is the only other brand with a five-year gain, at 4.4 percent.

Do Rolex watches still hold their value?

The Rolex Market Index rose 5.1 percent over twelve months to 27,891 USD as of October 22, 2026, but is down 11.8 percent over five years. Over three years it is up 1.5 percent, so most of the decline falls in the earlier part of the five-year window. Individual references diverge: the GMT-Master II ref. 126710BLRO is up 11.9 percent, while the ref. 126720 is down 2.2 percent.

Which Patek Philippe collections are rising fastest?

The Patek Philippe Aquanaut index rose 16.3 percent and the Nautilus index 15.5 percent over twelve months, according to WatchCharts data of October 22, 2026. The Nautilus ref. 5711/1A-010 trades at 119,943 USD, up 14.9 percent. Calatrava and Gondolo rose 7.7 and 5.4 percent.

Are Audemars Piguet watches a good store of value?

The Audemars Piguet Market Index rose 8.8 percent over twelve months to 80,273 USD as of October 24, 2026, but is down 8.8 percent over five years. The Royal Oak index gained 9.6 percent while Royal Oak Offshore fell 2.1 percent. WatchCharts reported in June 2026 that nearly all in-production Royal Oak references trade above retail.

Do IWC and A. Lange & Söhne watches hold value?

A. Lange & Söhne is up 13.1 percent over five years and 9.0 percent over twelve months, while IWC is down 18.2 percent over five years and up only 1.4 percent over twelve months. The two brands sit at opposite ends of the five-year table. One IWC reference, the Pilot ref. 506003, carries a third of the brand’s index weight.

Do more expensive watches hold value better?

The WatchCharts index for watches above 100,000 USD rose 15.0 percent over twelve months to 161,476 USD, accessed October 26, 2026. The 50,000 to 100,000 USD band rose 10.1 percent and the 10,000 to 20,000 USD band 3.0 percent. In the current data, secondary prices are rising fastest at the top of the market.

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