After spending a long time in the watch industry, you will notice an interesting phenomenon: Discussions about “wearing” and “preservation of value” resurface almost every once in a while. On the forum, someone asks: “Should I remove the protective film from the purchased watch?” Others struggle: “Will wearing it every day affect its resale value in the future?”
The essence of this issue is actually a clash of two values. One views the watch as a consumer product, whose value lies in the wearing experience, in companionship, and in the moment when one looks at the time every day. The other regards the watch as an asset, whose value lies in market conditions, in liquidity, and in whether it can be sold at an ideal price in the future. Both logics have their merits, but they point to completely different behavioral approaches.
Hedging logic: The market only recognizes “the minority”
Let’s look at a set of data. According to the quarterly reports of Morgan Stanley and WatchCharts, as of the second quarter of 2026, the overall preservation rate of Patek Philippe (the percentage of the second-hand transaction price relative to the official price) was +15.4%, Rolex was +9.8%, and Audemars Piguet was +3%. These are the only three brands with a positive overall preservation rate. The preservation rate of the fourth-place brand Cartier was -27.4%, Omega -32.3%, Vacheron Constantin -37.2%, and IWC -37.9%.
That is to say, except for the “big three”, the watches of most brands have to be sold at a discount of about 60% to 70% of the official price in the second-hand market. And even within the “big three”, the differentiation is very serious. The Aquanaut of Patek Philippe has a premium of 90%, the Nautilus has a premium of 74%, but the Calatrava series has a discount of 34%. Rolex’s Oyster Perpetual has a premium of 35%, but the Sea-Dweller has a discount of 21%.
What does this mean? “Value preservation” is never a universal characteristic of a watch; rather, it is a privilege exclusive to a very small number of specific models.
The “cost” of wearing: Those invisible damages
If you purchase a watch with potential for value appreciation, its value will indeed be “consumed” through daily wear.
The most obvious is the wear on the appearance. The brushed surface of the case will become brighter, the polished surface will be covered with fine lines, and the edges of the clasp will be rounded. In antique watch cases, a “non-polished” watch and an “over-polished” watch can differ in price by more than 30%.
More subtle is the complexity of maintaining the watch. A watch worn every day may still keep accurate time, but the lubricating oil inside the movement will gradually dry out. A maintenance once every three to five years means opening the cover, disassembling it, and replacing the sealing ring. For collectors who pursue “original condition”, each time the cover is opened it is an “intervention”.
There is also an easily overlooked point: wearing the watch itself can change the “original state” of a watch. The curved arc of the strap, the sweat stains on the lugs, and the habit of turning the crown, all these details will be examined during the appraisal. A “non-worn” watch and a “daily-worn” watch have completely different pricing logic in the collector market.
But “wearing” itself also holds a certain value.
However, if one concludes from this that “a good watch should not be worn”, then one is moving towards another extreme.
Amy Reddy, a watch expert from the European Watch Company, observed a phenomenon: Those who buy a watch out of genuine love rarely sell it in the short term. “Investment buyers won’t come back to sell or change the watch within half a year to a year. Those who buy something they truly love in the same way are also like this,” she said. She believes that the greatest regret often comes from those who constantly “check the watch”.
This observation points out a key point: The “value” of a watch never has only one dimension – money.
When a watch is worn on your wrist, it records your time. The scratches on the case might come from a bump during a trip, and the oxidation on the dial might be from sweat in a certain summer. These things are called “defects” in the collection market, but in the wearer’s eyes, they are “experiences”.
A tablemate on the forum once said a very practical sentence: “Buying a watch and not selling it can always retain its value. But if you buy it and then want to sell it, it won’t retain its value.” Although this statement is straightforward, it touches on the core: If you never plan to sell it, the value retention rate is an irrelevant number for you.
The possibility of achieving both: Choice and Attitude
So, can one truly achieve both daily wearability and long-term value? Not necessarily. But several conditions need to be met simultaneously.
First, choose the right watch. Only the popular sports models of the “Big Three” have the market foundation for long-term value. Patek Philippe’s Nautilus and Aquanaut, Rolex’s Submariner and GMT-Master II, and Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak – these are the most popular models with the strongest liquidity in the secondary market. If you buy a dress model or a mid-range brand, the concept of value preservation is a relatively rare event.
Second, accept the cost of “wear marks”. The price of a popular model for daily wear will always be lower than that of the same model in “brand new and never worn” condition when it is sold. This price difference is the cost you pay for “enjoying the wear”. Experienced collectors will view this as the “ownership cost” – just like a car has depreciation, wearing a watch also has wear.
Third, extend the time frame. In the short term, wearing will lower the selling price. But if extended to ten or twenty years, the long-term price trend of popular models often covers these losses. Chrono24’s data shows that after the price correction in 2022, Rolex’s price index has risen by approximately 7% in the past twelve months. Time rewards the patient and punishes the impatient.
Fourth, mentally consider “value preservation” as an additional item rather than a goal. An editor from an European watch dealer wrote a passage that is worth quoting here: “Some watches you buy because they make you smile. These are the ones that truly last. The most satisfying collections often come from those who bought the watch with emotion, not a calculator.”
Final Thoughts
Can one wear a watch daily and still maintain its value? Yes, but only if you choose the right watch and accept the fact that there is a cost to wearing it.
If your goal is to invest in a watch, the best strategy might be to never remove the protective film, never wear it, and store it in a temperature and humidity controlled safe. But such a watch would be no different from an exhibit in a museum display case. It retains its value, but loses all the meaning of being a “wristwatch”.
If your goal is to wear the watch, then accept that it will wear down, have marks, and be discounted when sold. But these “costs” are exchanged for the action of putting it on your wrist every morning, the glance when you look at the time, and the days it has accompanied you through.
The best condition for a watch is not “brand new and never worn“, but “always worn, yet still cherished“. This condition may not fetch the highest price in the market, but in a person’s life, it is worth everything.
