Tag Archives: watches

Licence To Spend, The True Cost of Being Bond

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Finally, this month will see the release of the much anticipated ‘No Time to Die’ – the 25th film in the James Bond series, despite a very long wait since the original release date the world is waiting to see just what Bond can offer in Daniel Craig’s last outing as 007.

It is a phenomenon that in 2021, a character such as Bond can still pull the crowds, but it’s the franchise that always wins and whatever is associated with Bond generally brings in the royalties as well. With a supposed birthday of the 11th of November 1920, he is certainly looking good for his age…

How though, has Bond changed over the years? In 1962 when ‘Dr. No’ was released, it’s doubtful that anyone could have seen just what effect the Scottish/Swiss secret agent (who was named after an expert on American birds, and one of Ian Fleming’s favourite authors) would have on films, products and computer games to name but a few.

Now, what a lot of people don’t realise is that Bond’s car was a Bentley – according to Ian Fleming – the Aston Martin came with the films, but the DB5 is now possibly the most recognisable movie car on the planet, possibly more recognisable than some of the lesser-known Bond actors (sorry, Timothy). Strangely, the most expensive example of this legend is a Bond car, but not as one might imagine. The promotional car for ‘Goldfinger’ (1964) sold a couple of years ago for close to £5,000,000 and was in remarkable condition as Mr Connery had never driven it in anger during production. To put it in context a standard DB5, minus ejector seat and oil slick jets, can be purchased for under a million.

For those with a lesser budget, my choice would always be the Alfa Romeo GTV6 driven by Roger Moore in Octopussy – obviously this was a prop car as when I owned one of these, saving the world from nuclear destruction would not have been on my agenda – just getting it to start was considered a success.

Bond’s watches are another example of how one man (and maybe a great marketing department) can change the course of a product. So, what was the first ever Bond watch on screen? It was the instantly forgettable Gruen Precision 510 (Connery’s personal watch, and worn in many other Bond outings)… but nobody cares about that and so we always talk about the Rolex Submariner 6538.

Again, the source of the watch was reputably Connery, although it has been hinted that it may have belong to production staff… with the passing of Connery, I suppose we will never get the full lowdown… what is true however is the escalating value of the 6538 along with most other vintage Rolex sports models. If you want to` be a part of the ‘Big Crown’ Rolex club, be ready to hand over close to £100,000 for a good one these days.

There are of course, again many other options for classic Bond watches, with Seiko, Breitling and most recently Omega, whom have pretty much rejuvenated a brand tanks to Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig wearing some timepieces that do far, far more than tell the time.

When we look at the clothes that Bond sports, there has always been that sartorial elegance with Bond, with Daniel Craig wearing a symphony of Tom Ford attire, with accoutrements by Sunspel, Orlebar Brown and many others but, for me nothing beats Roger Moore in the Safari Suit though, capturing a moment when being a secret agent required a pair of flared trousers, and preferably with a silk cravat.

So, over the years – many things have changed with Bond from watches, to cars, and clothing manufacturers. Hopefully, ‘No Time to Die’ will be as good as we have come to expect from 007, as nobody does it better…

You have £5,000 to spend – Early Seiko Watches

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£5,000 to spend. Early Seiko Watches by James Lowe Watch & Jewellery Specialist

In 1969 Seiko introduced the world’s first quartz watch – the Seiko Quartz Astron. It was accurate to about 5 seconds per month, which was a sensational improvement on even the likes of Rolex.

Image of Seiko Quartz Astron

Seiko Quartz Astron

Yes, Seiko produced millions of watches in hundreds of designs and styles, but I would always recommend going for their early sports chronograph watches – especially the divers’ watches in ceramic and titanium.

Avoid the LCD watches, clever though they may be. If they go wrong, you are sunk. Quartz watch movements are seldom repaired to cure a malfunction – it is far easier and cheaper to fit a compatible new movement. However, thousands were thrown away due to malfunction, so a few models are becoming rare. Original paperwork and boxes are a big plus, but again, rare.

Image of Seiko Quartz Astron 50th Anniversary edition watch

Seiko Quartz Astron 50th Anniversary edition

The price range is enormous; dependent on model and type but with auction purchases beginning at about £150 and going up to several thousand, you could start a sound collection for £5000. But patience and diligence in research into the thousands of Seikos out there will pay dividends.

Review of the Watch Market October 2020

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The watch market seems to have survived amazingly well over the past six months, both on the retail and auction side. There was even an auction in Hong Kong recently selling only early Seiko watches, a brand that despite being the first to launch a quartz watch in 1969, has in the past fared pretty badly at auction with very low prices generally. However, the sale largely sold out, with several of the rarer watches fetching thousands.

An area of the market which is causing excitement currently is what is known as the Secondary Market. I do stress that it applies to an extremely limited few brands and models, and that for most watches the value still plummets as soon as they leave the shop. Patek Philippe, Rolex, and to a lesser degree Audemars Piguet, are the brands most impacted in this situation and it is only their steel sports or utility ranges rather than the precious metal and bejewelled dress watches that are affected.

Image of Patek Philippe Nautilus

Patek Philippe Nautilus

Patek produce only about 6,500 steel watches out of their total annual production of about 65,000. The waiting list for several of their steel ranges can be 18 months to 2 years, so this Secondary Market has emerged. If you were able to purchase a steel Patek Philppe Nautilus at the recommended retail price of about £31,000, keep it in its plastic factory wrap together with all original documents, you could put it on the Secondary Market and ask in excess of £70,000.

Image of a Rolex Daytona Watch

Rolex Daytona

A few Rolex and Audemars Piguet models might get you a 50% profit on RRP. Patek say that they are essentially a maker of luxury precious metal watches, not sports watches, and they will not increase production to meet the demand. But I must stress again how this market is relevant to so very few of the watches that come on to the retail market.

Image of Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore watch

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph (re-edition-25th-anniversary)

Another by-product of this market is the emergence of some very convincing well-made fakes – or replicas as they are sometimes called. All the major brands will mark their cases and movements with reference and serial numbers so that with some diligent sleuth work you should be able to safeguard yourself against buying an expensive fake.

Patek Phillipe and Audemars Piguet with Gerald Genta – The King of Haute Horlogerie and Design

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Is Gerald Genta the greatest wristwatch designer of all time? It’s a question that will cause debates around the watchmaking world, however what cannot be denied is that with a CV like his, it would certainly take a career of some distinction to stand against him in any serious argument.

Gerald Genta’s designs for the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak (left) and the Patek Philippe Nautilus

Starting at Universal Geneve in the 1950s, Genta started a trend of creating some of the most instantly recognisable watches of the 20th Century, with one his first pieces being the understated and yet iconic Polerouter Microtor – setting the tone for much of his later and much lauded career.
Whilst the 1970s could be (and are by many) considered a decade that taste forgot, Genta was inspired and came up with two de facto design classics – still revered today and most probably will be in production for quite a while – The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak in 1971, and the Patek Phillipe Nautilus in 1976.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 4100, 1981

These watches completely changed everyone’s view on luxury watch manufacturing, for many years the definition of which was a precious metal case, with as many complications as one could muster, or even understand. Initially both watches were cases in stainless steel and the measurements at the time were fairly hefty – whilst a 39mm case in 2020 is nothing to get excited about, back in the early 70s it was a complete revelation.
At ten times the cost of a Rolex Submariner, this watch was pulling no punches and it was clear what market it was presenting itself to, it wasn’t a tool watch, it was a clear luxury style piece – but with all the foundations of heritage with the brand.
It was during this period he also worked on designs for IWC and Cartier. Whilst all of his pieces had a certain je ne sais quoi, they all were unique and retained the Genta DNA that set them apart from the more pedestrian offerings from the big players, something that certainly was needed during the quartz crisis that nearly destroyed the Swiss watch industry.

Patek Philippe Nautilus 3700, 1981

The joy of both the Nautilus and the Royal Oak is that there are models to suit all budgets – from under £10,000 for a gold and steel version of both models, right up to over a million pounds for some incredibly ‘esoteric’ models encrusted with more diamonds than the average royal tiara. The key with these both the Patek Phillipe and the Audemars Piguet is knowing the models and their differences and desirability factor – it can be tens of thousands of pounds difference, for what may look to the untrained eye, a very similar timepiece.
Genta carried on designing, and running moderately successful watch brands for many years after the groundbreaking designs of his portfolio became as recognisable as the brand they represented, and inspired many ‘tribute’ style watches for years to come. Gerald Genta died in 2012 and left not only a heritage for many brands, but a basis of design that keeps on reinventing itself, and will for years to come.

Patek and Cartier Ladies’ Watches

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In general, and in contrast to gentlemen’s watches, the price of a ladies’ watch tends to reflect the value in the precious metal, the decorative elements such as diamonds plus the manufacturing costs rather than the complexity of the movement. Today’s price per ounce for gold bullion is $1500, in 2002 (when Gordon Brown was selling off some of the UK gold reserves) the price was around $350, so there’s a four-fold increase in material cost to consider. Another huge factor, especially in ladies’ luxury watches, is of course the big brand name premium.

Patek Philippe

Patek Philippe produce only around 62,000 watches per year and according to Patek company policy, only 10% are made in steel. This is because the company considers itself a luxury product maker rather than a sports’ product maker like Rolex. Of the 6,500 or so steel watches produced, the majority are from the ladies’ Twenty4 range. This results in the gents’ steel watches like the Nautilus models being in very short supply, hence the huge price premiums for this model on the secondary market. The Twenty4 range was introduced around 2000 and has proved very popular but always with a standard quartz movement. However, last year a circular cased automatic model was introduced. The two Patek examples here are the cheapest and most expensive in the range.


Ladies’ Twenty4 steel bracelet watch with diamonds reference 4910/10A.
2002 £3,950
2008 £5,920
2019 £9,550


Ladies’ Twenty4 18 carat gold bracelet watch with diamonds reference 4910/11R
2002 £9,450
2008 £20,850
2019 £32,560

Cartier

Cartier introduced the Panthere range of watches in 1983 to compliment the Panthere jewellery range, and it proved to be a very successful model which was discontinued about 10 years ago but relaunched in 2017. It has remained virtually unchanged (apart from its retail price!!) – and although some of the larger models have automatic movements the smaller model which we illustrate here has retained its standard quartz movement.


Ladies’ Panthere 18 carat yellow gold bracelet watch, mini size, reference W25034B9
2002 £5,900
2008 £9,750
2019 £17,800


Ladies’ Tank Francaise steel bracelet watch, mini size, reference W51008Q3
2002 £1,550
2008 £1,920
2019 £2,890
All the major brands have an understandable policy of refreshing or slightly altering the models in their watch ranges on a regular basis, which does at least give them a chance to nudge the retail prices up regularly. This result in a wide gap between a current retail price and the secondhand/auction value of a five or so year old example. It is therefore very important for both the insured and the insurer to establish whether the insurance cover is on a ‘new for old’ or a ‘second hand replacement value’.

The Importance of Having your Watches Valued

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You can buy a perfectly reliable and accurate watch for £100 or you can buy one for £1million plus.   Of the top 10 brands, most have about 10 ranges each with about 10 models – plus the myriad of other lesser brands, so getting watch valuation prices accurate is very important.

It’s in the makers’ interest to ring the changes and bring out new models on a regular basis – no self-respecting Manchester United footballer’s wife could be seen today wearing a 2010 model Cartier watch and it’s not often a new model will sell for less than its predecessor, so a watch can quickly become underinsured.

With very, very few exceptions the second-hand value of a watch can be as little as a half or quarter of its new retail price of the current comparable model.  So from both the insured’s and the insurers’ points of view (and the watch valuer’s too!) it is very important to establish if the policy offers ‘new for old’ or ‘like for like’ cover.

There are only two UK based watch manufacturers so 99% of watches sold here are imported so are subject to currency fluctuation. Precious metal and gem stone prices are also prone to price changes – and as most of the top brand models are hand made the cost of skilled watch makers is an important factor in a watch’s retail price.

Condition can be an important factor and should be checked and commented on in a watch valuation.  Particularly in a precious metal watch with a bracelet rather than a leather strap where clasps, buckles and links can wear over time, there’s a risk of the watch falling off with consequent damage or loss.  Also, gem set watches should be checked for claw and setting wear – to source a suitable replacement stone and get it mounted by a skilled setter can be a very expensive exercise.

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Watch fakes (or replicas!)

I must mention fakes – or replicas as the makers prefer to call them! 30 years ago the first Rolex fakes came on the scene and even to the untrained eye they were unconvincing, they weighed half what an original did, they often had quartz movements rather than automatic and  some even had spelling mistakes on the dial.  The 18 carat gold parts of the original watches were made of thin gold plate which could wear through in a couple of months. The new ones are very much better and can be embarrassingly convincing, however most of the better watch brands will have a numbering system, stamping an individual serial number on a watch and in some cases the model range number, so with a bit of research we can be pretty sure. Just a quick ‘trick of the trade’ note on fakes – since about 1980 all Cartier watches with roman numerals will have a secret ‘signature’ on the dial. You may need a quizzing glass or similar but look carefully at all the straight lines of the roman numerals and one of them will not be a line but is the name Cartier spelt out in tiny letters – it’s a detail very hard and expensive to replicate. Cartier change where this ‘signature’ is each year, so you can get an approximate date for the watch, also.
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If the insured is in the position of having to buy a replacement for a lost or stolen watch we do recommend that for the major brands they go to an official agent.  There are many ‘on line’ sites offering very tempting discounts, but problems can occur with warranty and repair claims. Also, in the event of wishing to sell the watch, having original receipts, paperwork and boxes will add value.

We normally recommend an annual review and a revaluation every 3 years and a condition inspection every three.

Our watch valuation document will give full details of the watch, noting individual serial numbers and model references where possible, and a close-up photograph, so in the event of a claim or a ‘post loss’ identification situation.

Call us today to enquire about an appointment on 01883 722736 or email [email protected] or visit our website www.doerrvaluations.co.uk