We Buy
Luxury Wrist Watches
Rolex, Omega, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and every major Swiss house — box and papers welcomed but not required.
What Makes Luxury Wrist Watches Collectible
Collecting luxury Swiss and Swiss-style watches is driven as much by provenance and condition as by brand name. Full "box and papers" sets typically add 10-30% to resale value versus a watch-only sale, while a documented service history and original, unpolished parts reassure buyers of authenticity and mechanical soundness. Rarity matters, but condition usually wins out over scarcity alone — an honest, well-preserved common reference often outperforms a scarce piece that has been over-polished or heavily serviced with non-original parts.
Makers & Items We Buy
Audemars Piguet
Audemars Piguet was founded in 1875 by childhood friends Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet in Le Brassus, in Switzerland's Vallée de Joux. The brand built its reputation on complicated watchmaking before reshaping the industry in 1972 with the Royal Oak, designed by Gérald Genta as the first luxury sports watch in steel, complete with an octagonal bezel and integrated bracelet. Early "A-series" Royal Oaks are among the most sought-after watches in horology. Collectibility centres on the Royal Oak (and later Royal Oak Offshore) line, along with AP's tradition of grand complications, with rarity, original finish, and documented history driving premiums at auction.
Blancpain
Founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain in Villeret, Switzerland, Blancpain is recognised as the oldest registered watch brand in the world. It became a subsidiary of the Swatch Group in 1992 after decades of independent ownership. Its defining model is the Fifty Fathoms, launched in 1953 as one of the first modern dive watches, developed with French Navy combat divers and later worn by Jacques Cousteau and issued to US Navy SEALs. Vintage Fifty Fathoms references and early military-issue pieces are especially prized by collectors for their diving heritage and rarity.
Breitling
Léon Breitling founded his watchmaking firm in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, in 1884, specialising in precision chronographs and timing instruments for military, industrial, and sporting use. Under Willy Breitling, the brand became closely tied to aviation, notably supplying cockpit chronographs to the RAF and, in 1952, launching the Navitimer — a pilot's chronograph with a circular slide-rule bezel that functioned as an in-flight "flight computer." The Navitimer remains Breitling's most iconic model. We particularly value early Navitimer and Cosmonaute references and vintage Breitling chronographs tied to its aviation and motorsport history.
Rado
Rado traces its roots to 1917, when brothers Fritz, Ernst, and Werner Schlup converted their family home in Lengnau, Switzerland, into a watch factory originally named Schlup & Co. The company adopted the Rado name (from the Esperanto word for "wheel") and built its identity around material innovation, launching the DiaStar in 1962 — the world's first scratchproof watch, cased in tungsten carbide with a sapphire crystal. In 1986 Rado pioneered high-tech ceramic cases with the Integral, followed by the all-ceramic Ceramica. Rado pieces are collected primarily for their pioneering use of scratch-resistant materials and distinctive industrial design rather than complications.
Rolex
Rolex began in 1905 when Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis founded Wilsdorf & Davis in London to distribute Swiss-made wristwatches, with the Rolex name trademarked in 1908 and the company relocating to Geneva. Wilsdorf pioneered the waterproof Oyster case and the self-winding Perpetual movement, laying the foundation for tool watches like the Submariner (1953), the first divers' watch rated to 100m, and the Cosmograph Daytona (1963), a racing chronograph that became a grail among collectors. Rolex is the most widely traded luxury watch brand on the secondary market, with vintage Submariners, Daytonas ("Paul Newman" dials especially), and GMT-Masters commanding significant premiums for original condition, matching serial/case numbers, and complete documentation.
Hublot
Hublot was founded in 1980 by Italian entrepreneur Carlo Crocco in Switzerland, debuting a watch that paired a precious-metal case with a natural rubber strap — a radical combination at the time that defined its "Art of Fusion" philosophy of mixing traditional and unconventional materials. The brand was transformed after 2004 when Jean-Claude Biver became CEO and launched the Big Bang in 2005, an oversized chronograph blending ceramic, sapphire, and metal that became an immediate commercial success. Hublot, now part of LVMH, is known for bold materials science and limited-edition collaborations, which drive collector interest alongside the brand's signature fusion aesthetic.
Longines
Longines was established in 1832 in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, by Auguste Agassiz, with the modern Longines brand and winged-hourglass logo taking shape under his nephew Ernest Francillon from 1852. The company built a strong reputation in precision timing for aviation, notably producing Charles Lindbergh's Hour Angle watch, and in 1957 introduced the elegant Flagship collection. We value vintage chronographs and military-issued pieces from the 1940s-50s, particularly the column-wheel 13ZN chronograph calibre, as well as early Flagship and Conquest models in original, unrestored condition.
Michel Herbelin
Michel Herbelin founded his eponymous French watchmaking workshop in 1947 in Charquemont, in the Jura mountains, naming his first watch "IMPEC" (for "impeccable") to signal his commitment to precision and quality. The brand formally took the Michel Herbelin name in 1965 and has remained a family business, now run by his grandsons, with every watch still designed, assembled, and inspected in Charquemont. Herbelin is best known for classic, affordably-priced French dress and sports watches, including its Newport line, and is collected more for its "Made in France" heritage and traditional craftsmanship than for rarity-driven speculation.
Montblanc
Montblanc, primarily known as a luxury writing-instrument maker founded in Hamburg in 1906, entered serious watchmaking through its acquisition (via parent group Richemont) of Minerva, a Swiss manufacture founded in Villeret in 1858 by brothers Charles and Hyppolite Robert. Minerva was renowned for chronograph calibres, including its patented V-shaped bridge from 1912, and its know-how now underpins Montblanc's high-end 1858 and Villeret collections. Collectible Montblanc watch pieces tend to be those built on genuine Minerva movements, valued for hand-finished, old-world chronograph and complication craftsmanship rarely found at Montblanc's price points.
Omega
Omega was founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, in 1848, with the Omega name adopted in 1903 following the success of its 19-ligne calibre. The brand is best known for the Speedmaster, introduced in 1957 and famously the first watch worn on the Moon during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, and the Seamaster, its dive and sports line dating back to 1948. Omega has a long institutional history with aviation (RAF, 1917) and space exploration (NASA, 1969). Vintage Speedmaster "Moonwatch" references and early Seamasters are highly collectible, with provenance, original dials, and unpolished cases commanding strong premiums.
Patek Philippe
Patek Philippe originated in Geneva in 1839, founded by Polish watchmaker Antoni Patek and Franciszek Czapek, with French watchmaker Adrien Philippe — inventor of the keyless winding mechanism — joining to form Patek, Philippe & Cie in 1851. The brand introduced the classic Calatrava dress watch in 1932 and, in 1976, the Gérald Genta-designed Nautilus, a steel luxury sports watch that responded to the quartz crisis. Patek Philippe is renowned for pioneering complications including the perpetual calendar, split-seconds chronograph, and minute repeater, and is widely regarded as one of the most collectible and highest-appreciating watch brands, with limited production and complete original documentation driving exceptional auction results.
Tag Heuer
Edouard Heuer founded his watchmaking workshop in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, in 1860, patenting a keyless winding system in 1869 and an oscillating pinion chronograph mechanism in 1887 (the brand later became TAG Heuer in 1985). Heuer built its reputation on motorsport chronographs, notably the Carrera (1963) and the Monaco (1969) — one of the world's first automatic chronographs, made famous by Steve McQueen. We particularly prize vintage Heuer-branded (pre-TAG) Carreras and Monacos, along with rare references like the Carrera "Dato," for their motorsport heritage and increasingly scarce original examples.
Ulysse Nardin
Ulysse Nardin founded his company in Le Locle, Switzerland, in 1846, building a reputation for exceptionally precise marine chronometers that were used by over 50 of the world's navies and earned thousands of precision awards from the Neuchâtel Observatory. The brand's heritage was revived in 1996 with the Marine Chronometer 1846 wristwatch, followed by other Marine and Freak collections known for horological innovation. Collectors value Ulysse Nardin for its genuine marine chronometry pedigree and technically adventurous modern pieces, such as the escapement-innovating Freak, which stand apart from more mainstream Swiss sports-watch brands.
Zenith
Zenith was founded in 1865 in Le Locle, Switzerland, by Georges Favre-Jacot, who pursued an unusually integrated manufacturing model that let the company produce movements and cases entirely in-house. Its landmark achievement came in 1969 with the El Primero, the world's first automatic, high-frequency, integrated chronograph movement, developed to mark the company's centenary. The El Primero has powered chronographs for numerous brands, including early Rolex Daytonas, and holds the record for the longest continuously produced chronograph calibre. Early El Primero references, such as the rare A386 (only around 2,500 made), are especially prized by collectors for their historical significance and scarcity.
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