The Business of Watches [47] WatchCharts Top Executives Talk Morgan Stanley's Secondary Watch Market Report And Where Prices Might Be Heading

This week on The Business of Watches an extended chat with a duo whose business is watch market data. Charles Tian is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of WatchCharts.com and Hamza Masood is the head of business partnerships at the U.S.-based company. They're both longtime technology executives who have turned a passion for watches into a business. That venture is WatchCharts and it gathers and analyses secondary market watch prices to show demand trends, price movements and the relative health and desirability of brands and luxury groups in the sector. Its customers include retailers, watch dealers, collectors and brands.

With the U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley, WatchCharts data is used to produce in-depth reports four times a year on the state of the secondary market. The report for the third quarter, published in mid-October, shows the fifth straight quarter of overall market gains of more than 1%, suggesting stability and recovery. Still, the growth is slowing and is the weakest since mid 2025. And while the gains are more widespread among watchmakers, with prices for 28 of 35 brands tracked posting quarter-over-quarter gains, the overall WatchCharts index is still about 28% below its all-time peak, a record hit in the post-pandemic euphoria of April, 2022.

As for outperforming brands, the usual suspects of Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Cartier continue to set the pace. A. Lange & Sohne prices along with Tudor and Vacheron Constantin are recent stand outs and Rolex is still, by far, the biggest factor on the secondary market, even as the mighty Crown shows signs of demand leveling off while inventories reach record highs. As geo-politics continue to add uncertainty to the market for pre-owned watches, can the gains keep coming and who's most vulnerable if demand takes a dip?

Show Notes:

0:51 WatchCharts.com (website) 1:04 Charles Tian blog posts on WatchCharts.com

1:10 Hamza Masood blog posts on WatchCharts.com

2:19 Luxury Watch Prices Rise Again, But Record Inventory Clouds The Outlook (Forbes)

6:22 WatchCharts Rolex Market Index

7:10 $2K to $5K Watch Market Index (WatchCharts)

8:25 Vacheron Constantin Index (WatchCharts)

10:07 A. Lange & Sohne Index (WatchCharts)

13:25 F.P. Journe Watches: Prices, Rarity and Why Collectors Chase Them (NYU Ed - possible AI content)

13:40 F.P.Journe Élégante (Journe website)

14:41 Girard-Perregaux Laureato Collection

15:20 This episode is brought to you by Watches of Switzerland. Listeners get $200 off a first order of $1,000+ on full-price items with code HDKPOD-Holiday-200 (case-sensitive) at checkout. Click here to shop the promotion. US only. Online only. Valid through 1/4/27, while supplies last, and subject to availability. Cannot be combined with other offers. Exclusions apply. See full terms at watchesofswitzerland.com.

20:30 Everywatch.com

20:48 Chrono24 Chronopulse

23:41 Fungibility definition (Wikipedia)

25:32 WatchCharts Q1 Market Report

28:40 Business News: Independent Watch Retailer Collective Horology Sues Trump And Administration Over New Tariffs

31:40 What Does AI Mean For The Watchmaking Industry (Watches and Wonders 2024 - YouTube)

35:01 WatchCharts Value Retention

41:53 Hands On: The Tudor Northflag (Hodinkee)

44:50 IWC (Website)

48:02 Editor's Picks: Our Favorite Pilot Watches (Hodinkee)

50:22 WatchCharts Full Year Report 2025 including impact of price of gold analysis

54:30 Rolex Certified Pre-Owned (Watches of Switzerland)

1:00:18 JLC Introduces Its Second Vintage Capsule Of 'The Collectibles' (Hodinkee)

1:01:55 Business News: Rolex And Cartier Are In Another League – A Deep Dive On The Pains And Gains In Morgan Stanley's "Swiss Watcher" Report (Hodinkee)

1:08:12 WatchCharts Marketplace