Ecommerce leads vintage watches into the future

While watch-lovers might once have spent their time trawling jewellers, antique shops and flea markets to find vintage watches, shunning the internet and its unverifiable merchants, ecommerce has now become an important channel for collectors.

Confidence in buying vintage online has grown as reputable, web-based dealers have established themselves. Those who specialise in more modern pre-owned watches include Watchfinder.co.uk, which had revenues of £85m in 2016-17, and Berlin-based Watchmaster.com. Both have a vintage offering on their sites.

Auction houses now offer online bidding facilities for vintage watches and feature high-resolution catalogue images on their websites, which can be enlarged to many times actual size. This makes it possible to see the condition of a watch almost as accurately as if the real thing were being examined under a loupe. Prospective purchasers can then bid from anywhere in the world, pay electronically and have it delivered to their door by courier.

In mid-2014, the popularity of such sales even led Christie’s to establish an online watch shop (ie at fixed prices). Within a week of going live, Christie’s Watch Shop sold 30 per cent of its inventory, having used its worldwide reach and reputation to attract buyers from all continents.

Almost four years on, John Reardon, the international co-head of Christie’s watch department, says online auctions and private sales represent the fastest-growing part of the department’s business. “Our greatest fear when we launched was that the clients would not be ready for it — but they were actually more ready than we were,” he says.

“The internet enables us to show great pictures and videos and tell the stories behind particular watches in a way that we can’t with a conventional auction catalogue. There are many examples of pieces making more online than they probably would have in a normal sale, and we’ve found that the number of women who bid and buy through the internet is considerably larger than the number who participate in live auctions.

“People also seem very keen for us to sell their watches in this way — we have more inventory than we can process — and we’ve been surprised to see that pocket watches sell far better online than they do at live sales.” Last year Christie’s watch department had sales of $91.9m, including $6.1m from ecommerce.

Mr Reardon believes the success of the online operation will bring an end to the blockbuster live sales where 400-plus lots come under the hammer. Instead, he says, traditional auctions will become more like the company’s December New York sale which featured just 99 high-end pieces.

The online vintage watch market is not just confined to large companies in big cities. Black Bough, a small gift and homeware shop which opened in the UK’s bustling market town of Ludlow, Shropshire, in 2011, has also developed a solid reputation as a source of vintage watches thanks to its easy ecommerce options and the expertise of its co-founder, Alex Barter.

Before setting up the business with his partner, Adam Withington, Mr Barter had spent 12 years as a specialist in the watch department at Sotheby’s in London, during which time he became a member of the Antiquarian Horological Society and was made a freeman of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers.

He used his experience and contacts gained at Sotheby’s to establish the vintage watch side of Black Bough’s business, and he now finds stock from the UK and Europe to sell online around the world. “Visitors to the shop do buy our vintage watches, but the majority of the 15-20 that we sell each month are online purchases,” says Mr Barter.

“When we started, we were very conscious of the horror stories that are often told about people buying watches online — both from private individuals and unknown businesses — which turn out to be damaged, non-original, badly restored or, in the worst-case scenario, simply fake or non-existent.

“With that in mind we have made a point of being very clear about what we’re selling, so we provide a full, written description and show images of both the outside and the inside of the watch. We’re one of the few websites to do that, and we also include a short video that explains the functions of the watch. People like that, because it shows exactly how a particular piece looks on the wrist.”

The most expensive watch the company has sold over the web was a Patek Philippe for £8,750 and, perhaps surprisingly, Mr Barter says that the majority of his ecommerce clients are first-time vintage watch buyers.

For one of the most experienced dealers in the vintage watch world, however, the thought of buying or selling online is anathema. David Duggan set up his business in 1983 and some of his clients have remained loyal to his strictly over-the-counter methods for more than 30 years. “Quite simply, I would never dream of buying a vintage watch online and I will certainly never sell a vintage watch online,” says Mr Duggan who, as well as specialising in Patek Philippe and Rolex models, is an official specialist for Rolex sister brand Tudor.

“In my opinion, an online purchase takes a great deal of the pleasure away from buying a vintage piece because it lacks the thrill of the chase, the chance to glean knowledge from the dealer and the opportunity to develop the sort of rapport that true enthusiasts appreciate,” he says.

“Selling any watch by mail order also leaves a dealer very open to fraud. If someone calls us and wants to buy a watch that they have seen on our website, we will take a 10 per cent deposit over the telephone by card but insist that the balance is paid at the shop — that’s the only way we do business.”

He recognises that selling online has momentum, “but I hope it doesn’t take over — buying a year-old watch sight unseen is one thing, but buying a 30- or 40-year-old one on the basis of some online images and a description is very different.

“Perhaps we’re old-fashioned,” he says. “But that’s just how we like to do it.”