Pre-owned is the collectors’ word for a second-hand watch, one that has already had an owner. A certified pre-owned watch has been confirmed as genuine by its maker or by a partner the maker has approved. That backing lets collectors buy second-hand with confidence, and buyers often pay extra for it.
What does certification involve?
Certification usually means two things. An expert checks that the watch is genuine, and the movement gets a complete service. The dial, case, crystal and strap are restored as well. The watch normally comes with a new international warranty. In the Rolex scheme, the warranty card comes from Rolex itself, not from the retailer that sells the watch. Rolex accepts only watches that were first bought from an authorised retailer and are more than three years old. For Rolex, the extra paid for certification has been reported at about 20 to 30 per cent, and sometimes higher.
Where it comes from
The idea comes from cars. Approved schemes such as Porsche Approved and Ferrari Approved were already common. In watches, small independent makers moved first. Richard Mille, F.P.Journe, MB&F and Urwerk each set up their own in-house pre-owned programmes between 2015 and 2020. Rolex’s certified programme started in Bucherer boutiques in six European countries. The wider market is large. Deloitte, a consulting firm, put the value of the second-hand watch market at about CHF 20 billion and said it was growing steadily.
Not to be confused with
Pre-owned is not the same as vintage. It is the wider category. The Rolex programme, for example, covers recent used watches as well as vintage ones. Brand certification is also different from a dealer’s own certification. Authorised dealers such as Bucherer already ran their own pre-owned programmes. Pre-owned and second-hand, by contrast, are two words for the same watches. The Rolex scheme, for instance, vouches that second-hand Rolexes at least three years old are genuine.
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