We’re revealing exclusive data from our $500M+ worth of listings, analyzing the most in-demand brands and watch styles, the prevalence of inauthentic watches on the secondary market, and how Bezel provides the best experience not only for buyers but also for sellers.
Bezel is excited to announce the release of our H1 2024 Watch Market Insights report.
This time, we’re revealing exclusive data from our $500M+ worth of listings, analyzing the most in-demand brands and watch styles, the prevalence of inauthentic watches on the secondary market, and how Bezel provides the best experience not only for buyers but also for sellers.
Our clients come to Bezel because of our commitment to creating the highest standard of authenticity and trust.
Here’s how we do it.
Since 2022, Bezel has dedicated itself to offering only the highest-quality and most sought-after watches. Every watch listed on Bezel is reviewed by a human prior to going live on the platform. After a watch is sold, the seller is required to ship the watch to our headquarters, where it goes through a multi-point, industry-leading authentication process by our in-house team of experts to ensure authenticity, period correctness, and full functionality.
By maintaining strict standards, Bezel guarantees you only receive the watch that is exactly as it was described at the point of purchase.
This is why in H1 2024, Bezel rejected 24% of listings submitted to the platform, which is slightly higher than last year’s report at 23%.
But, what gets a watch rejected from Bezel? We asked our Head of Watch Operations Ryan Chong for a couple examples.
A watch’s external components may be completely correct and authentic, but the only way to know if the movement is correct is to open the case back. In this case, when the watch was opened and inspected by our team, the quartz module found to be powering the watch was a generic third-party movement.
“Operationally, the watch was working fine, but because the watch no longer had the original Patek Philippe quartz module, it alters the value and authenticity of the watch,”according to Chong. “Watches like this do not pass Bezel’s authentication standards and cannot be sold on our platform.”
During our authentication process, we inspect all aspects of the watch, as well as the accessories it comes with.
Here, the watch was found to be completely authentic, however, the warranty card was not. Also referred to as “papers”, the card was altered or “wiped” with a more recent date written in.
“This is done to increase the value and desirability of the watch on the secondary market,” said Chong. “Because the watch being advertised did not match the watch being sold, it cannot be sent to the member who bought it.
Along with our in-person inspection after purchase, before a watch is listed publicly on Bezel, it is reviewed digitally by Bezel’s authentication team.
“From the images, the authentication team noticed the aftermarket bezel insert on this GMT-Master II,” said Chong. “This listing was rejected before listing, and never made it onto our platform.”
Our goal is to build the highest level of trust with members before they even make a purchase. This is one of the many ways we do that.
Not only do we inspect all aspects of the watch and accessories to ensure they are fully authentic and original to the watch sold, we also run every watch through robust functionality testing, including pressure and timing tests, as well as ensuring all complications are in working order.
In this case, during our diagnostic testing the watchmaking team found that the split-seconds chronograph was not in working order.
“Often many of these watchmaking fixes are reasonably quick and inexpensive,” according to Chong. “But when watches are complicated like this one, we are able to save the client from the frustration of a costly, complicated, and prolonged repair.”
Bezel is here to give the people what they want.
On top of sales on the Bezel platform, we also track which watches our members “want”, similar to a bookmark or favorite on any other platform. The motivation behind this function is:
Like house hunting for homes you can’t afford on Zillow, we think many of our members want to understand the market for aspirational watches, so maybe one day, when they’re ready to buy, they can make an informed decision.
Unsurprisingly, Rolex was the brand most “wanted”, followed by Omega and Tudor.
Steel was overwhelmingly the most wanted material, with more than 78% of total wants, and 2021 was the year most wanted (but more on that below).
While sales by brand seem to follow along the same lines as “wants” in this report, we see a slight departure from sales by brand from last year’s report.
This year, the most wanted brands were Rolex, Omega, and Tudor, while last year’s report saw Rolex, Omega, and Cartier taking the top spots. Along the same vein, while Rolex holds the majority of sales this year at 37%, this is a decrease from last year’s 40%.
We also saw TAG Heuer jump up to the fourth most ordered brand on Bezel this year, when it didn’t even break the top 10 last year.
Why?
Our Concierge team consistently receives requests for models that aren’t currently on the Bezel platform. They range from ultra premium models costing +$1M to more affordable ones like TAG Heuer.
Once we hit the critical mass of requests for TAG, we went out to our extensive network of sellers to get more Tag models listed and saw our members snap them up.
We’ve set out to build the best possible watching buying experience not only for seasoned collectors, but also those just starting their journey, as well.
This has been our bet from the beginning and we see it still working particularly well for young collectors.
This year, 70% of Bezel’s sales come from Gen Z and Millennials, with Gen Z having the highest AOV.
“We think this is because of Gen Z's comfort with online shopping, inclination towards premium products, and desire for unique, high-quality items that reflect their personal values and style,” said Bezel co-founder and CEO Quaid Walker. “And similarly with Millennials, who have been well-established in their careers and have the disposable income to continue to drive sales volume through consistent purchases.”
Time and time again, we see the majority of sales coming from watches originally released in the last decade.
Bezel members are young and mostly first-time watch buyers, so it makes sense that they’d gravitate towards newer watches. Whether it’s to acquire the latest and greatest styles from storied brands, or for practical reasons like a partial manufacturer’s warranty remaining with the watch, there are many reasons why we see modern watches selling quickly and often. What’s been surprising is the follow-up purchases from these same buyers. As their orders continue, the age of the watches typically increases.
Bezel’s multi-layer authentication process that’s applied to all orders becomes even more pertinent as the watch (and its accessories) increase in age. Specifically, making sure:
With this trend in mind, we expect that we will see sales for older and older watches as time goes on.
Since Bezel launched, we’ve changed the game for collectors by providing an unrivaled level of trust on the secondary market. The 1,000+ 5-star reviews on the App Store and a 4.9 out of 5 star rating on third-party platforms like Trustpilot speak for themselves.
But while we’ll never stop raising the bar on what authenticity and transparency can be for consumers, we’re also dedicated to providing the best-in-class experience for professional sellers, as well.
Bezel has built a suite of robust tools designed to streamline the selling process, a dynamic pricing engine for every model that our team leverages to help advise sellers on pricing, and more. This, along with our ability to drive hundreds of thousands of qualified watch buyers onto our platform every month, is why sellers consistently give rave reviews about Bezel. The median time it takes to sell a watch is half as long on Bezel as it is on other platforms, and a payout time of one to two days, as opposed to seven plus on others, doesn’t hurt either.
As Bezel looks ahead, we’ll look for new ways to enhance the overall experience for both buyers and sellers alike, and solidify our position as a leader on the secondary market.
Bezel is a marketplace for buying and selling luxury watches. Bezel gives you access to thousands of the most collectible watches, curated for you daily. Every watch sold goes through our rigorous, in-house authentication process so you can shop with 100% confidence. Don’t see the exact timepiece you’re looking for? Reach out to our concierge team, and we will source it for you from our network of trusted sellers and collectors.
Buy, Sell, and Bid with confidence on the Bezel app or visit us at getbezel.com today.
Bezel is available to download on the App Store now. Please reach out to our concierge team if there is anything we can help you with!
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