The Return of Investment (ROI) of Collecting a Vintage Watch like a Rolex 6542

    As a seller of vintage watches, I do not mind if a certain vintage watch that I am selling will appreciate its value overnight. What I care the most is, as long as I make a small profit in every vintage watch that I sell, I felt good already. 

     But today, my perception of selling vintage watches to my customers has changed. Before, I kept on asking myself on two things, "What is the main reason why my customers buy vintage watches from me? or what is the "inherent value" that they see on a vintage watch?" Because when I sell, I only do the traditional sales talk. I present the watch to my customers and talk only of its physical beauty, the nice watch dial, the watch  perfect hands, the watch pristine movement, and so forth. There must be "something" that they see on the watch.

    My questions were answered until I saw a news reporter in a Philippine Business Channel presented the inflation rate of the Philippines on TV. The news presenter says that the present Philippines inflation rate is 4.4%. Inflation is defined in Wikipedia as "too much money chasing too few goods. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation reflects a reduction in the purchasing power per unit of money". So there I go. Maybe my buyers are spending money on my vintage watches to hedge inflation? It is like spending but saving at the same time. It is also like paying upfront for a low insurance premium but with a high yield of return. I hope I am making sense. :) Because I have read a report that vintage watches appreciate their value faster than the inflation rate.  I am maybe smarter than them because I always made a profit whenever I sell to them but I realized it now that they are the ones who are smarter than me because they buy and collect vintage watches to fight inflation. 

    Someone has told me that vintage watches are good investment. Robert Maron, president of Robert Maron Inc., the largest watch dealer in the U.S. points out that a Rolex GMT-Master 6542 that sold for $3,500 five years ago sells for $65,000 today–an increase of 18.5 times!

Image from tidywebstudio.com

    I fully understand all my buyers now. They are buying vintage watches because they love to wear their collection, and the most important thing is, they  don’t have to wait for MANY years for that vintage watch to appreciate its value. I also read that some vintage Rolexes have tripled their value in one year. This is really a good news for vintage Rolex watch collectors!

   We all know that we Filipinos love to buy brand new things. We want to get rid of old stuffs. It is a fact that most  of us Filipinos are not updated of the current market price of any collectible watch. 
   But if you are a vintage watch collector and if by chance you happen to know a neighbor, who owns a 6542 and is contemplating of replacing his 6542 with a new GMT and he wants to sell his 6542 for the price of a new GMT116710LN,  IT IS a win-win situation for the both of you. Your neighbor will definitely enjoy his new GMT116710LN while you appreciate the beauty, the value, and the ROI that a Rolex GMT-Master 6542 brings!