Did Gen-Z Just Get A Taste For Fancy Used-Watches

The Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index, which tracks prices for the 50 most-traded watches by value on the secondary market, bottomed one year ago and has been rising ever since.

Prices in the secondary market are up 2.1% over the last 24 months and nearly 9% over the last 12 months. Prices remain well below the peaks seen during the Covid-era free-money period.

Bloomberg's Allegra Catelli shed color on her view of why used watch demand is ticking higher: 

• The rally is being driven by dress watches and smaller, jewelry-style pieces, reflecting fashion cues from celebrities such as Taylor Swift and Timothée Chalamet, as well as a generational wealth transfer.

• Gen Z collectors are favoring elegance, uniqueness, and smaller case sizes over the once-dominant steel sports models. This shift is also blurring traditional gender norms, with men gravitating to smaller precious-metal watches and women more open to bolder designs.

Critical research for the broader watch industry:

• Winding Up For A Comeback: UBS Eyes Rolex Recovery Cycle

• Used Rolex Demand Soars On Tariff Uncertainty

• Secondhand Gold Rolex Demand Rises As Yellow Metal Hits Record

• Have You Checked Used Rolex Prices?

Fun reads:

• These Are The Best Military And Intelligence Unit Watches

• Axis Of Upheaval: Military Watches Of Russia & China

"The market for chunkier sports models from brands like Rolex has been on a roller coaster over the past few years, and it feels like buyers have become disillusioned," Christy Davis, co-founder of Subdial, told Bloomberg.

Davis said younger consumers are "exploring more unique watches," adding that the traditional gender divide is cracking, with women increasingly comfortable wearing larger, bolder designs and men gravitating toward smaller faces and precious-metal pieces.