Rolex and Luxury Watch Buyers on Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan

This page is about selling a luxury watch to us: the brands and types we buy, how the appraisal works at our counter, what decides the number we offer, what to bring, and the questions worth asking any buyer before you hand over a watch. If your watch is an everyday or vintage piece rather than a high end brand, the watch buyers page is the better fit, and a gold case or bracelet ties into what we pay for gold.

The luxury watches we buy

We buy Rolex first and most often, across the sport and dress families that come through our showroom, and we buy other high end brands alongside them. A watch does not have to be running, boxed or recent for us to make an offer. We also buy watches in solid gold and platinum for the metal as well as the make, and watches set with diamonds for the stones.

• Rolex, in everyday sport and dress models
• Other luxury houses, with brands such as Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Cartier, Omega, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, Breitling and Tudor among them
• Solid gold and platinum watches, where the precious metal carries value on its own
• Diamond-set and gem-set watches
• Watches that are scratched, not running, or missing a crown or a link
• A single watch, or a collection left in an estate

How a watch appraisal works at our counter

The appraisal is the heart of a fair sale, and ours is free whether you sell or not. You watch every step, and nothing happens out of your sight. Here is how a watch moves across the counter.

1. You bring the watch in, with the box and papers if you still have them. There is no charge for the appraisal and no obligation to sell.
2. We identify the watch: the make, the model, the reference number that pins down the exact version, and the serial number.
3. We look it over in front of you: the case, dial, hands, crystal, bezel and bracelet, whether it runs and winds, and any service or replacement parts.
4. Where the value is in the metal, we test and weigh the gold or platinum on the counter so you can see the reading for yourself.
5. We explain how we reached the number and make a cash offer. Take it and you are paid on the spot. Decline it and you leave with your watch.

What to bring

• The watch itself, running or not
• The original box and any papers: the warranty card, the purchase receipt and the booklets
• Service records or receipts from a watchmaker
• Any spare links, the second strap or bracelet, and the original buckle or clasp
• A government photo ID, because New York requires a buyer to record who it bought from

What decides what your watch is worth

No two offers on the same model are identical, because a watch is valued on its own merits. These are the things that move the number up or down, and a buyer should be able to point to each one on your watch rather than quote a single figure from nowhere.

The make, model and reference number

The first thing any buyer needs is exactly which watch this is. The model name gives the family, the reference number pins down the precise version, dial and era, and the serial number identifies the individual watch. Two watches that look alike can be worth very different amounts once the reference is read, which is why we identify it before anything else, and why an offer made without it is worth questioning.

The box, the papers and the service history

Original box and papers, the warranty card, the purchase receipt and the service records lift an offer, because they prove the watch is what it is said to be and show how it has been cared for. A watch with its full set is easier to resell and tends to bring more. A watch without them still sells; it simply starts from a lower point, and an honest buyer will say so rather than turn the piece away.

Condition and originality

Condition moves the price in both directions. Scratches on the crystal, a worn or stretched bracelet, deep nicks in the case and a faded or refinished dial lower the value, while a crisp, well kept watch earns more. Originality counts as much as wear: a replaced dial, hands or bezel, or diamonds added later by a third party, change what a watch is worth, and a buyer should tell you plainly when a part is not original.

Gold, platinum and the metal itself

A watch in solid gold or platinum holds value in its metal as well as its make. Precious metal trades against a published spot price quoted per troy ounce, so a gold case and bracelet have a floor set by their weight and purity, even for a watch nobody collects. Gold purity is measured in karats, out of twenty four parts, and the karat stamp tells us how much actual gold a piece holds. For a sought after brand the watch is almost always worth more whole than melted, but the metal is why a broken or unfashionable gold watch still carries real money. The same math drives what we pay for gold of every kind.

Diamonds and gemstones

Some watches carry diamonds on the bezel, dial or bracelet. Stones set by the maker at the factory add more than stones added later by a third party. Diamonds are valued on the 4Cs, their color, clarity, cut and carat weight, and we weigh them into the offer. If you are selling loose diamonds or diamond jewelry rather than a watch, that is the diamond buyers page.

Why sell a watch to a Madison Avenue buyer

Our showroom sits on Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, easy to reach and simple to walk into. We have been buying watches and jewelry from the public for more than fifteen years, and that experience is what a seller is really paying for: a buyer who handles luxury watches every day, knows the current demand for a given reference, and values each piece on its own merits. Right in Midtown, you deal with a specialist rather than a general jeweler, and the watch is tested and weighed in front of you.

That experience is the seller’s advantage. Because we handle high end watches constantly, we recognize a good piece and value it properly, so a specialist tends to pay more than a pawn shop or a general jeweler. We buy directly, with no middleman standing between you and the offer, which is part of how we pay top dollar. You are welcome to take our number away, compare it elsewhere, and come back, and we would rather you did that than wonder.

How you are paid, and the rules a buyer follows

When you accept an offer we pay you in cash, and the appraisal that got you there is free whether you sell or not. There is no pressure to take the number, and no pressure to sell the whole lot if you came in with several pieces. We would rather make one fair deal you are glad about than talk you into parting with a watch you want to keep.

New York City regulates buyers of second-hand jewelry and watches, and the rules exist to protect the person selling. The city requires a buyer to hold a second-hand dealer license, to record each item it buys along with who it bought it from, and to hold a purchased item for fifteen days before it can be resold or melted. That written record and that waiting period are a safeguard for honest sellers, and one more reason to sell to an established buyer with a storefront rather than to someone working out of a hotel room or by mail.

Tends to lift an offer	Tends to lower an offer
Original box, warranty card and receipt	No box or papers
Recent service records, and a watch that runs	Not running, or long overdue for service
Original dial, hands, bezel and bracelet	Replaced or refinished parts, or aftermarket stones
A clean, lightly worn case and crystal	Deep scratches, dents or a stretched bracelet
A model buyers are currently asking for	A reference with little demand
Solid gold or platinum, by weight and purity	Plated or steel with little collector interest

What to ask any watch buyer before you sell

You do not have to be a watch expert to sell well. You only have to ask a few plain questions and watch how they are answered. The right answers come easily to a real buyer.

1. Will you tell me the reference number and what it is? A buyer who will not identify the watch precisely is not one to sell to.
2. How did you reach this number? The offer should break down into the make, the condition, the metal and the stones, not land as one take it or leave it figure.
3. Do you buy directly, or are you a broker passing it on? A direct buyer has no middleman to pay out of your price.
4. Do you hold the city’s second-hand dealer license and keep the required records? An established buyer answers yes without hesitation.
5. Can I think about it and come back? The answer should be yes. Pressure to decide right now is the clearest warning sign.
6. Is the appraisal free, with no obligation? It should be.

We are glad to answer every one of these before you decide. If your watch is an everyday or vintage piece rather than a luxury brand, start on the watch buyers page; if you have gold watches among other gold, the gold buyers page covers scrap and solid gold; and for a mixed lot of pieces the jewelry buyers page is the place to begin.

Questions people ask