Watch sellers often hang on to these terms, assuming that everyone knows what they mean. Yet how many newcomers, when considering a purchase, have paused while scrutinizing their options and wondered why a watch from one year is labeled as a second-hand watch and another as a vintage watch – and what effect that has on the price?
For our purposes, as of 2021, we tend to consider watches made before 1990 as vintage watches. Pre-owned describes watches that were made later and belonged to at least one person.
When you hear the term “pre-owned,” think of it as shorthand for a modern or contemporary watch that someone has worn for some time. Frankly, it’s a more polite way of saying “pre-owned,” and unfortunately, the term implies hard to use, as if the previous owner wore the watch while operating the jack – which is usually not far from the truth.
Of course, the vast majority of vintage Rolex replica watches have also been owned by others. This is almost taken for granted; provenance itself can even play an important role in the value of a particular vintage watch, where it can be ascertained.
What makes one watch a vintage watch and another a used watch is a moving target. Logically, what is a vintage watch, and what is a used watch change with the times as new products are created and yesterday’s products age? But sometimes you can tell the difference just by looking at them.
Modern materials such as sapphire crystal and Super-LumiNova were only widely adopted later. Because they often use these highly resistant materials, fake rolex watches tend to look newer for a longer period of time.
Pre-owned watches offer an excellent opportunity to acquire the latest watches that are hard to find new. Want a pristine Submariner, but don’t want to wait for a brand new Submariner to appear? Buy a pre-owned watch. If you shop at a reliable dealer, you’ll likely get a great, reliable watch with plenty of life left in it.
Pre-owned watches are also an important part of the circular economy of watch collecting. They open up a whole new world for aspiring collectors and those of us who may have a drawer full of watches that haven’t been worn in years. When someone trades in a timepiece that they no longer wear, both buyer and seller are one step closer to the next dream watch.