It's not what it used to be. It is very hard now to buy a used Rolex, for example - as an investment - you will pay top dollar if you buy it online even from a private seller. If you buy a new Rolex - it loses 20% of its value as soon as you walk out of the door.
Making money out of high end watches is an expert's job.
That's not entirely accurate, and I said in my previous post that buying now is the worst time to do it (as a longterm investment) as the prices have gone through the roof. However, people have been turning over significant amounts of profit, short term, during these market conditions by simply buying regular Rolex's and then selling them a few months later. That's if you could get hold of one.
You don't have to be an expert to make money on a certain asset at a certain time. It's about evaluating market conditions and recognising what is in short supply and high demand and then dipping your toe in.
Usually, during normal times, if you were to buy a limited edition watch with an unusual feature, like a Rolex with an unusual coloured face, a rare vintage one, or even just a Submariner, etc, after a certain amount of time, the watch will usually gain value and you can sell it for more than you paid for it. Basically, they generally hold and appreciate in value, unlike cash (which loses value significantly). That is the point I was making, but like any investment, market conditions can change which is why it's an investment. Investments are not guaranteed, but cash on the other hand
is guaranteed to go down in value, that's the difference. It's about hedging.
I was merely making a point of how bad cash is to hold. Assets are better, especially assets that age by appreciating in value like specific watches do and things like fine art, precious metals, houses, etc. It's far easier to just buy an index fund or a market managed fund, though, for most people.
The best way to invest a lot of money is to diversify and buy a broad range of assets that are not closely correlated. For example: put a bit of your money into some emerging market bonds, a tracked fund, gold and silver, a basket of good cryptos, property, watches, fine art, etc.
I forgot to add here that if one was lucky enough to find one at retail like a Day-Date, Submariner or Daytona, etc, then one would be in an instant profit rather than a 20% loss. You've got it the wrong way around. The problem right now is that nobody can get hold of any of these watches, and the waiting lists are getting longer and longer. If you'd already bought one at retail price as an investment, however, then you'd now have multiples of what you put in.
Don't buy into overbought conditions, though, and that goes for any market. I mean even collectors cards are assets such as baseball cards, Pokémon cards, etc. Buy, hold, and then sell at a later date and hope there's still a market for them.
What I find incredible right now is the used car market. It's gone nuts. So much so that I can sell my current car, that I bought 5 years ago, and get pretty much the same back as what I paid for it. This is unheard of for such depreciating assets. This would mean that I've had 5 years of extremely cheap, almost free motoring (minus service expenses, and dilution of the currency, etc) if I was to sell it. In fact, I worked out it's cost me around £30 a month to own it. Now that's crazy.