What do you see when you look at Chrono24, the world’s most visited on-line trading platform for many watch enthusiasts, a little closer? Read and learn.
Yes, we like watches but it is not easy to be a watch collector. Although they look more like accessories, there begins a story when we put them on. Moreover, every story differs from the wearer.
It becomes more like a love story for the true watch fans. They become identified with their watches and try their best to enjoy them. The clothes are selected according to the watches, different straps or bracelets are tried for the suitable models, stories behind the watches are told, posts with #NWA (new watch alert) tag shared on social media and the happiness is shared with virtual friends by submitting box-opening videos.
On the other side, there are the stories written for the “fake” watch collectors that grow like a mushroom in recent years. There is only one detail in the stories that are similar to the economic news published on Bloomberg TV, which are completely far from emotional themes; the watch’s value on the market.
This is where today’s topic, Chrono24, comes into play. Chrono24, an online watch purchase site established in 2003 by two technology-loving cronies, has been acquired by Tim Stracke and his team in 2010, making it a solid web site with a formal corporate look. With more than 7 million unique visitors a month and more than 1 billion Euros of trade volume per month, Chrono24 has a big and bold goal like reaching all the watch enthusiasts around the globe.
Even if you are not an epic watch-swapper, you’re likely to have heard the words "Well, how much is it on Chrono24?". Including the watch aficionados that have never actually bought any watches from the web site, almost the entire luxury watch community refers to the information on Chrono24 for the price assessment of the models.
Well, we refer to it but what do we really see when we look at it? How do we evaluate what we see there? Let’s try to have more information via looking at specific timepieces we picked on Chrono24.
I searched for one of the most sought after models in the world of luxury watches, the Rolex Submariner Date, on Chrono24 and ended up with 3935 individual ads for sale. When I filter my criteria to leave only stainless steel watches with production dates no older than 2010, the number of ads is reduced to 813. If I leave out the green dial/bezel versions, 475 is the number of the ads for us to evaluate. You probably know that I started with 2010 and above models just to compare the same model that doesn’t have any major upgrades technically. The lowest sales figure among the watches offered with full box and paper is 8200, 00 USD, listed by a North American seller. The top sales price in my search results for the same model with the same specs is 13.297,00 USD. This time, the seller is from the UK. When I re-filter my criteria in order to check the regional price differences, the highest sales price in the USA is 12.985,00 USD and the lowest in the UK is 8989,00 USD. This is the pricing scale of arguably the most popular model in the world of luxury watches on Chrono24. Now, if you were selling your own watch, how would you set a price referring to those figures?
Let’s search for another model. When I search for the PAM321 model from another top luxury watchmaker, Panerai, I have 30 individual ads regarding the same model with a full set of boxes and papers. The price range varies between 4.655 USD and 7.400 USD. What is the value of your watch under these circumstances?
While the difference is so huge even for those models that can be called standard, could you imagine what if you search for Ulysse Nardin Executive Skeleton Tourbillon or something? Would we be wrong if we said those figures were not that helpful for estimating the resale value of those watches?
I cannot say anything against Chrono24. It is an organization that has reached the highest level in its own category and is able to expand itself and its borders day by day. It is among the first elements that determine the luxury watch market, but we should also keep in mind that the inconsistencies in the samples above apply all other models.
In fact, Chrono24 is a more efficient environment for sellers than buyers. It is possible to have a virtual boutique by paying a certain fee. In the future, I’m sure that the major brands will have their own online shops on Chrono24. Well, all our lives are starting to take shape through digital media.
“I remember that I was scrolling through the pages of Chrono24 to get information about the price of many watches. In the past, I have contacted vendors in different locations for different models. The response that I received for the models that are hard to find but listed with reasonable prices were all same. They asked me to transfer a certain amount for the down payment and told me they would find the model in 3 to 4 week time or full refund in case they could not find it. Even though I didn’t have my own personal experience, I also heard from a few friends that there were problems with the refund as well. It is a known fact for Chrono24 that buyers being offered different models, in an insisting way, before sending the money back."
Almost everyone I know in the watch community is using Chrono24 for price search, yet I haven’t seen anyone actually buying watches through the site. As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, it is obvious that this platform, which has a very high trade volume, is of course hosts very valuable buyers and sellers. In addition to this, Porsche Design and Louis Moinet have their own online boutiques within the web site. Despite all these positive sides, hearing someone saying “It goes for xxx USD on Chrono24…” is nothing but an argument starter to me. In such an environment where inconsistent information is shared, I don’t see any logic in referring to the highest prices while selling your watch and exactly the opposite while buying from someone anyway.
At the end of the day, I’m a regular Chrono24 user too, but the points I’ve benefited from the site is a little different. Chrono24 has taken a feature that is very useful and fun for the watch enthusiasts to another level, which many different platforms, including Horobox, tried to do as well. I can say that managing your watch collection online is a very important service especially for those who have a large number of watches. The Watch Collection feature they have created by combining the “watches you follow” section that looks similar to the Wishbox feature of Horobox, is the most useful feature of Chrono24. In this way, you can list all your watches with their specifications while monitoring the price changes over time. In addition, a very high-quality media environment is integrated into Chrono24. It is possible to have general information about the watches by the Magazine section along with up to date news.
I don’t see a problem using Chrono24 as a resource to follow and get information about the watch prices. However, I recommend that you take into account that there are many different prices and other details in the operational part of the business.
