From Rolex to Naoya Hida: East Asia’s role in the secondhand watch boom

While luxury watch retail prices have seesawed due to tariffs, and brands have grappled with softer demand, the secondary market tells a different story: auctions are smashing records. Secondary timepiece prices have reportedly risen 4% over the past six months. At the Bvlgari Yacht Club auction in Dubai in November 2025, a 1940s Rolex Reference 4113 split-seconds chronograph became one of the most expensive Rolexes ever sold, selling for $4.7 million. That same month, at Phillips’ Geneva Watch Auction, a Patek Philippe achieved $17.6 million, setting a new auction record for the brand. In fact, during that weekend, Phillips generated $83 million in total sales, marking the highest total ever achieved at a watch auction. In December, the Sotheby’s sale featuring the Robert M. Olmsted Complications Collection attained $42.8 million — the highest total in history for a Sotheby’s watch auction. East Asian high-net-worth collectors are increasingly shaping this rise, with Chinese luxury consumers and collectors playing a pivotal role. Ranking second globally in high-net-worth individuals, the country counted an estimated 6.2 million US dollar millionaires in 2024 — providing a deep and growing buyer base for high-end watch auctions. What is China’s role in record-breaking auctions? The China luxury market is home to community clubs of watch enthusiasts, such as the Shanghai Watch Gang, which has hundreds of members who share their passion for collecting. These enthusiasts seek out scarce models, build networks, and compete for allocations that brands tightly control. “Out of all top-value lots sold above $1 million at Phillips’ watch auctions over the past five years, East Asian collectors accounted for roughly 20% of purchases,” says Thomas Perazzi, Head of Watches, Asia, Phillips. “This underscores their dual role in the market: while they are certainly active in setting headline-grabbing record prices, their broader impact lies in sustaining long-term value growth across the category. At Phillips, the shift was first visible during the pandemic. According to Perazzi, “Bidding activity from East Asian HNWIs was particularly strong during the pandemic, with participation sustained through online platforms even as global markets faced uncertainty.” Rather than cooling once travel reopened post-pandemic, demand held. “The market has remained steady in the years since,” Perazzi says, adding that both mature and emerging segments of buyers have accelerated — with Chinese Gen Z increasingly on the radar of auctioneers. What are the collector behaviors of East Asian HNWIs? For Phillips’ luxury watch auctions, Hong Kong leads, Taiwan sustains, Southeast Asia emerges. Across the auction house’s East Asian markets, collector behavior differs sharply. “Hong Kong continues to drive the strongest demand in the region,” Perazzi says. As a global gateway, the city draws international bidders competing for trophy pieces — particularly Rolex and Patek Philippe — and increasingly, independents. Taiwan, meanwhile, reflects consistency rather than spikes. “Taiwanese collectors are renowned for their long-term approach. Compared to Hong Kong’s appetite for headline-grabbing lots, Taiwan is characterized by quieter but reliable demand,” Perazzi adds. A surprise force is Southeast Asia. Vietnam and the Philippines are now producing first-generation collectors with expanding wealth pools and few legacy constraints. “Southeast Asia has emerged as a dynamic growth region,” Perazzi says, citing a younger collector profile and faster adoption of new independents. Which niche watch brands do collectors have on their radar? Demand still skews to the maisons — Rolex, Patek Philippe, F.P. Journe, Audemars Piguet, and A. Lange & Söhne remain value leaders — but tastes are evolving. “Independent watchmaking is gaining notable traction,” Perazzi says, pointing to Philippe Dufour, De Bethune, Kari Voutilainen, and even Japan’s Naoya Hida and Ōtsuka Lōtec. Naoya Hida’s eponymous brand, for one, reportedly only produces around 120 watches a year. Consumers and collectors must apply to purchase during a specific two-week period each year, then if they are selected, they can purchase. Similarly difficult to attain, Jiro Katayama’s Ōtsuka Lōtec timepieces are available in Japan only via lottery. During summer 2025, the brand’sNo. 7.5 "Unworn" fetched more than six times its RRP, going for $13,750 at Pharrell Williams' Joopiter auction. For sellers, independents offer limited production and narrative scarcity — the exact ingredients behind modern cultural asset classes. From Dubai’s speculative energy to New York’s museum-grade bidding wars, East Asian HNWIs are helping power the secondary watch market’s current boom.

From Rolex to Naoya Hida: Is East Asia behind watch auction records?

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From Rolex to Naoya Hida: Is East Asia behind watch auction records?