Collect luxury watches like Ed Sheeran does: Tips for starting a designer collection
Luxury watches are a safe investment and are a hot commodity year after year. Luxury watches are impressively crafted with technical innovations, and timeless elegance. Collectors enjoy the luxury benefits and their considerable investment potential. Watch enthusiasts come from all walks of life and are adorning their wrists with extraordinary timepieces. The likes of Ed Sheeran cannot live without a luxury watch collection, and his is impressive. So, what is the best way to start a collection and which watches are more suitable for experienced collectors?
Ed Sheeran’s First Luxury Watch: Hublot Big Bang Rose Gold 341.PX.130.RX
The Hublot Big Bang Rose Gold 341.PX.130.RX. was the first luxury watch in Ed Sheeran’s collection. The value of this timepiece has increased by 35% since his investment. Following his initial purchase, Sheeran expanded his collection with the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Volcano 26170ST.OO.D101CR.01 (+77%), Patek Philippe Nautilus 5726/1A-001 (+312%), The very technical and traditional Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar 5970P-001 (+154%). Ed Sheeran selected pieces that were classic and safe bets, right from the start.
What’s the perfect watch for each phase of your collecting journey? It’s always been a difficult question to answer – that is, until now.
The Chrono24 Watch Collection Study determined that a watch collector is likely to add a specific brand model to their collection at any given point. The data reveal which brands are considered popular “entry level brands”, which “veteran brands” tend to be added to watch collections later, and what the “universally loved brands” are among collectors around the world.
Collectors choose Rolex 37%, on average, regardless of whether it’s their first watch or their 20th. Experienced collectors prefer brands like Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet with only about 2% of collectors starting with these brands. By the 10th watch, the percentage of AP acquisitions doubles. Patek Philippe shows an almost linear growth and reaches a share of 7.5% by the 20th watch, which is the third-highest share of all brands (after Rolex and Omega).
Another popular first watch is TAG Heuer with almost 6% of collectors and therefore strongly represented, but this percentage drops by half by watch number four, and by two-thirds by watch ten. Both Tissot and Breitling also show negative rates of change over time, losing much of their appeal by watch 20 (-1.8% and -2.1% respectively).
Ed Sheeran’s unconventional route to traversing his luxury watch collection, but with an estimated fortune of around $200 million, he can afford a little luxury. TAG Heuer, may be a better option for other collectors. TH is under the leadership of CEO Frédéric Arnault, and makes for a popular choice for new collectors and may well be the brand to watch going forward.
