Prices are at record highs for vintage and contemporary AAA perfect replica watches, with more and more brands enjoying surging demand.
“The watch market overall has been very strong pretty much since the start of the pandemic which has come as a bit of a surprise,” says Watches of Knightsbridge expert & director Simon Sutton.
“There are a few factors we feel have contributed to this such many people have been investing more time and money in their interests and hobbies either from additional spare time during lock downs or from money saved from not being able to travel etc. Watch collecting is a hobby is many people and they have become more involved especially during lock down. We had our highest ever registered bidder count during for our March 2020 auction which was all online. Regarding the vintage and collectible watch market, people are still seeing value across the board. The key iconic models from the top brands have continued to appreciate in value and demand,” he adds.
Swiss made fake Cartier is a prime example, particularly for replica watches made by best replica Cartier London, which operated independently from Cartier Paris and Cartier New York before being incorporated into one company and purchased by Richemont Group.
At Watches of Knightsbridge’s last auction, a 1976 perfect replica Cartier Octagonal sold for £120,192 (£96,000 plus fees), four times higher than its pre-auction estimate.
“Cartier London made some wonderful and unique fake watches from their London workshop [from the 1950s to 1970s] in very few numbers, including the infamous Crash model, along with the Pebble and the Octagonal that we just sold,” the auction house’s co-founder Toby Sutton describes.
Mr Sutton says the November 13 auction already has some interesting fake watches online consigned including a 1969 Rolex Explorer with military provenance, a rare neo-vintage Heuer Carrera with salmon dial and a unique vintage Cartier replica.
Deadline for consignments is at the end of September and the catalogue will be published on October 18.