Where To Sell Watches In The UK?

Where to sell watches in the UK:

• Pawnshops
• Hatton Garden 
• Auction Houses
• Online Auction Sites
• Private Buyers
• Expert UK Watch Buyers

 

Where To Sell Watches In The UK

If you’re selling your luxury watch in the UK, you’ve got plenty of options. Each has its pros and cons:

Pawnshops

Pawnshops are fast, local, and pay in cash. But, because they’re not in the luxury end of the market, they often buy watches with the expectation of selling them to a more specialized dealer. Which means they’re not motivated to give you the best price. 

Hatton Garden

London’s historic diamond district, Hatton Garden, has a convenient concentration of dealers, which means you can get multiple offers and probably sell your watch in a one quick visit. The downsides: few are trained horologists, and you can expect high pressure tactics, contradictory information, and lots of haggling. 

Auction Houses

Traditional auction houses almost always have a trained horologist on staff to evaluate your watch and suggest a bidding range and may even schedule specialty sales completely devoted to watches, which means they’re often the best bet for extremely rare vintage timepieces. (Everyone’s read about the £13.3 million gavel price Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona brought at an auction a few years ago.)

Here, the downsides are wait time and unpredictability. After they accept the consignment and inventory the piece, you then have to wait for an auction date, which is usually a matter of months.

If you’re lucky, you’ll have bidders competing against each other and you’ll get a good price when your watch goes under the gavel. If you’re not, you may receive no bids at all. And don’t forget that auction houses also collect sellers’ fees from the final price.

Online Auction Sites

Online auction sites operate much like traditional auction houses. Some have horologists on staff, some (like eBay) are simply places where you post the item yourself and then hope for the best. Either way, getting the price you want is a matter of luck and you’re obligated to wait for your payment. Remember that all of them stay in business by charging sellers either a flat fee or a percentage of the final price.

Private Buyers

Private buyers—either online or local—usually have very specific wants. If your watch fits their profile then you may get a good price. But if their offers seem too good to be true, they often are. Beware potential scammers who may claim that they never received your watch, that the watch was a fake, or that it arrived damaged (and therefore they have to give you a discounted price). 

 

Expert UK Watch Buyers

Established in 2012, WP Diamonds was created as the modern and professional alternative to traditional watch buyers.

Some companies haggle. Some take advantage of a customer’s enthusiasm or lack of expertise. Others quote prices without mentioning that when they’re selling your luxury watch they also charge for insurance, a seller’s premium, commissions, or servicing the watch. We wanted to change that.

With offices in Birmingham and London as well as the option to sell online, our free service is focused on speed, convenience, customer service and getting you the best possible price. We pride ourselves on offering a streamlined and hassle-free way to sell luxury watches in the UK. No high pressure sales tactics, no fees or commissions deducted, no haggling. Just our best prices upfront and no obligation to sell.

• Speed: We buy your watch directly, meaning that the entire process can take as little as 48 hours from inquiry to payment. That’s how we earned so many loyal customers.
• Luxury Watch Specialists: WP Diamonds is a leading and specialist watch buyer in the UK. No one knows the luxury watch market better. Every day, our industry veterans evaluate vintage and contemporary watches from luxury brands including: Breitling, Cartier, IWC, Jaeger LeCoultre, Omega, Patek Philippe, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Tag Heuer and more.
• Reputation: We’re members of the UK’s National Association of Jewellers and use a highly secure Royal Mail service with a record of trustworthy, on-time delivery. We work with hundreds of customers on a daily basis, in the UK and internationally.  (Read our hundreds of positive reviews for yourself.) 

 

How it works

Our most popular selling option allows you to sell your watch online from the comfort of your home:

1. Complete the online form and a dedicated client specialist will contact you by telephone with a price quote.
2. Then, if you decide to proceed, we offer a free, fully insured, shipping service.
3. When your watch arrives at our office it will be opened on camera and you will be notified of its arrival.
4. Once evaluated by our experts, we will contact you with your final offer and detailed explanation of how we priced your watch.
5. Accept the offer, we then get you paid. If you decide not to accept our offer and would rather have your watch returned, we will ship it back to you for free through the same insured shipping service—at no expense to you.

Appointments: As a second option, you can make an appointment for an in-person visit to our offices in Birmingham or London, where you’ll speak to one of our watch specialists directly and hear our offer right away. 

How To Sell Watches In The UK?

Step 1: Collect Information About The Watch

Besides the brand of your watch, a buyer will need to know the name of the model. Next, they’ll need to know the condition:

• Is the watch working
• Is the bracelet missing links
• Is the crystal scratched
• Has it been repaired
• When was the last time the watch was serviced

Last, but certainly not least, look for the original box and any authentication papers and receipts: both add considerably to its resale value. But don’t worry, you can still sell your watch without the original box and papers.

Step 2: Get A Price Quote

Simply click the button below to fill out the online form. We will be in touch shortly with a price quote.

Step 3: Get A Final Price 

The next step is to schedule an appointment or request free, fully insured shipping to send your watch in. Expect an in-person appointment to be about 30 minutes long. If you’re selling online, you’ll be working with a dedicated client specialist who will contact you with a final price. 

We are happy to explain the factors that influence your watch’s current value or answer any questions you may have, including:

• Which brands have the best resale value
• Which models are currently most coveted by collectors
• What movements collectors prefer, as well as which complications (date windows, dual time zones, moon phases, etc.) are most sought after
• How experts evaluate condition on the basis of dial, crystal, case, crown, bezel, and bracelet
• How servicing affects your watch—and why you should always save your servicing receipts
• Why the original watch box and papers add to the resale value

Step 4: Get Paid

Whether you’ve brought your watch to our Birmingham or London offices or are selling from the comfort of your own home, once we receive your watch and you accept our offer, we then pay you by bank transfer. All offers are outright cash offers with absolutely no hidden fees and no time pressure. Take a few hours—or a few days—to decide.