Watches have always been knwon to hold their value relatively well. But is this true for all watches, and do Citizen watches hold their value?
Citizen watches don’t hold their value too well. A Citizen watch is usually a more affordable and readily available watch, which isn’t really a candidate for a watch that holds or increases its value.
Even though Citizen watches aren’t the best at holding their value, they’re still amazing watches. In this article, we’ll dive deeper into why exactely Citizen watches aren’t the best at holding their value and if that goes for every Citizen watch on the market!
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How Well Do Citizen Watches Hold Their Value
Citizen watches are amazing watches that are readily available for fantastic and affordable prices. This makes a Citizen watch a common sight. Although not as popular as the likes of Seiko or Casio, there’s still a plethora of Citizen watches out there.
And besides being readily available, they also look great. But with the purchase of any watch, at some point, you start to wonder if your watch will actually hold its value over time or if it’s decreasing in value.
Generally, Citizen watches aren’t really the best at increasing in value, or even holding their value, for that matter. A Citizen watch is often seen as a beautiful timepiece to own, but not one you should count on to have any resale value.
Luckily, Citizen watches are on the cheaper end already, so it’s not as if you’re losing a tonne of value. Yes, it sucks that it doesn’t hold or increase in value, but at the same time, a Citizen watch isn’t usually bought as an investment.
Why A Citizen Watch Doesn’t Appreciate In Value
But why doesn’t a Citizen watch hold or appreciate in value? There are a few reasons for this, and they all tie together nicely. So let’s take a look at the quality, popularity, models, and the price at which they’re sold.
Quality
Citizen watches are of great quality, especially for the price they’re sold at. Even the more critical watch enthusiasts will say that a Citizen watch is of great quality. Citizen has even closed deals and partnerships with huge companies, including Disney. This goes to show just how respected this brand is.
A Citizen timepiece is usually made with good-quality materials. Now, don’t expect the materials to be at the level of luxury watches, but for a $200 watch, the materials used are great.
Aside from the materials, a Citizen watch also has a nifty piece of technology called the Eco-Drive. The Eco-Drive ensures that this watch is powered by light, a unique way of powering a watch. Due to the Eco-Drive feature, most Citizen watches are actually solar watches.
In general, a Citizen watch is a wonderful timepiece that looks great, is affordable, and will be able to stick around for a long time.
When you put all of this together, you might start to wonder why a Citizen watch doesn’t increase in value or is at least able to hold its value. That’s because the quality isn’t really the main influence on the price fluctuations here.
Popularity
Instead, the popularity has something to do with it. Citizen watches are known for being amazing and affordable watches. But so are Seiko or Casio watches. Citizen is up against some fierce competition, which kind of pushes them under the radar a little.
And you also can’t really compare Citizen watches to luxury watches such as Omega or Rolex either. This puts Citizen in an awkward spot where they know they are among the best, but their name isn’t really pushed to the forefront.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that the product is of any less quality, it just means not as many people know about the brand, which leads to people not willing to spend a lot on the brand. And when people aren’t willing to spend a lot of money on something, its value and worth automatically decrease as well.
Now, don’t get me wrong, Citizen is still a very popular watch brand, but Seiko, Casio, or even Rolex is more of a household name, pushing them more to the forefront and making it easier for people to spend money on them.
Models
Of course, how well a watch will hold its value will also depend on the model. All watchmakers produce different models and collections, sold for different prices, and made with different materials.
These differences can also decide how well a watch will hold its value.
Some models will be made with higher-quality materials and in turn, will be priced higher. Some Citizen models include gold or diamonds, for example. Naturally, these will better hold on to their value.
Other models will be more popular, and there might even be a limited edition available somewhere.
All these factors have some influence on how well a watch will hold its value. Generally, though, Citizen watches are all in the same boat. None will really appreciate in value, no matter the model or collection.
Price And Supply
Lastly, the price and supply of a watch are of influence in whether or not a watch will hold its value. Generally speaking, people that are interested in whether or not a watch will hold its value purchase a watch because they want to sell it at some point.
However, if anyone wants to buy a readily available, and affordable watch, such as a $200 Citizen watch, they can just as easily go to a store and buy a new one. There’s no need to buy an older version of a watch that’s still sold in the stores.
Most watches that are bought as investments are usually limited editions or discontinued models. These are often found in the luxury segment of the watch market, and not necessarily in the affordable watch market where Citizen sits.
And even if there’s a discontinued Citizen model, how much would you really want to spend extra on a watch that originally cost a few hundred bucks.
Are Citizen Watches A Good Investment
With all these factors kept in mind, there’s a clear and simple answer to this question:
A Citizen watch is not a good investment. Citizen watches do not hold their value well and will often see a drop in worth. This makes them a bad investment, as you’ll almost certainly lose money on them.
The very simple explanation for this is that Citizen watches simply don’t hold their value. If you buy a watch as an investment, you want to make money off of it. A Citizen watch, however, will make you lose money, as the worth of the watch will decrease.
However, even if a Citizen watch would increase in money, it still wouldn’t really be a great investment. Citizen watches are very affordable and can be picked up for a few hundred dollars. A lot of the Citizen timepieces are right around $200 apiece.
If these watches would increase in price by about 10%, that still would only be an increase of $20. A $20 increase is nice, of course, but is it really worth your time?
You could buy these watches in bulk, but then again, if you have that kind of money available, why not go with a luxury watch. That way, you only have to sell one watch instead of however many you’ve bought in bulk.
But that’s just speculating, as Citizen watches don’t really increase in value. The best you can get is that the value stays the same!
Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that these more affordable watches aren’t really meant to be bought as investments. These are mass-produced watches with no added value other than to make a person look great. This makes them perfect for any watch collection, but this is not a timepiece you want to buy because it increases in value over time!
