Daniel Wellington is a popular watch brand that offers sleek and timeless watches. With their luxurious looks, you may wonder if a Daniel Wellington watch holds its value.
Daniel Wellington watches do not hold their value at all. On average, a Daniel Wellington watch depreciates by 50-75% annually. This is because Daniel Wellington offers neither horological value nor a good-quality timepiece.
In this article, we’ll cover exactly why Daniel Wellington watches depreciate so much, and we’ll also cover why and how you can use that to your benefit!
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Why Daniel Wellington Watches Do Not Hold Their Value
Most people think that watches tend to hold their value relatively well. But that’s a common misconception. Buying a watch is comparable to purchasing a car; the moment you walk out of the store, the watch has already depreciated.
Of course, this is more true for some brands than others, but generally, a watch tends to lose its value.
Brands like IWC or Hamilton are known for holding their value relatively well. But when it comes to a brand like Daniel Wellington, expect the worst.
The abovementioned brands are either luxury watch brands or highly respected watchmakers. Daniel Wellington is not a luxury watch brand nor a respected watchmaker.
Instead, it’s what we call a fashion watch brand.
Fashion watch brands typically produce huge quantities of watches that are purely made to look good and sell well. What they are not, however, are high-quality timepieces.
And that’s the main reason why Daniel Wellington watches do not hold their value.
For a watch to hold its value, it needs to be appealing to those who buy watches. But every watch enthusiast knows exactly what kind of brand Daniel Wellington is. It’s a fashion watch brand that offers no horological value whatsoever.
But aside from that, there are many more reasons why Daniel Wellington watches don’t hold their value:
- A Daniel Wellington watch is of generally poor quality.
- A Daniel Wellington watch has a cheap, outsourced movement.
- A Daniel Wellington watch has a case of only 6mm, which means it’s very easy to break.
- A Daniel Wellington watch is made with cheap materials, meaning the watch gets scratched easily.
- A Daniel Wellington watch is not water resistant.
- A Daniel Wellington watch is overpriced as is, considering it’s a cheap fashion watch brand.
Overall, it mainly just comes down to the fact that Daniel Wellington just isn’t a good watch brand. They offer poor-quality watches, made with poor-quality materials, mass-assembled in cheap countries.
They then proceed to add a massive markup to make a lot of profit on what’s essentially a cheaply thrown-together timepiece.
The main reason this brand is even as popular as it is today is that, admittedly, its designs are beautiful.
Every Daniel Wellington watch has such a sleek and minimalistic design, and when you combine that with a relatively low price of around $200 apiece, it attracts a lot of customers.
Most people know very little about the actual quality of watches, so when they see a good-looking watch for an attractive price, it’s an easy purchase.
Examples Of Daniel Wellington Watches Losing Value
Across the board, Daniel Wellington watches lose value. But let’s take some of the most popular models and see just how much they depreciate over time.
The first model we’ll take is the best-seller; the Daniel Wellington Sheffield.
This particular model has a retail price of $220. When we look at the second-market prices, we can see them listed for prices varying from $25 to $100.
We discussed the reasoning for Daniel Wellington watches losing their value, but some are still listed for about 50% of the retail price.
That can be easily explained by the following; most people don’t really know how much a watch depreciates. So in order to recuperate some of their costs, they just list the watch for a price they think it’s worth.
Anyone can make an eBay listing and try to sell a Daniel Wellington watch for $100.
But that doesn’t mean these watches actually sell for that much.
When we actually look at the completed listings and sold items, you’ll see that the Daniel Wellington Sheffield watches are sold for no more than $25. There are even a couple sold for $8.
That’s about a 90% depreciation.
Next, let’s take a look at the Daniel Wellington Petite Lumine model. The retail price for this particular piece is $200.
On the second-hand market, they’re listed for between $25 and $100.
But once again, when we look at the completed listings and sold items, we can see that these go for $50.
That’s a lot better than the Sheffield watches, but the watch still depreciated 75%.
While these are just 2 examples, it does paint a picture. Both of these models are very popular, with the Sheffield being the best seller.
The most popular models tend to hold their value the best, as they’re most sought after. But even the best seller depreciates by 90%.
Should You Buy A Daniel Wellington Watch Second Hand?
Since a Daniel Wellington watch depreciates heavily, buying one second-hand will allow you to save on the depreciation. On average, a Daniel Wellington watch depreciates about 80%, which is essentially an 80% discount.
Buying a watch second-hand can basically be seen as buying a watch at a discount. However much the watch has depreciated is your discount rate.
While that does sound very tempting, remember that a Daniel Wellington watch isn’t of too great quality to begin with. So buying a used one typically means it’s in an even worse state.
But if you do find one in a good state, it’s definitely worthwhile to buy it second-hand.
One thing to always look out for when buying second-hand is counterfeits. While Daniel Wellington isn’t a luxury watch brand, it is an extremely popular one.
And popular watch brands tend to be copied.
Counterfeits are more of an issue with expensive watches (just imagine paying $3000 for a fake luxury watch); it is something you should look out for when you buy a Daniel Wellington second-hand.
