Valuation
Tell us the reference number and a little about condition. You will get a real number from a working dealer — usually within one business day, and always free.
We are not going to show you an instant estimate. Every automated watch calculator averages public asking prices — what sellers hope to get — and none of them can see the things that actually move the number: your dial variant, your service history, whether the case has been polished flat. A figure produced without seeing the watch is a guess wearing a suit.
So instead: you send the details, a person who buys and sells these every week looks at it, and you get a number we would stand behind. If you would rather sell privately, or consign, we will say so.
Free · no obligation
Two minutes, six photographs
This is the difference between “somewhere between $8,000 and $11,000” and a number you can actually decide on. Daylight near a window, no flash, no filter. A phone camera is completely fine — we are looking for detail, not art.
i. The dial, straight on. Square to the watch so the printing is readable. This identifies the variant, and variants are where the money hides.
ii. The case at an angle, lit from the side. This is the one that matters most. Raking light shows whether the bevels and lug edges are still crisp or whether the case has been polished soft. We cannot judge that from a flat photograph.
iii. The caseback. Engravings, reference and serial where visible, and any service marks scratched inside the lugs by a previous watchmaker.
iv. The clasp and bracelet. Stretch, the clasp code, and how many links you have. A bracelet missing links costs real money to put right.
v. Everything that comes with it. Box, outer box, warranty card with the date legible, booklets, receipts, service papers. One flat-lay is enough.
vi. Any damage, deliberately. The chip, the deep scratch, the replaced insert. Photograph it clearly. Telling us up front costs you nothing and keeps the offer firm; discovering it later is what forces a number to change.
WhatsApp is the fastest — photographs arrive at full quality and go straight into the valuation queue:
Send photos on WhatsApp Or email them
No obligation either way, and we do not pass your photographs or details to anyone else.
The honest version
Six things move a luxury watch's value far more than the model name does. This is what we look at, in roughly the order it matters.
“Submariner” is a family, not a watch. A 16610 and a 116610LN are both Submariners and are not worth the same money. Ceramic versus aluminium bezel, drilled versus undrilled lugs, the generation of the clasp — these are thousand-dollar distinctions hiding inside one name. The reference number is the first thing we ask for because it settles most of the question.
Not “does it look nice” but: are the case lines still sharp, or has it been polished until the lugs are thin? Over-polishing is permanent and it is the single most common reason a watch is worth less than its owner expects. Scratches can be lived with. Lost metal cannot be put back.
A full set carries a real premium over a watch head alone, and the gap is widest on modern sports references where buyers are cautious. Original receipt, warranty card with a legible date, service records from a competent watchmaker — each one narrows the buyer's risk, and that shows up in the price.
Dial variants make and break values. A tritium dial that has aged evenly can be worth a multiple of the same reference with a replacement dial. Conversely, a service dial fitted during a repair quietly removes a large part of a vintage watch's value even though it looks cleaner.
Replacement bezel inserts, aftermarket bracelets, a hand set swapped during a service. Individually minor, collectively significant. We would rather you tell us up front — it costs nothing at the valuation stage and it protects the offer from changing later.
Pre-owned prices move. A reference can drift ten percent in a quarter, in either direction. Any number more than a few weeks old is stale, which is another reason a static calculator misleads.
Worth understanding
This surprises people, so it is worth being direct about it. When you search your reference and see watches listed at a number, you are looking at asking prices on retail platforms — and often the same handful of unsold listings that have been sitting there for months.
A dealer buying your watch takes on the capital, the authentication risk, the servicing, the warranty, the platform fees, and the wait for a buyer. The offer reflects that. What you get in exchange is certainty and speed: a number today, payment on collection, no strangers at your door and no chargeback three weeks after you posted it.
If the difference matters more to you than the convenience, say so. For the right piece we will consign it instead — you keep more of the sale price and we do the work of selling it. We would rather tell you that than lowball you and lose the relationship.
Common questions
It depends on the reference, condition, year, dial variant and whether you have the full set. Two watches sharing a model name can differ by thousands. Send the reference and a few photographs and you will get a real number, usually within one business day.
As a rough orientation, sometimes. As a number to plan around, no. They average public asking prices rather than achieved sale prices, and they cannot see your particular watch. Use one to get within a wide range, then have a human look at it.
No — we buy watch heads regularly. But a full set is worth more, so mention everything you have, including the original receipt and any service paperwork.
Free, and no. A good number of people ask purely because they want to know what is sitting in the drawer. If selling turns out to be the wrong move for you, we will say so.
Still worth valuing. A non-running movement is usually a service away from working, and we price that in rather than walking away. Damaged or incomplete watches are fine too — just tell us what is wrong.
Rolex, Omega, Cartier, Tudor, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, Zenith, Glashütte Original, Grand Seiko, Breitling and most established Swiss and German makers. If you are unsure whether yours qualifies, ask.
Go deeper
If you would rather read up before asking, these go through the numbers reference by reference:
Rolex Submariner price guide · Omega Speedmaster price guide · AP Royal Oak price guide
And if you already know you want to move the watch: selling to us, trading it in, or consigning it.
One business day, one honest number, no obligation.
Prefer to talk? 516-559-9940 · michael@teixeira-timepieces.com
