INSIDER VIEW: Time to buy vintage

December 30, 2025 Daniel Malins

I write this on a train down to the south coast of England.

The sun is shining, the train isn’t too busy, life has felt good today.

But then, just as I was straying into happiness, a couple of 14 year-olds (at a guess) moved into the seats opposite me. What has followed has been 45 unbearable minutes of them trying to rap coarse words to a dirge of a backing track on their tinny mobile phones.

Rather than rant about what a lost cause the youth of today are (although I may revisit this another time), it instead got me thinking about how younger people can skew the watch market due to (what I would perceive to be) irrational thinking.

During a fascinating interview with London pre-owned legend David Duggan (which will appear in the January edition of Watch Insider UK), he mentioned that younger collectors are overly impressed by newness. In layman’s terms, they would pay a semi-significant premium for a 2025 model than a 2023 one, let alone a 1993 one.

To some collectors and connoisseurs, this represents madness. That’s a matter of opinion, but what it does mean is that the market can be skewed in the form of cheaper prices for incredible vintage models, even if just temporarily.

“One of the biggest changes for me over the last 10 years is how people have become so date conscious,” Duggan explained to me. “After Covid, even steel Datejusts were going for more than retail. It brought into the market a lot of yuppies and a lot of young kids. And they brought a car mentality, whereby they will pay more for a 2025 watch than a 2024 or a 2023. I just don’t get this, I really don’t,” Duggan concluded.

Will the two youths opposite me be buying a Datejust from David Duggan any time soon? I suspect not. In fact, I’d consider it a cause for alarm for Mr Duggan if either is spotted in his store.

But, on an otherwise painful train journey, they have reminded me that, due to the sometimes irrational behaviour of youngsters, it may be the perfect time to snap up a Rolex or similar, as long as it’s a few years old.