South African Luxury Watch Owners Are Sitting on Outperforming Assets

As Rolex resale values surpass original retail price and SA investors treat high-end timepieces as financial instruments, secured lending against luxury watches is gaining quiet traction

For much of the past decade, the conventional wisdom in South African wealth management pointed in familiar directions: property, equities, offshore holdings. In 2025, a growing body of data began pointing somewhere else entirely - to the wrists of collectors who bought well and held on.

According to the eighth annual State of the Luxury Market in Africa report, published by pre-owned luxury specialist Luxity in late 2025, Rolex pre-owned timepieces are now changing hands at an average of 126.5% of their original retail price - up from 104.9% the previous year and 82.6% in 2022. The trajectory is not a market anomaly. It reflects a deliberate and accelerating shift in how a segment of South African consumers is approaching the concept of value storage. With the rand under sustained pressure and traditional investment markets delivering uneven returns, the same report found that the pre-owned luxury market is now expanding at three times the rate of new luxury goods sales, posting annual growth of approximately 10%.

Luxity co-founder Michael Zahariev described the dynamic plainly: South Africans are increasingly treating luxury pieces as financial instruments - portable assets with global liquidity that, in some cases, are outperforming conventional investment vehicles.

The question that follows is equally practical: for owners of appreciating luxury watches, what are the options when short-term liquidity is required, but selling is not?

The Watch as a Financial Instrument

Luxury timepieces from leading Swiss and European manufacturers have long been understood, in specialist circles, to behave differently from most consumer goods. A Rolex Submariner does not depreciate like a car. A Patek Philippe Nautilus does not move with the JSE. These are assets with global secondary markets, deep collector demand, and price floors underpinned by scarcity and craftsmanship rather than interest rate cycles or currency swings.

For South African owners of these pieces, that has historically created a binary: hold the watch indefinitely, or sell it - with all the friction, tax implications, and finality that entails. Asset-backed lending against luxury timepieces offers a third option: use the watch as collateral for a short-term secured loan, access the cash, and recover the asset once the loan is repaid.

LoanAgainst, a South African credit provider with branches in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, and Port Elizabeth, offers precisely this service. The company provides secured loans against luxury watches from more than thirty internationally recognised brands, assessed by independent expert appraisers to determine accurate current market value.

"A luxury watch from a tier-one brand represents real, liquid, globally verifiable value," said Manuel Franck, Director at LoanAgainst. "What we offer is a way to activate that value - quickly and discreetly - without the watch changing hands permanently. For someone who needs short-term liquidity but wants to preserve a collection they have spent years building, it is a meaningful alternative."

How a Loan Against a Luxury Watch Works

The process LoanAgainst has designed for watch-backed loans is straightforward by design. The applicant contacts the company by phone or through the application form at loanagainst.co.za, providing details on the watch's brand, model, approximate age, and condition. Based on this information, LoanAgainst provides an initial loan estimate.

If the estimate is acceptable, the applicant brings the watch to the nearest LoanAgainst branch for a full in-person appraisal, conducted by specialist assessors. Authentication, provenance documents, original packaging, and purchase receipts - where available - are all factored into the valuation and help maximise the loan offer, though none are mandatory.

Following the appraisal, a formal loan agreement is drawn up. Once signed, funds are transferred directly to the applicant's bank account via EFT - typically within 24 hours. The watch is placed in a secure, insured, off-site facility under 24-hour surveillance for the full duration of the loan. It is returned to the owner in the same condition upon full settlement.

Loan amounts range from R20,000 to R10 million, with terms of 3 to 24 months, fixed interest rates calculated in accordance with the National Credit Act, and no credit checks, payslips, or proof of employment required. There are no early settlement penalties, and all repayments are made by EFT or direct deposit - no debit orders.

The Brands LoanAgainst Accepts

LoanAgainst offers secured loans against an extensive list of luxury watch brands, reflecting the full breadth of serious collector and investment-grade timepieces. Brands currently accepted include Audemars Piguet, Breitling, Cartier, Chopard, Girard-Perregaux, Glashütte Original, Hublot, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Omega, Panerai, Patek Philippe, Piaget, Roger Dubuis, Rolex, TAG Heuer, Tudor, Ulysse Nardin, Vacheron Constantin, A. Lange & Söhne, Baume & Mercier, Bell & Ross, Blancpain, Bremont, Corum, Maurice Lacroix, Montblanc, and Seiko, among others.

Indicative loan offers provided by LoanAgainst for well-maintained examples include R200,000 against a Rolex, R140,000 against an Audemars Piguet, R100,000 against an Omega, R80,000 against an IWC Schaffhausen, and R75,000 against a Patek Philippe. Actual loan amounts depend on model, age, condition, and prevailing secondary market values at the time of appraisal.

"The secondary market for investment-grade watches in South Africa has matured considerably," said Manuel Franch at LoanAgainst. "Our appraisers understand these brands at a granular level - not just the house, but the specific reference, production year, and whether the piece is accompanied by its original documentation. That expertise allows us to offer loan amounts that accurately reflect real market value, which is what our clients need."

A Quietly Growing Corner of Alternative Finance

The broader context for this service is a luxury market in structural transition. Luxity's 2025 research found that South African collectors are increasingly approaching luxury purchases with dual intent: emotional connection and investment return. Jewellery searches on the platform rose by 43.8% over the year, while designer bag searches climbed 14.6%, with buyers explicitly prioritising resale metrics alongside aesthetic appeal.

In this environment, the logic of using an appreciating luxury asset as loan collateral - rather than liquidating it at what may prove to be below its eventual market value - becomes increasingly compelling. A watch purchased for R180,000 three years ago and now worth R220,000 on the secondary market represents a more powerful piece of collateral than its original price tag suggests.

LoanAgainst's secured lending services extend beyond watches to cover fine jewellery, South African and international fine art, designer handbags, vintage and luxury motor vehicles, yachts, motorbikes, and antiques - offering a full spectrum of asset-backed liquidity solutions across the luxury segment.

Further information on loans against luxury watches in South Africa, including a full list of accepted brands and an online application form, is available at:

https://www.loanagainst.co.za/assets-we-accept/loans-against-watches/

About LoanAgainst

LoanAgainst is a South African-registered credit provider specialising in fast, discreet, and transparent secured loans against a wide range of fully paid-up, high-value movable assets. Assets accepted include luxury watches, fine jewellery, fine art, designer handbags, passenger vehicles, commercial trucks, yachts, motorbikes, and antiques.

Loan amounts range from R20,000 to R10 million, with terms of 3 to 24 months at fixed rates, calculated in line with the National Credit Act. No payslips, credit checks, or proof of employment are required. LoanAgainst operates from offices serving Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, and Port Elizabeth, with funds typically transferred within 24 hours of a signed agreement. 

For more information, visit www.loanagainst.co.za or call 010 745 7061.

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