With new Swiss watch prices climbing and a new watch losing value the moment it leaves the boutique, Las Vegas curator Aaron Klausman makes the case for pre-owned as the smarter, more stable legacy asset
LAS VEGAS — A structural shift is underway in how Americans buy luxury watches, and Goldbro Timepieces is helping consumers understand it. With import tariffs and record material costs driving new-watch retail prices to permanent highs, a growing number of buyers are concluding that an authenticated pre-owned timepiece is the smarter, more stable way to own a lasting asset — one that skips the immediate depreciation of buying new.
“When a new watch costs more than ever and loses value the day you buy it, an authenticated pre-owned piece simply makes more sense,” said Aaron Klausman, CEO of Goldbro Timepieces. “You own the watch and the value — not the markup. Buyers are realizing they can acquire the exact reference they want, at a more rational price, without paying a premium just to take the first depreciation hit themselves.”
A Permanent Reset in New-Watch Pricing
The math changed quickly. For decades, Swiss watches entered the United States under low, stable import duties of roughly 2 to 3 percent. That norm was upended in 2025, when a new tariff spiked as high as 39 percent before settling at a formalized 15 percent — still far above the historic baseline and now widely regarded as permanent.
Brands responded with successive price increases. Across most major Swiss names, 2026 U.S. retail prices sit roughly 5 to 10 percent higher than late 2024, with precious-metal models absorbing cumulative increases near 20 percent once tariffs and record gold prices are combined. Rolex alone raised prices three times in a single twelve-month span, its January 2026 adjustment averaging about 7 percent — roughly 5.6 percent on steel models and 9 percent on gold. Industry analysts are unanimous on one point: in luxury goods, prices rarely come back down.
The Hidden Cost of Buying New
Those elevated retail prices are only half the story. For the large majority of references, a luxury watch loses a meaningful share of its value the instant it leaves the authorized dealer and becomes “pre-owned.” Only a narrow band of highly sought-after sports models escapes this — and those are precisely the pieces that are hardest to obtain new, often carrying multi-year waitlists.
“Buying new in 2026 means stacking two costs on top of each other,” Klausman explained. “You pay today’s inflated, tariff-driven retail price, and then you personally absorb the steepest, earliest depreciation. An authenticated pre-owned buyer lets the original owner take both hits, and steps in at a far more sensible price for the very same watch.”
Why Pre-Owned Sidesteps the Premium
Because tariffs apply to new watches crossing the border, the secondary market is not tied directly to import duties. As new retail prices rose, the gap between new and pre-owned widened, making pre-owned comparatively more attractive — and, for many models, more accessible. Dealers across the country have reported the shift firsthand, with some noting their strongest sales weeks of the year and double-digit growth in average pre-owned order values.
“This has been a rare moment where pre-owned offers not just better value, but better access,” Klausman said. “No waitlist, immediate availability of current, discontinued, and vintage references, and a price that reflects the watch — not the import math.”
A Stable Legacy Asset — With One Caveat
Having skipped the steepest early depreciation, a well-chosen pre-owned watch bought at a fair price sits on more stable footing, and functions as a genuine heirloom: a mechanical timepiece can be serviced and worn for generations, then passed on. But Klausman is candid that the pre-owned advantage depends entirely on one thing — authenticity.
“Counterfeits are more convincing than ever, and a genuine watch can be altered into something it isn’t,” he said. “The rule never changes: authenticate the watch itself, not the paperwork. Box and papers support a story; they never prove it. Real certainty comes from opening the watch and verifying the movement and every component.”
That process is exactly how Goldbro operates — authenticating every timepiece by hand, at the movement level, and pricing against real market data. “Our job isn’t to sell you a watch,” Klausman added. “It’s to earn your trust. That’s been our standard since 1895.”
About Goldbro Timepieces
Goldbro Timepieces is a Las Vegas–based curator of premium pre-owned and unworn Swiss watches, continuing a family legacy dating to 1895. The company buys, sells, trades, sources, and restores fine timepieces and operates as an independent curator and reseller — not an authorized dealer for any brand mentioned.
Media Contact
Aaron Klausman
CEO Goldbro Timepieces
2700 S Las Vegas Blvd, Unit 3907 Las Vegas, NV 89109
Phone: (702) 964-5855
Email: goldbrotp@gmail.com
Web: https://goldbrotimepieces.com
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