I’ve been hunting around for the next addition to my collection and was surprised to find a few dealers offering unworn, boxed, still stickered watches, supposedly with UK AD papers.

Now, with the stupidity that is the grey market for Rolex, I can understand this: the dealers - for better or worse - make a good margin selling on in-demand watches over RRP, however in this case it’s not Rolex, and it a seemed like the dealer was selling pretty close to the going rate for pre-owned/secondhand watches.

What gives? I don’t understand how this situation comes about.

Should I be concerned? Are the dealers or individuals buying watches and tucking them away hoping the value will go up and end up disappointed (good luck to anyone hoping there)?