Do Movado watches hold their value?

No, most Movado watches are not valuable as investment pieces but they are great fashion items. Timepieces with the potential to hold value must tick some critical factors like exclusivity, advanced movements, or innovative engineering, to mention just a few. Sadly, the above-listed factors are grounds the brand does not thoroughly prioritize, and as such, their watch products cannot be said to hold their value.

Movado is a luxury brand founded way back in 1881 in Switzerland. The meaning of Movado is “always in motion,” and they sure have managed to keep operations in motion ever since successfully. Behind the Movado brand that we see today are many years of evolving, and their aspiration for innovation has positively impacted their brand history and earned them the global recognition that they enjoy today.

• Factors like brand reputation, exclusivity, quality, and complexity of features play a huge role in determining the value potential of luxury watches.
• Movado, even though it has a solid reputation, prioritizes the affordable luxury market and, as such, produces more quartz watches, which do not hold much value.
• Movado holds more value potential than Invicta, a brand in the same affordable luxury watch market, but not against others prioritizing advanced engineering. 
• There is a high tendency for Movado watches to depreciate over time as they focus more on designs and prioritize affordability over exclusivity.

Table outlining Movado’s stand on critical parameters that guarantee high-value potential.

The global watch market is a highly competitive one. 

Has the Movado brand been able to build a strong reputation in the worldwide watch industry over the years? 

The answer to this is yes. The brand has a Swiss heritage, and this is a result of its deliberate adherence to the hallmark of Swiss watch-making traditions. 

The Movado brand has stayed committed to quality production, which they achieved by assembling a team of skilled and experienced craftsmen. They have, since then, continued to push the frontiers of excellence in the watchmaking game. 

The turning point came with the introduction of the Museum watch. The iconic piece put the brand’s design game on the radar and singled them out as a brand to watch out for.

As vast and highly competitive as the luxury watch market is, Movado strategically cut out a slice and is now seen to be flourishing effortlessly in it. 

In the luxury watch market, we have ultra-luxury brands like Patek Phillipe, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, etc. Now, when compared to the Movado brand, we realize that both the brand offerings and target market are different. 

While the ultra-luxury market prioritizes exclusivity,  Movado’s goal is to cater to a lot more that find themselves out of the reach of the ultra-luxury products. While ultra-luxury products are highly priced, Movado has a more affordable price rate. 

Ultra-luxury watches are usually produced with many complex features, while Movado prioritizes simple, basic features but invests more in aesthetics.

In simple terms, the Movado brand offering is nothing short of a Swiss-standard-quality watch that is classically designed, highly stylish, extremely functional, and affordable.

There are so many factors that determine how high or low the value potential of a product is. One of such factors is the brand history. What is the brand known for? Is the brand a reputable one with a pedigree? 

Next would be the product design. We are in an era where we witness an ever-evolving fashion. However, amid the many fashion trends that come and go, it is possible to create timeless designs that remain evergreen. 

The exact ones that are being referred to as classics today. They stand the test of time, remaining fashionable even as other designs fade. These classic products have a high potential to retain value in years to come.

Now let us analyze the number of boxes Movado ticks in the above-listed factors: 

Brand History 

Movado has a solid brand history, and consumers feel a certain level of prestige & satisfaction that comes with wearing an established & recognized brand like it.

Product Design 

Movado has a distinctive design style that is classic, modern, and minimalist. It has become its signature style and endeared many consumers to it. The point to note here is that, when it comes to design, Movado's brand is not as versatile or adventurous.

Quality & Durability

The higher the product quality, the higher the potential for it to retain its value.  Brands that prioritize using quality materials for their products and ensure that they are built to be very solid and durable do so because a lot of people would be interested in owning a piece due to the great value it holds. 

The presence of some precious metals, stones, or ornaments on a product also increases its potential value. 

As far as quality is concerned, Movado does tick the box. They prioritize standard-quality materials for the production of all their products. However, brands with high-value potential tend to take it a notch higher by using higher-grade materials and precious stones like mother of pearls, 18-carat gold, diamonds, etc. 

These materials tend to increase the investment potential of the product. While it is possible to see a few of these materials used in some of the high-end models of Movado watches, they do not prioritize it as a brand.

Exclusivity

This is one aspect the Movado brand does not prioritize. Exclusivity does not form part of Movado's brand goals. They instead position themselves to cater to the accessible luxury market.

Other brands produce exclusive products, i.e., products with limited availability. This limited availability may be due to its very high price or the fact that the brand had only a few pieces produced. 

The value potential of products that fall into this category is usually very high and may continue to rise because of its rarity, confirming the law of scarcity, which rightly states that “if what we desire appears to be in limited supply, the perception of its value increases significantly.”

On the flip side, there are lots of other brands slugging it out in the accessible luxury market. These brands include Tissot, Invicta, Bulova, and so many others. 

Although brands like Tissot and Bulova are in the same market, some of their timepieces are a bit more expensive and enjoy a slightly higher value retention than Movado.

Apart from the solid brand heritage, which many consumers have now come to recognize, another reason brands like Tissot enjoy excellent value retention is their focus on advanced movements or technological features in some of their collections, a factor not prioritized by the Movado brand.

A good example of innovative features that can spike up value is the Bulova Accutron, an innovation by the Bulova brand. The model is produced using a movement known as a Diapason Tuning Fork. 

This is an improvement upon the traditional balance wheel and the difference is visible in the degree of accuracy it guarantees. The DTF is a metallic element that vibrates super fast as it works, especially when it gets charged and this guarantees better accuracy.

While these brands score points for applied innovation to ensure advanced movement for their timepieces, Movado is known to make use of standard mechanical movements, and this makes timepieces like like Bulova and TissThehtly have better value retention than Movado.

A lot of consumers have shared insights from what they think about the long-term value of Movado watches and we have broken it down into two different parameters, namely resale value and customer satisfaction. We'll be discussing them below:

Resale Value

Observations and insights from watch collectors and general watch enthusiasts seem to be tilting towards the same argument: 

Movado watches have very low resale value due to the adoption of quartz movement for their watches and the deficient use of more innovative mechanical movements, especially those with complications. 

They prioritize the production of quartz watches more, mainly because of their cost-effectiveness and the large market they have for them. 

This leads to mass production, which prominently depletes the potential of Movado products. The more exclusive a product is, the more value potential it has, as some consumers are satisfied with the prestige that comes with knowing that they are a part of an exclusive list of owners of a premium product.

Customer Satisfaction 

Many people have come to know and appreciate the Movado brand for its modern, classic, and minimalist designs. The Museum watch for instance, opened a lot of consumers to the beauty that resides in simplicity and they have since expressed utmost satisfaction about the brands' aesthetics and functionality. The watches hold their value.

The answer to this potentially resides in the consumer's perception of value. If the talk is about resale value, then Movado, unfortunately, performs poorly here. They uphold affordability against exclusivity and as such, their products are saturated in the market. 

They focus more on standard-quality materials instead of higher-grade materials for better durability and resale potential. Their watches spot fewer features instead of a range of innovative features and lastly, they prioritize standard mechanical movements instead of advanced and more improved movements. All these succinctly explain why their resale value is low.

However, for those who have a knack for creative and unique aesthetics, the Movado brand does hold some value potential and is bound to give optimum customer satisfaction in this regard.

To make a balanced analysis of the potential of Movado watches as an investment, we will be considering factors like the rate of depreciation, collectors' interest, and market trends.

Depreciation Rate

There is a high possibility for Movado Watches to depreciate over time. This is because they do not invest in the most crucial factors that help in value retention. Instead, their focal point is on aesthetics and standard unauthorized are known for their classic minimalist designs, which, although appreciated now, may be subdued by the latest designs tomorrow, which may lead to further degradation.

There is also the question of the saturation of Movado products, a move done to adequately cater to the large affordable luxury market, making it less exclusive and reducing the potential for value retention. 

Collector’s Interest

Watches likely to make it into a watch enthusiast’s collection include valuable timepieces, those produced with higher-grade quality, and expensive metals like gold, diamonds, pearls, etc. Collectors are also usually intrigued by highly complicated mechanical movements and mind-blowing innovative features.

Sadly, these are factors the Movado brand pays little or no attention to, so the collector's interest is bound to be minimal.

Market Trend

In the global watch market, you will find a lot of emphasis being placed on limited edition watch pieces or top watch brands with a solid brand history and pedigree.

Movado does have a rich history but the question is: for what? They are known for producing standard-quality watches at affordable prices. In the same vein, there are other watch brands known for their use of higher-grade materials and extremely precious stones for a certain class of people.

When it comes to a product's investment potential, the market trend is bound to favor these established watch brands that prioritize ultra-luxury and exclusivity.

Are Movado watches a good investment?

Movado watches are not considered a good investment because of the low resale value of the product. However, some models like the Museum Watch and the Movado Men Swiss Quartz Watch can make a great collection for watch enthusiasts who value unique designs and products with a solid pedigree.

How does the resale value of Movado compare to other luxury watches?

The resale value of Movado watches is very limited compared to other brands in the ultra-luxury market that produce exclusive products for their target audience like Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, etc.

For other brands in the accessible luxury market, Movado stands a higher chance than brands like Invicta, who are inconsistent in the use of quality materials but hold less resale value than brands like Bulova, which displays technological prowess by adopting highly innovative mechanical movements in some of their models. 

What Movado models are known for holding their value best?

The vintage Museum watch. The design of this iconic watch remains evergreen, and the rich history behind it is something most people may want to be a part of.

What should buyers consider if they’re looking at Movado watches from an investment standpoint?

Buyers who are curious about the resale value of Movado watches should only switch their gaze to other ultra-luxury brands, as Movado holds little promise. They should, however, purchase a Movado for the love of classic and uniquely designed watches that are made with standard-quality materials by some of the best watch artisans.

Bask in the euphoria of simple, minimalist designs that stand out when worn anywhere. If the resale value is your primary motivation, explore other luxury brands, as mentioned above, to achieve optimum customer satisfaction. 

There are so many reasons why watch collectors select the watches they do. The reasons range from intricate movements, unique designs, and vintage pieces; however, the most common cause is its resale value.

To this end, it is necessary to know the factors that increase the value potential of watches and analyze critically if the watch ticks all the boxes before splurging on them.

As for Movado, they do not have much investment potential due to the reasons explained above in this article. However, a stop at the brand-authorized dealers here would open you up to different options of watches with high investment potential.

Ready to explore? browse our collection of Movado watches right away!