8 Best Men’s Sport Watches For Investment

An active lifestyle demands a different kind of watch—something that emphasizes durability in its design, without sacrificing a drop of class or style. Enter the sport watch. This iconic category of men’s watches is offered by almost every top brand, giving you thousands of in-production models to choose from, all with varying features. What’s a watch collector to do when they need to pick just one…at least for now?

Luckily, there’s an easy and logical first step for narrowing your search: focus on models from brands with the best resale value. As long as you do that, you’re guaranteed that whichever one you choose, it will be high quality and definitively in style. You’ll also get the added security of steady demand for your investment piece, should you ever choose to resell.

To help you on your quest, here are our top 8 men’s sport watches that hold their resale value, broken down by brand.

The Top 3 Sport Watch Investment Brands

Some of the key factors to consider when you’re browsing sport watches for investment pieces are:

• Brand reputation
• Rarity
• Current demand
• Historic demand

Based on these criteria, there are a few watch brands that consistently rise to the top of the rankings: Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet. Odds are good that, if your sport watch comes from one of these famous producers, it will do well if it ever enters the watch resale market. To help narrow your search further, though, let’s talk through a couple of top contenders from each of these timepiece powerhouses.

Rolex

For an option that that starts around the $10k mark, consider a GMT-Master II. There is consistent demand for this iconic collection of sport watches, which helps ensure they’re always selling for a good price on the resale market. As a sports watch, this model is beloved for its sport-friendly features like its waterproof Oyster case and Rolex’s coveted Superlative Chronometer certification, which guarantees accuracy to -2/+2 seconds per day.

A bit higher up the Rolex price ladder is the Cosmograph Daytona, which retails starting around $15,000. Year after year, demand outstrips supply for these legendary watches, originally designed for sport racing. This means even in-production models frequently outperform their retail price at resale. In addition to sporting many of the same features as the GMT-Master II models, these watches also feature Rolex’s tachymetric scale, which allows the wearer to track speeds of up to 400 units (kilometers or miles) per hour—a sensible feature for a watch named after the Daytona International Speedway.

Patek Philippe

Patek Philippe, the pinnacle of Swiss watch making, is a brand that’s all but universally praised. Their sport watches are among the best of the best, and their resale value reflects this. As an investment piece, both their Aquanaut and Nautilus are smart choices, as they both consistently resell well above their retail price.

The Aquanaut was introduced as the “casual luxury” counterpart to the legendary Nautilus in the 1990s, and both have been in high demand ever since. Considering Patek Philippe only makes a total of 50,000 watches a year, it’s not surprising to note that it’s often easier to get your hands on a preowned Aquanaut or Nautilus than a brand-new one. That means finding an eager buyer for your investment piece is generally not a problem. At retail, the Aquanaut starts around $22,000 while the Nautilus starts around $32,000; however, both can run well over $100k depending on the model.

Audemars Piguet

In the 1970s, Audemars Piguet revolutionized the sport watch category with their Royal Oak line. Today, these watches continue to be both a smart investment and a highly desirable accessory. The Royal Oak Chronograph has an especially devoted following, with excellent resale performance driven by demand that consistently outstrips annual production. This model’s namesake chronograph (essentially a stopwatch) is a coveted and practical feature on a sports watch. At retail, these premium watches tend to run between about $38,000 and $80,000.

Other Sport Watch Models Worth Your Consideration

Of course, there are many other sport watch models out there that may also make for a good investment piece, depending on market conditions. Many of them are also available at a more accessible price point than the three brands we’ve highlighted above. Here are a few of our additional top picks for optimizing your resale odds while also securing an exceptional sport timepiece.

Omega

The Speedmaster series of sport watches by Omega are beloved as much for their association with space travel as they are for their exceptional look and performance. A new one can be yours starting around the $5,500 mark. However, for the best chance of seeing a positive return on your investment, focus on trying to snag one of their coveted anniversary or limited edition releases.

Cartier

The Santos cuts a different figure than the rest of the models on our list. Its square shape and Roman numerals are atypical of the sport watch category. However, the Santos’s reputation as the first ever watch designed for pilots has some aficionados staunchly convinced it belongs in the sport watch category. The best reselling Santos model currently in production is the Cartier WSSA0046 Santos-Dumont, which runs around $6,000 at retail.

Vacheron Constantin

Last but not least, we present the Vacheron Constantin Overseas. This collection is a truly luxurious take on sport watches, with a luxury price tag to match. It contains some of Vacheron Constantin’s most popular models, and that popularity helps a lot for driving up demand. If you’re looking to invest, we recommend the Overseas Self-Winding, which starts at $25,000 and regularly resells for even more.

Find and Sell Luxury Men’s Sport Watches on The RealReal

Whether you’re looking for your first sport watch, your tenth, or have decided it’s time to part with a piece of your collection, The RealReal is where it’s at. Find real luxury and get top ROI when you buy and sell your luxury items on our online marketplace. Best of all, it’s super easy. We’ll help with the more tedious aspects of watch resale, while you get to sit back and watch as your watch investment pays off. Connect with us to learn more, today.