The brand's watchmakers authenticate every used watch, and the platform sells it on consignment with a two-year warranty, for now only in Switzerland and Europe.
In 2018, François-Henry Bennahmias, then chief executive of Audemars Piguet, said the brand would enter the pre-owned watch market. In the years that followed, Audemars Piguet trialled buying back and reselling used watches in a handful of countries, among them Switzerland, Japan and the United States.
On October 26, the manufacture launched The Watch Keepers, a digital platform run from its headquarters in Le Brassus, in the Vallée de Joux, with around 100 watches for sale at any one time. Ilaria Resta, chief executive of Audemars Piguet, described it as part of the services the brand offers its clients: "With The Watch Keepers, we continue to offer our clients products and services aligned with their expectations."
How a watch is sold
To sell, the owner registers on the platform, enters the watch's serial number and provides proof of ownership. Only watches first sold at least two years earlier are accepted, so a new release bought at a boutique cannot be resold straight away. The watch travels by insured courier to one of the brand's service centres, where it is authenticated; Audemars Piguet then takes the photographs and writes the description. The seller decides the price, whether to offer the watch at a fixed price or by bidding, and when the listing goes live.
It is a consignment sale: the watch remains the seller's property and stays in the brand's facilities until a buyer comes along. According to WatchPro, the seller's commission is tiered: 20% on the first CHF 25,000 of the price, 15% on the next CHF 25,000 and 10% on anything above CHF 50,000. Buyers pay no commission, although they have to register and verify their identity to see prices and buy.
How it differs from Rolex's programme
Rolex launched its certified pre-owned programme in 2022, first at stores of the Swiss retail chain Bucherer and later at other official retailers in its network. Under that programme, every watch goes through Rolex's workshops, where it is taken apart, checked component by component and fully serviced, with genuine parts fitted when it needs to be returned to its original state, and it is sold with a two-year international guarantee. Audemars Piguet runs the sale from its own platform, without retailers, and does not put every watch through a full service before listing it: if the inspection shows a watch needs one, the service is carried out separately and billed on top.
Availability in Mexico and Spain
For now The Watch Keepers operates in Switzerland and Europe, and Audemars Piguet plans to roll it out gradually to other regions, with no dates announced. The brand has not published the list of European countries included, so whether Spain is part of this first stage is still to be confirmed. Listings can be viewed from Mexico and the rest of Latin America, but buying and selling are not yet available there. Anyone in Mexico looking to buy or sell a pre-owned Audemars Piguet can ask the brand directly; in 2024 it opened its first AP House in Latin America in Mexico City, together with the Mexican jeweller Berger Joyeros, as a space for sales and client service.
A certificate from the manufacture itself
At the service centre, an Audemars Piguet watchmaker checks each watch against the manufacture's archive records to confirm it is genuine and matches its description, and makes sure it has not been reported stolen. The watchmaker then grades the case, dial and bracelet on a five-level scale that is the same for every listing, so any two watches on the platform can be compared on the same terms.
Buyers receive the watch with a certificate of authenticity, a two-year functional warranty and a travel pouch. The watches on offer span different collections and eras, among them the Royal Oak, Royal Oak Offshore, Code 11:59, Millenary and Jules Audemars, which also makes the platform a way to look for models from earlier years with the authentication and warranty of the house that made them.
