The buyers of the United Kingdom and the US

Watches enthusiasts were acquired used Rolex SA and Patek Philippe Sa Weates at the end of April, splashing before the possible tariffs of the president of the United States, Donald Trump.

Look that the concessionaire and the subdial negotiation platform generally records an increase in activity after customers receive their payment checks at the end of the month. In April, the negotiation volume after payments increased by 160% above normal levels, far beyond the average increase of 112% seen on previous days of payment during the past year.

The volume growth was particularly strong in the United States and the United Kingdom, said Christy Davis, founder of Subdial based in London, in an interview. “People learned of the rates and it was: 'Oh, shoot, buy now,” said Davis. “They waited for the payment day and then the sales volumes were put by the ceiling.”

The phenomenon echoed another trend seen in Switzerland, where watches exports jumped almost a fifth in April, with shipments to the United States rather than double before expanded rates threatened by Trump. Watches made of precious metals, steel and bimetallic materials, products also attacked by Trump, saw the greatest growth, according to the Swiss Watch industry federation.

The American jump was probably a unique response from exporters that sought to avoid higher rates, instead of a structural increase in demand, said Jean-Philippe Bertschy, Vontobel analyst, in a note. Swiss watches exports fell 6.4% to the rest of the world in the month, continuing a weak start of the year.

The secondary surveillance market has been gradually recovered from the February post-pandemic minimum. Since that Nadir arrived, the Bloomberg Subdial Watches Index has increased approximately 5.3% until the end of May, returning to the levels seen for the last time in October. It is still far from the levels that reached three years ago, when the prices of the luxury watches used increased when Covid confinements finished.