The manager of the prestigious watch shop Bucherer talks about the current state of certified pre-owned Rolex watches. Interested buyers come from all over the world, not just Switzerland!

Last December, in 2022, the introduction of Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) Rolex watches surprised Rolex fans around the world. Rolex chose Bucherer, a prestigious watch and jewelry retailer founded in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1888, with a history of 130 years, surpassing that of Rolex, as its first partner for this groundbreaking program, which is set to shake up the pre-owned watch market. So how exactly are CPO Rolex watches sold? We interviewed the manager in charge on-site in Geneva during Watches & Wonders Geneva (W&WG).

On the special fifth floor of the Bucherer Rue du Rhône store in Geneva's old town

　On the evening of March 30, 2023, I visited the Bucherer store, located on Rue du Rhône in Geneva's old town, where boutiques and specialty watch shops of prestigious watch brands such as Patek Philippe and Cartier are lined, along with Masamasa Hirota, editor-in-chief of Chronos Japan. Entering through the front entrance and taking the elevator to the fifth floor, you'll find the certified pre-owned watch department of the Bucherer Geneva store, where CPO Rolex watches are sold. On the same floor, there were also exhibitions of new products from H. Moser & Cie. and Autrans.

　Laurent Foer, Private Client Manager, joined Bucherer about three years ago and worked at Credit Suisse, which was recently acquired by UBS on March 19th.

"My job is to look after our clients. I also visit golf clubs and various events to find new customers who will become long-term partners. Since its founding, Bucherer has built good relationships with both private individuals and companies. It is a great honor for me to be able to introduce the CPO Rolex to them."

Bucherer launched its CPO watch business in 2019

The abbreviation "CPO = Certified Pre-Owned" is new to us, so we might be tempted to think that Bucherer started its certified pre-owned watch business with Rolex, but Bucherer had been selling CPO watches from other brands for a long time.

"We at Bucherer organized a specialized team and launched our own CPO watch business in 2019. We have been selling our products both online and offline. We are proud to be a leading player in this field."

　In addition to "ROLEX CERTIFIDE PRE-OWNED," the top page of Bucherer's official website also features a banner that reads "CERTIFIDE PRE-OWNED." Hovering your cursor over this banner will display the certified pre-owned page, and clicking on the blue text "Show all watches" in the upper left will display the certified pre-owned watches currently for sale by Bucherer, including Omega, Audemars Piguet, Girard-Perregaux, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, Cartier, and Panerai.

　Also below the blue text are sections such as "Discover Certified Pre-Owned" and "Sell or Trade Your Watch," which explain what a CPO watch is and how you can have your current watch appraised by Bucherer.

"There are some CPO watch brands that we don't sell new. However, we have 130 years of experience and a proven track record selling watches, and also taking care of customers' watches, providing maintenance and repairs. We utilize this know-how to sell the CPO watches we sell here with our own two-year warranty."

　Bucherer was chosen as the first partner for the CPO Rolex program because of its three years of experience and proven track record with CPO watches. The two-year international warranty for CPO Rolex watches may have been decided based on Bucherer's CPO program.

We repair purchased and traded-in watches in-house and sell them independently

　So where do the CPO Rolexes sold here come from and where are they serviced?

"CPO watches come from a variety of sources, but the majority of Rolex and other brands' CPO watches are purchased or traded in by customers in Switzerland after we have assessed them and then serviced and repaired them in-house. CPO Rolex watches are serviced and repaired both in-house by Rolex-certified watchmakers and at Rolex headquarters."

　When purchasing from a customer, the company issues a voucher worth 10% of the appraised price, which can be used towards the purchase of their next watch. This is an initiative that encourages the circulation of new watches and CPO watches, as well as the reuse of watches through sale.

　So, what kind of models are sold at what prices in this Bucherer Geneva showroom? And what kind of people visit here to buy CPO Rolex watches? We'll find out more in the next part.