eBay Luxury Watch Authenticity Guarantee: Building a Luxury Watch Collection

This post is in conjunction with eBay UK but all thoughts are my own.

I am a morning person. The morning regime is by no means resolute. It will permeate from day to day depending on what my day demands me of me, if anything. The first hour I neatly arrange myself around the flat, never doing one thing but seemingly many things. The most important thing of course is not to disturb Charlie, my dog. For doing so would mean him needing immediate attention. So I dress comfortably, casually. Stretch. Make coffee. Check my stocks and investments of all kinds. Complement 5 people virtually. Instagram, LinkedIn etc. Sometimes indiscriminately, but I always look to support the ones that have achieved something as modestly as possible. In this first hour I feel the tabs that make up my identity appropriate themselves neatly into their slots.

Why am I telling you all this? Because after the first hour, after I've showered and groomed with all the right products that make me feel I've done as much as I can to anti-age and replenish, I put on a crisp shirt or polo, chinos, my cashmere camel coat and retrieve one of my luxury watches from my draw that slides out and stops with a soothing click. eBay is one of the largest luxury watch marketplaces in the world and has now introduced its Authenticity Guarantee to its UK customers.

When I put on that watch, (today it's my Maurice LaCroix Aikon Venturer AI6058) I turn into the person that I aspire to be. I recall a quote from Cary Grant who said he started to act like the person he wanted to be, then eventually he became that person. That for me defines aspiration. And that a luxury watch is the switch, that reminds me of what it took to get where I am. And how far, I have to go. I’m currently looking to expand my luxury watch collection and when purchasing luxury goods, trust, and confidence in who you buy from is key to me. That’s why I’ll buy my next one from eBay due to their Authenticity Guarantee on luxury watches over £2,000 from brands such as Rolex, Omega, Breitling, and Tag Heuer.

My goal is to own a 1980s Rolex Submariner - my birth year. A lot of luxury watch enthusiasts will be quite partisan when it comes to owning either a Rolex or an Omega. I've never fully understood the tribalism. There may be an argument to which one is better, but neither can deny that the other are capable of making elegant and expertly crafted timepieces.

My first ever luxury watch that I bought myself was after years of saving it was an Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean. (We've all been inspired by James Bond in one way or another haven't we?). In the first couple of years I rarely wore it for fear of diluting it's specialty, or getting it scratched etc. Shortly after I bought a couple of Tag Heuer watches in quick succession. A Tag Heuer Aqua racer became my luxury day watch and I interchanged that with a Tag Heuer Connected watch and a Tag Heuer F1 Chronograph. Looking back I wish I bundled the money I spent on my Tag Heuer watches and bought a single Tag Heuer Monaco, as seen on Steve McQueen in the film Le Mans.

Anyway. Getting back to the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean, I now wear that more than any of my luxury watches for men. Some time ago I took a different approach to my luxury accessories. They were made to be worn. Not kept away in a draw like a museum piece.

Where to start looking when buying a luxury watch?

Now I'm looking ahead to invest in another luxury watch. And where does one typically start shopping for a luxury watch? My first point of call would be eBay because I just trust that I’ll get a great service and as I mentioned, confidence is key when purchasing luxury goods. eBay have just announced the eBay Authenticity Guarantee, a service designed to help buyers shop with confidence. Their independent authentication partners physically inspect all eligible items before they are posted to you. This industry-shifting Authenticity Guarantee is available for watches listed in the primary category of Wristwatches and sold for £2,000 or more via Fixed Price or Auction listings. You can identify eligible items by looking for the blue Authenticity Guarantee tick in the search results, as well as in the top right of the item page.

The benefits

As we are all by now accustomed to acquiring many of our worldly goods online, having that extra assurance is a great comfort when buying those higher ticket items. A frictionless transaction also makes that desired pre-owned timepiece more accessible, not to mention a more sustainable way of owning a luxury watch.

What's next on my luxury watch shopping list from eBay?

As well as the aforementioned 1980s Rolex Submariner, I include the Rolex GMT Master II as a future inclusion in my luxury watch collection. This watch was a game-changer with its patented blue and black cerachom bezel. It was considered science fiction that making a two-tone ceramic anything was impossible. But in 2013, Rolex achieved it.

This isn't two pieces of ceramic next to each other, it's a singular piece, and Rolex is the only brand in the world to have firstly produced something like this. This watch aligns with my core beliefs and would be a reminder for me each time I wore it, that anything is possible.

Then the sister brand

I do have a thing for a Pepsi coloured bezel, established by Rolex’s sibling brand Tudor. Its aesthetics and functional similarities have provenance to one of the all-time great travel watches, the Rolex GMT-Master II. The Tudor Black Bay GMT “Pepsi” Automatic Watch however stands on its own two feet. (Although I would argue the black/red is more Coke than Pepsi).

The Black Bay GMT dial is the perfect cocktail of design elegance paired with a chunky-brawn aesthetic. This fusion appeals to my personal style. When I dress I look to draw similar parallels. Refined, yet ruggish. It also lights up beautifully at night and would probably spend more time on my nightstand than in my watch draw. I much prefer to see the time through an ample lume than check my phone at 3am and get embroiled in notifications.

Reach for the Sky

As Buzz Lightyear would say. Last on my wishlist, and no luxury watch collection would be complete without the Omega Speedmaster Moon Watch 42mm Chronograph.

The OMEGA Speedmaster has been a part of all six lunar missions and is a great conversation stimulator amongst watch enthusiasts. Whilst my Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean is always good for 'Pop Culture' discussions, I'm always envious of those that own the Speedmaster and get to talk about that rich history of the brand. I want to be part of that discussion by owning this iconic timepiece.