Audemars Piguet has opened its own door to the secondhand market. The Le Brassus manufacture has launched The Watch Keepers, a certified pre-owned platform on which verified owners sell their Audemars Piguet watches and buyers receive them inspected, graded and warranted by the brand itself. It is the most direct step yet by an independent Swiss house into the market that has shaped, and sometimes unsettled, its prices for a decade.
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At a glance
- What: The Watch Keepers, Audemars Piguet’s own certified pre-owned (CPO) platform.
- Where: Europe, Switzerland and Liechtenstein at launch; wider expansion is planned, with no timeline given.
- Inventory: About 100 watches at any time, across collections and eras.
- For buyers: Certificate of authenticity, two-year warranty, travel pouch, and no buyer’s fee.
- For sellers: Watch at least two years past its first sale; fixed price or bidding; the seller pays a commission (rate not disclosed).
- Official site: thewatchkeepers.com
What is The Watch Keepers?
The Watch Keepers is a dedicated digital platform, separate from Audemars Piguet’s main website, where registered buyers and sellers trade pre-owned Audemars Piguet watches under the brand’s supervision. Forbes reported that every watch passes through an Audemars Piguet service center, with the process overseen from headquarters in Le Brassus, before it is listed. Anyone may browse, but only verified users can buy or sell.
The presentation is unusual for a watch brand. According to Watchonista, the site is styled as a virtual villa with color-themed rooms, and staff appear as digital avatars called “Expert Watch Keepers” to guide visitors. Marc Montagne, Audemars Piguet’s director of CPO, told Forbes: “The launch of The Watch Keepers marks an important and long-anticipated milestone for Audemars Piguet.”
How does selling a watch on The Watch Keepers work?
A seller registers, verifies the serial number and provides proof of ownership. The watch must be at least two years past its original sale, a rule Watchonista reads as a brake on buying new pieces simply to resell them. The watch then travels by insured courier to an Audemars Piguet service center, where watchmakers check it against the brand’s archive registers and service records and grade the case, dial and bracelet on a five-point scale.
The seller chooses a fixed price or a bidding format and decides when the listing goes live; Audemars Piguet photographs the watch and writes the listing. Ownership stays with the seller, and the watch stays with Audemars Piguet, until it sells. A full service is not included: if the watchmakers find a problem, they recommend a service billed to the seller, who can decline and have the watch returned.
What does a buyer get?
Each watch arrives with a certificate of authenticity, a two-year warranty covering proper functioning, and a travel pouch. Buyers pay no fee on top of the sale price; only sellers pay a commission, the rate of which has not been published. WristReview notes that, for now, purchases are limited to Europe, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, so American collectors, including our readers in Florida, will need to wait for the promised expansion.
When the maison runs the sale, the price it records is its own.
How did Audemars Piguet get here?
Audemars Piguet has been based in the Vallée de Joux since 1875, and its modern fortunes rest on the Royal Oak, the steel sports watch Gérald Genta designed in 1972. That model’s popularity is precisely what made the secondhand market so important to the brand: much of the trading in sought-after Royal Oak references has happened on the open market, beyond the maison’s view. We compared the Royal Oak with its closest rival in our Nautilus vs Royal Oak guide.
The idea is not new inside the company. In January 2018, then-CEO François-Henry Bennahmias called second-hand “the next big thing in the watch industry,” Watchonista recalls; the brand tested pre-owned sales in a single Geneva boutique and then set the idea aside. In 2023 he went further, predicting that “the CPO business is going to be bigger than the new business.” It has fallen to the current CEO, Ilaria Resta, who also led this autumn’s Royal Oak Joaillerie jewelry debut, to bring it to market.
Why it matters for watch prices
Rolex has run a certified pre-owned program through its authorized dealers since December 2022. Audemars Piguet’s approach differs in one telling way: the brand itself hosts the sale. As Watchonista observes, that gives Audemars Piguet detailed data on which references sell, how quickly and for how much, and it means any sale below retail would be a price set inside the brand’s own system.
In our view, the platform’s real product is confidence. A modest catalog of about 100 watches will not move the whole market, but a factory-checked, archive-matched watch with a two-year warranty sets a reference point that independent dealers will be measured against. We would expect buyers to place more weight on brand certification for rarer references, and to scrutinize service history more closely everywhere else.
For the collector
- Price: No price list has been published; sellers set a fixed price or open bidding, so check each listing on the official platform and confirm details with Audemars Piguet.
- Availability: Europe, Switzerland and Liechtenstein for now. U.S. buyers should watch for the announced expansion rather than rely on workarounds.
- What drives value: Reference, condition grade, completeness and service history. The five-point grading of case, dial and bracelet gives buyers a common language for condition.
- What to watch for: Sellers should budget for a possible service recommendation, since a full service is not included. Buyers elsewhere can use our watchmaker’s pre-owned checklist.
- Resale: Certification supports confidence, not a guaranteed price; past prices do not predict future value.
Frequently asked questions
Does Audemars Piguet sell certified pre-owned watches?
Yes. Audemars Piguet now runs its own certified pre-owned platform, The Watch Keepers, where watches are inspected, graded and warranted by the brand.
Can I buy from The Watch Keepers in the United States?
Not yet. At launch the platform is available in Europe, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, with wider expansion planned but no date announced.
What warranty comes with an Audemars Piguet CPO watch?
Each watch comes with a two-year warranty covering proper functioning, a certificate of authenticity and a travel pouch.
How old must a watch be to sell it on The Watch Keepers?
It must be at least two years past its original sale, and the seller must verify the serial number and proof of ownership.
Sources: Forbes · Watchonista · WristReview · The Watch Keepers by Audemars Piguet
