Watches & Jewelry: When luxury becomes a financial asset in Africa

In 2025, a Rolex Daytona outperformed the JSE. This isn't an anomaly. It's a strategy.

Faced with rand volatility and sluggish economic growth, affluent South Africans have massively reallocated toward an unexpected asset: hard luxury. Rolex watches, Cartier jewelry, Hermès bags. These pieces are no longer vanity purchases. They're portable financial instruments with global liquidity.

Resale as Barometer

The pre-owned market is growing three times faster than the primary market, at an annual rate of 10%. Rolex retains 126.5% of its retail value at resale. Cartier holds 72.6%, Hermès 67.8%, Bulgari 64.3%. A Chanel Classic Flap maintains over 64% of its value, outperforming many short-term investments.

"Buyers are running the same due diligence on a Cartier bracelet as they would on a JSE-listed stock," notes Michael Zahariev, co-founder of Luxity. "And in some cases, the bracelet outperforms the stock."

The Cartier Phenomenon

Cartier is experiencing meteoric rise. Demand for the Parisian house has quadrupled on the secondary market, driven by Gen Z who favor elegant dress watches over steel sports models. Tank, Santos, Panthère: these century-old collections are finding a new clientele that values design over speculation.

The Taylor Swift effect isn't trivial: her Instagram post announcing her engagement wearing a Santos Demoiselle did more for Cartier's positioning with young consumers than any advertising campaign.

What's Losing Value

Not all luxury performs. Searches for designer shoes dropped 10.2%, wallets fell 21.3%. African buyers focus on scarcity, durability, and resale potential. Brand popularity alone no longer suffices: Louis Vuitton and Gucci saw their search share drop from 29.6% to 21.5%.

The BAICI Takeaway

African hard luxury has structured itself as an alternative asset class. For brands, this means rethinking their value proposition: it's no longer just prestige that counts—it's value retention. Houses that communicate on the wealth performance of their pieces will capture HNWI clients seeking resilience against macroeconomic turbulence.

Source & Methodology

• Luxity - State of the Luxury Market Africa 2025

• Chrono24 / Fratello - Secondary Watch Market Report H1 2025

• Hodinkee - The Business of Watches 2025

• Business Report South Africa - Rolex and Cartier Outperform Stocks 2025

• Research and Markets - Luxury Watch Market Report 2025

Data presented in this article comes from institutional sources and recognized market research. BAICI is committed to verifying the accuracy of all published information.