It was the picture-perfect birthday party for a three-year-old. A video posted to YouTube, and date-stamped 12 July 2021, showed children holding hands and singing, a birthday girl dressed in a pink tutu next to a fairy-tale-themed cake towering above her, and ended with a mother sharing a story of how her daughter woke at 2.30am to play with her presents.

Nothing unusual here, except the child in question was Kulture Kiari – daughter of excess-worshipping US rappers Cardi B and Offset – and among her new playthings was an exclusive pink and diamond Richard Mille watch, rumoured to be worth in excess of £200,000.

Naturally, the proud parents have come in for a lot of criticism from disapproving onlookers for both the extravagance and the style of the watch. Richard Mille’s USP is its use of high tech materials to make ultra-reliable, robust and lightweight timepieces, but this is often overridden by clients’ desires to ‘ice them to the max’ with gemstones.

And sparkle is definitely a penchant of Kulture’s parents as demonstrated through their own impressive watch collections that include Patek Philippes, Audemars Piguets, Rolexes and, of course, a clutch of Richard Milles (Kulture herself received a diamond-studded Patek Nautilus just last year).

But was the gift really as misguided as so many of the comments left by outraged spectators would have us believe? Perhaps not, bearing in mind that there are now an estimated 12 million watch collectors out there in the world – arguably a conservative figure that is rising every day – with a pre-owned and vintage market said to be worth £20bn-plus.

Will little Kulture wear her enormous new RM every day? Of course not. But when she turns 18, as long as Richard Mille’s brand value continues on its current trajectory, her rather generous gift is likely to have increased in value more than many other traditional investments.

Could Cardi B and Offset be the vanguard of a new tradition? As one watch collector said when discussing the idea: “It could become a thing. On the birth of a son, why not celebrate by putting his name on the waiting list for Eton, for a Morgan and for a Patek Philippe Nautilus.”

Of course, the harder the watch is to obtain, the more desirable it is and the ongoing trend at the moment is for steel sports watches. Anyone lucky enough to have purchased one of the few olive-green Patek Philippe Nautilus ref.5711 models from this year at the recommended retail of £26,870 could already be selling it on at 10-times that price, while an original blue model from the 1970s could set you back up to £150,000 at auction.

A current Rolex Submariner no-date is listed at £6,450, but huge demand and low supply means that obtaining one on the pre-owned market is likely to cost you closer to £11,000 – a mere snip when you consider that Birmingham-based auction house Fellows sold a 1970s Military Submariner ref. 5517 last year for a whopping £165,200. Looking at more recent times, the Omega Speedmaster Silver Snoopy Award limited-edition that cost £4,650 new in 2015, is now trading with pre-owned watch specialist Watchfinder.com for £38,500.

Watches as children’s gifts to mark specific milestones such as becoming a teenager, passing exams or turning 18 are nothing new – although in the past, there was maybe a stronger element of sentimentality involved in giving them.

Famously, Prince William is rarely photographed without the Omega Seamaster 300M that was given to him by his late mother. Actors Paul Newman and Marlon Brando passed watches on to their daughters, both later being sold in aid of charitable causes (the Newman Rolex Cosmograph ‘Big Red’ Daytona ref. 6263 sold for US$5.5 in 2020, while the Brando Rolex GMT-Master ref. 1675 fetched US$1.95 a year earlier).

With less fanfare than the above, London-based journalist Alex Doak chose to buy himself a watch with an inheritance left by his parents. “It seemed appropriate,” he says. “A watch will live forever, given a bit of TLC, ticking with its own heartbeat next to my pulse, and hopefully my daughter's in years to come.

An eternal, soulful tribute. Granite headstones can easily be as expensive as the watch I went for – an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak – and eventually disappear beneath weeds and lichen. By contrast, you check your wristwatch 80-odd times a day. I rarely register the actual time (who does?) but with every glance, I'm reminded of my mum and dad.”

David Silver, owner of the Vintage Watch Company in London’s Burlington Arcade, specialises in ‘birth year’ Rolexes with models dating back to the early 20th century He says that there is currently a lot of activity in the ‘gifts for children’ market. The average child’s age for Silver’s company is 12-13, with other spikes at 18 and 21, however, he says that increasingly, parents are buying vintage pieces for their babies and having them engraved with a view to presenting the watch to the child when they get to their teens.

“It’s the gift that really keeps giving,” he says. “What started off as a rare watch becomes increasingly rarer as time goes by. It is very sentimental, but also an appreciating asset that when the child hits his or her 20s or 30s has become a notable investment.

Also taking the vintage view, executive director of Somlo London, Daniel Somlo, says: “[A vintage watch] can be a fantastic investment. If I were to have purchased a 321 calibre Omega Speedmaster 21 years ago to put away, it would have cost me a lot less than £1,000 and it would have appreciated massively. There is an interesting article by the late, great Chuck Maddox that says a ref. 2915 Speedmaster from 1957 was worth around US$3,000 in 2000. We have now seen examples that sold for more than £300,000. The biggest advantage of getting something vintage is that it will already be appreciating in value.”

However, Somlo also issues a warning about buying the right watch from someone that you trust is selling a genuine article. “The last thing you want your child to do is take their amazing birthday present to get authenticated, only to find out it’s a lemon!”

Silver and Somlo’s Burlington Arcade neighbour David Duggan agrees that watches make an ideal investment for a child. He vividly remembers an early example from 1995 when he was visited by a man from Bournemouth who asked Duggan if he bought new Rolex Princes. As Princes were discontinued in the 1940s, Duggan was at first dismissive until his visitor began to unload mint-condition boxes, creaking them open to reveal new-old-stock Princes (the first in silver, with a price-tag reading 19 guineas).

It seemed that the seller’s father had owned a jewellery store in the 1930s and put away certain pieces for his future grandchildren’s education. Duggan ended up buying six pieces in total, which today would be worth more than £150,000 apiece.

“My late partner Denise did a similar thing for her three grandsons,” Duggan continues. “She bought each of them a Patek Philippe Calatrava in 2008 with instructions that they were to be given on their 21st birthdays. They have already nearly doubled in value.”

So, should people actually put their child’s name on waiting lists for the hardest to obtain watches such as steel sports pieces by Rolex, Patek, Omega and Audemars Piguet? “I’ve never heard of anyone doing that, but why not?” says Duggan. “The brands could be missing a trick. Pay for a watch now and in 15 years there will be one ready for you to pay the market difference and walk away with.”

For Sandy Madhvani, showroom manager at David M Robinson in Canary Wharf, the birth of his first child was the perfect opportunity to start a new watch-related family tradition. “There is something very personal about a luxury watch and many clients have taken to purchasing one following the birth of a child. As reminders go, looking down at your wrist to see a beautiful timepiece and remembering the most special moment in your life, is a fantastic way to do it.

Madhvani explains that both he and his wife wear watches that will one day be passed to their children. “When my son Samir was seven, I took him along to the showroom. He sat entranced while I talked about Patek Philippe, and he was captivated by a particular Calatrava model. I shook his little hand and said I would buy it on Monday and that it would be the start of our own tradition. He is now 21 years old, and I continue to care for the Patek Philippe that will one day be his. We repeated the process for my daughter Aisha, and my wife currently wears a Patek that will one day belong to her.”

Chris Youé, watch specialist at Phillips Perpetual, identifies heirloom watches as the start of the horological journey for many modern watch collectors. However, he recognises that price increases over the past 10 years have changed the equation, with watches no longer being simply sentimental gifts or a straight hedge against inflation, instead having the potential to turn into flat deposits or university tuition fees.

“I remember one man who spent months seeking out birth year Rolexes for his three sons,” he says. “All had to be identical sports models in unworn ‘stickered’ condition from the late 2000s. Over the next five to 10 years when they come to maturity, those new-old-stock GMT’s will be super liquid and at massive premiums to the worn examples available on the market.

“As for the 18-year-old about to inherit a first series ‘Flat Four’ green bezel Rolex Submariner their father bought in 2003 to mark his or her birth, their watch is now worth 10 times the price paid for it. It will also have many memories attached to it that might make cashing in a harder choice to make emotionally.”

Top tips for a child’s long-term investment watch

1. Heirloom or asset

When buying a watch with a child’s future in mind, it is important to decide whether it is a financial or an emotional investment as this will determine how the watch itself is treated. To keep top value, it should remain unworn, stickered and boxed, but for any real emotional attachment to be formed then it is obviously better for it to be worn and experienced.

As watch collector and journalist Ken Kessler says: “The real value of a watch handed down is who owned it before. Our family heirloom is a 1940s Longines that belonged to my father. It is only worth about £1,000 but to us it is priceless. If I had to sell my entire collection bar one this is the piece I would keep.” Whatever you decide, remember the number one rule… and keep the watch’s box and papers!

2. Stay on brand

Historically, certain brands have been the main performers in terms of increasing value. Youé also points out that the child you are buying for may not grow up to be a watch aficionado, so long-term brand recognition is key. Duggan suggests sticking to names such as Rolex, Omega, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Audemars Piguet, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantin – all-time greats that have performed well to date.

3. Keep it simple

With the above in mind, Youé recommends that the chosen model can be equally as important as the brand. To stay safe, keep to simple, classic models that haven’t dated in the past 50 years, are still going to be relevant in the next two decades and are sure to find a large and appreciative market. Any Rolex steel sports model, Audemars Piguet Royal Oaks, Omega Speedmasters, Jaeger-LeCoultre Reversos, Cartier Tanks and basically anything by Patek Philippe are close to sure bets.

4. Personal choices

While personal messages and elements of customisation cement the emotional bond created by a watch, Youé suggests that they can be the enemy of value retention. “I don’t think that the gentleman who recently collected his beautiful Patek annual calendar, engraved for his sons first birthday, will ever regret it,” he says. “However, the collector who had his children’s birthdays represented though carefully coloured lume plots on his Rolex Deepsea soon changed his mind!"

5. Some sage advice

Remembering that your children may not be future watch lovers and may want to cash-in on their investment piece, Duggan recommends passing on the details of a reputable dealer who can act as an advisor if one is needed. “Some of my best clients worry that they will die and their children won’t know the true value of their watch or collection,” he says. “A few, who I have long and strong relationships with, have even stipulated in their wills that the watches must be sold through me or another trusted contact.”

Does your family follow a tradition of investing in watches for future generations? Let us know in the comments below.

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