The global market for luxury watches is growing significantly.
According to research institute MarkNtel Advisors, market value is projected to increase by five percent annually until 2030 and reach a value of $2,2 billion. In light of these projections, Timetrade Investments – the world’s first specialized asset manager for luxury watches – establishes its first strategic base in Nad Al Sheba in Dubai, as a platform for the global positioning of luxury watches as an investment asset.
Timetrade Investments is a leading European frontrunner with more than a decade of documented performance in asset management of luxury watches, such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piquet. Founder Daniel Niels Nielsen highlights the investment potential in a rapidly growing global market.
“We are seeing a strong and globally growing interest in luxury watches as an asset. In an era of volatile stock markets, unstable inflation, and fluctuating gold prices, Timetrade’s portfolio of luxury watches has delivered stable and risk-adjusted results through upturns and downturns”, says Daniel Niels Nielsen and adds: “The value of luxury watches has grown over time as a result of a structural imbalance between rise in demand and a permanently limited supply. Inflation has pushed prices higher as well.
“It’s a rare combination of return, liquidity, and tangibility that makes this asset class a preferred choice among investors.” Since 2019, Timetrade Investments’ portfolios have increased by 300 percent for low- to middle risk profiles.
Since 2020, the company’s luxury watch-index has outperformed the S&P500 index, OMXC25, and gold several times with a performance of up to 220 percent. In the same period, Timetrade Investments’ actively managed portfolios delivered an average IRR of 15-18 percent annually, while the liquidity horizon was reduced from 18 to 9-12 months.
As of June 2025, Dubai houses more than 86.000 millionaires, 251 centimillionaires, and 23 billionaires, and thus takes the spot as the fourth wealthiest city in the EMEA-region – Europe, the Middle East, and Africa – according to figures from New World Wealth. This is a central reason why Daniel Niels Nielsen sees the UAE as a key strategic market.
“The UAE is a place where wealth, culture, and innovation meet,” he notes, adding: The combination of growth, purchasing power, and a high concentration of high net-worth individuals makes the country particularly appealing in a global context.”
Timetrade Investments builds on two investment models. Ongoing Invest focuses on active trading and shorter liquidity horizons, where watches are continuously traded in the market, and returns are distributed quarterly based on individual portfolio sales.
Alternatively, returns can be reinvested and accumulate over time. Stack Away Invest is a long-term strategy, where watches are placed in stock over several years with a focus on steady asset appreciation.
Investments here are strategically planned according to the individual client’s risk profile and wishes. “Both investment models are characterized by full ownership, a documented performance, and digital transparency, making up a business foundation that can be rolled out across markets globally,” says Daniel Niels Nielsen.
He added: “Settling in the UAE is only the beginning. We see it as a first step on our journey towards positioning luxury watches as a global asset class for private as well as institutional investors – and a natural continuation of the skills we have acquired in Europe.”
