Gold prices drive vintage luxury watches to the scrap heap

At Hatton Garden Metals, the sight of a vintage luxury watch going into a furnace captured a market inversion that is spreading well beyond one London bullion dealer. With gold prices hovering near record highs, some owners of classic Omega and TAG Heuer watches are finding that the metal inside is worth more than the watch on the secondhand market, turning heirlooms and status symbols into scrap.

Jon White of Gold Traders said he melted down an 18-carat late-1970s Omega Constellation in May 2026, and has already scrapped dozens of mainstream luxury watches this year as demand for investment gold rose. The logic is stark: restore the watch, trade it, or send it to auction, and the return may still trail the payout from breaking it apart for its gold content. For refiners, that shift brings a steady flow of material. For the vintage-watch trade, it means fewer intact pieces survive.

The Constellation makes the loss feel sharper because its value was never only metallic. Omega launched the line in 1952, naming it after the eight stars on its crest, and built its reputation on precision and prestige. Over the years, the model surfaced in campaigns, films and celebrity appearances, including on George Clooney and Nicole Kidman, helping it stand for glamour as much as horology. Omega brought the Vintage Constellation back into the spotlight at the 2026 Met Gala on May 5, with Kidman attending as an ambassador, a reminder of how deeply the line remains tied to heritage and status.

Gold’s rally explains why that symbolism is being tested. The World Gold Council said the LBMA gold price reached a historical high of US$5,405 an ounce in January 2026, and some market reports put prices above $5,100 an ounce later that month before a correction. More than a dozen traders, industry experts and investment advisers interviewed for the story pointed to the same pressure: when bullion surges, the scrap market starts to compete with the collector market.

That trend reaches beyond Omega. Used models from prestigious but more widely owned brands, including LVMH-owned TAG Heuer, are also being pulled toward the furnace. Hatton Garden Metals, based at Plouviez House, 19-20 Hatton Place, Hatton Garden, London EC1N 8RU, sits at the center of that trade, where a once-coveted watch can be reduced to raw value in minutes. The message for luxury buyers is blunt: when gold runs hot enough, even icons can be melted down.