According to a recent survey conducted in 2025, watches and jewelry have emerged as the most coveted second-hand luxury items among China’s millionaires, with approximately 30 percent of wealthy respondents reporting regular purchases in this category. Handbags and accessories are the second most purchased type of pre-owned luxury goods among the nation’s affluent consumers.
Elite Consumer Preferences Reshape China’s Second-hand Luxury Market
The comprehensive survey, which included 750 high-net-worth individuals with personal assets exceeding ten million yuan (approximately $1.4 million USD), provides valuable insights into the consumption patterns of China’s wealthiest consumers. Respondents were predominantly young, with an average age of 35 years, equally split between genders, and overwhelmingly married (91 percent). Nearly half (45 percent) resided in tier-1 cities, with the remainder distributed across new tier-1 and tier-2 urban centers.
This trend among millionaires reflects a broader shift in China’s luxury consumption landscape, which has undergone significant transformation in…
recent years. The wealthy’s preference for pre-owned watches and jewelry comes at a time when the overall luxury market in China faces substantial headwinds. It experienced an 18-20 percent year-on-year decline in 2024, reverting to 2020 levels.
“The downturn is primarily driven by lukewarm consumer confidence driven by economic uncertainty and a decline in real estate value, a shift in spending toward overseas markets, and a reluctance to accept frequent price increases by brands without well-justified value propositions,” explained Bruno Lannes, a Greater China-based senior partner at Bain & Company.
The Growing Second-hand Luxury Ecosystem Despite the broader luxury market’s challenges, China’s second-hand luxury sector continues flourishing. From a modest USD 8 billion market in 2020, it has expanded dramatically and is projected to reach USD 32 billion by 2025, representing a nearly fourfold increase in five years.
This growth is driven by affluent consumers and younger generations, with millennials and Gen Z constituting over 80 percent of the second-hand luxury market. These consumers are increasingly drawn to pre-owned luxury items for various reasons, including…
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