Second Lives – Openwork Episode 99

AP and Rolex CPO, Ebel Reboots, Bennahmias Returns

Audemars Piguet is reportedly launching its own certified pre-owned program. This is the same brand that has spent years discouraging clients from reselling their watches. Gabe Reilly and Asher Rapkin of Collective Horology look at WatchPro’s reporting on the centralized, brand-run AP CPO model, which may include online sales. They also ask how it fits with secondary prices that are falling well below retail on models like the Code 11.59. On the Rolex side, Morgan Stanley and WatchCharts estimate that Rolex Certified Pre-Owned did $229 million in Q3 2026, up 61% year over year. That puts the program on track for a $1 billion run rate, even as Rolex pre-owned prices trail Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Cartier, and A. Lange & Söhne.

Next is François-Henri Bennahmias. The former AP CEO has joined LVMH’s Hublot as an advisor on a “discreet project,” while Julien Tornare stays on as CEO. We talk through why his pop culture playbook may suit Hublot better than it ever suited AP. Then we cover the most surprising deal of the year: F.P. Journe, Chanel, and former De Bethune CEO Pierre Jacques are taking a 95% stake in Ebel from Movado Group. We discuss what that group could want with a brand that has spent 22 years in malls, and whether a watch brand reboot can work this time.

We also open with the Renaud Tixier Monday Skeleton, the $145,000 micro-rotor watch we bought for inventory off the renders. We close with a preview of Episode 100, where we’ll cover LVMH’s restructuring of Zenith and what it means for the brand and the industry. Openwork is a weekly watch industry podcast from Collective Horology, an independent watch retailer in Ventura, California.

Openwork is a weekly podcast about how the watch industry actually works. An unfiltered look behind the scenes — no press releases, no hype, and no sponsored takes. Hosted by Asher Rapkin and Gabe Reilly, co-founders of Collective Horology. Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can find us online at collectivehorology.com. To get in touch with suggestions, feedback or questions, email podcast@collectivehorology.com.