Mr Zhou, in Shenzhen, had several sports watches and planned to let one go and trade up. This 5968G-001 had sat unworn for a long time and he was in no hurry for the cash, so what he cared about was not how high the number was but where it came from and whether he could compare it side by side. He wanted to see the full offer sheet before deciding whether to sell — and letting this long-idle piece go would free up the budget.
WatchesShenzhen
Patek Philippe Aquanaut 5968G-001 sold for CNY 930,000 — Shenzhen watch buy-back case, August 2026
At a glance
Final price
CNY 930,000
- City
- Shenzhen
- List price
- CNY 790,900 (xbiao.com, 2026-09)
The figure on this page is what this particular transaction settled at. It reflects the house, the model, the condition, how complete the accessories were and the market at the time, and is not a quoted price for a comparable piece.
The client
The model and the market
The 5968G-001 is, like the 5968A-001, an Aquanaut chronograph, arriving in 2018 with the line’s first chronograph. The same chronograph comes in two choices, stainless steel or white gold, with the white gold version’s case finishing and dial colour leaning towards dressier occasions. The -001 and the -010 share a movement and a case diameter and differ only in dial and strap colour, so the two are valued separately.
The list price of the 5968G is CNY 790,900 (xbiao.com, checked September 2026). List price at this tier does not sit on the same plane as secondary sales: sought-after sports references have a pricing logic of their own, and using list directly as a reference for a buy-back offer will mislead you.
There is no single formula for a watch. The house and the model draw the baseline, condition and accessories add to or subtract from it, and the market at the time decides the landing point; between two of the same reference you still look at case diameter, material, dial and generation.
How this price was set
Mr Zhou’s watch was bought at CNY 930,000, with three factors doing most of the work. The 18K white gold is counted into the value of the whole watch as its own item, which is not how the steel version is worked. The blue gradient dial shading to black at the edge is the colourway specific to the 5968G, a different version from the charcoal black on the steel 5968A. And the flyback chronograph stops and restarts on a single press; chronographs are made in smaller numbers than the base three-handers, so the float in circulation is smaller too.
Within this line the white gold version has a narrower set of buyers than the steel, and that is the normal shape of its pricing. At 42.2mm the case is the standard size for a sports reference, neither adding nor subtracting.
The price was not ours to set — it came from trade buyers bidding in the same window on the platform. The offer sheet was spread out for Mr Zhou line by line, and which one to take was his to say. Patek Philippe buy-back runs through watch buy-back, with prices assessed against the market at the time and the purchase price left out of the calculation. (Market figures reflect publicly available data.)
What we did
Competitive buy-back
The watch goes onto the bidding platform and trade buyers across the country bid live at the same time. The offer sheet is open for you to choose from, and the number is formed by market bidding
Watch authentication
An appraiser team of more than a hundred. Every item is signed off by three of them, and each check is recorded line by line and photographed
Credentials
Named in 2025 to the first cohort of pre-owned goods circulation pilot enterprises by MOFCOM, the NDRC, the Ministry of Natural Resources and SAMR; in 2019 Vintage-Privée entered a three-way strategic partnership with CCIC (China Certification & Inspection Group) and Alibaba.
Settlement
Payment goes out as soon as an offer is accepted. Nothing is charged if you walk away
How it ran
1
Talk to an advisor
Submit photographs from several angles along with the reference, and we match the model and material first
2
Free valuation
A reference range is generated from the house, the reference and the condition, at no cost
3
Book a viewing
In the boutique, or by home visit or shipping
4
Appraiser check
Case, dial and movement condition verified, recorded, then synced to the bidding platform
5
Trade bidding
Buyers bid on the same platform, with the breakdown laid out for Mr Zhou item by item
6
Settlement
He picked one buyer to close with, and the money landed on signing
Questions about this case
How is the buy-back price for a Patek Philippe 5968G-001 worked out?
This one sold in Shenzhen in August 2026 at CNY 930,000. The reference is a 42.2mm white gold chronograph; the offer moves with the state of the actual piece and how complete the accessories are, with the in-person check the basis.
What is the difference between a 5968G-001 and a 5968G-010?
The difference falls on dial and strap colour. The -001 has a blue gradient dial with a midnight blue strap; the -010 has a khaki green dial with a strap to match. Movement, case diameter and complication are identical. Different dial colours draw different preferences, so the two suffixes can move independently and cannot be compared as one reference.
On an expensive watch, what can I see on the offer sheet?
Once the checks are done and the piece is listed, each trade buyer posts their own offer line by line. The sheet is open to the client and every tier can be traced to where it came from. Which tier to close at was Mr Zhou’s to decide. If no sale happens nothing is charged and the watch is returned as it was. The credential documents behind both stages can be examined one by one on the credentials page.
When do I get the money on a watch buy-back?
It lands as soon as you sign, with no platform settlement stage in between. Over a public holiday the timing follows the banks; for an interbank transfer, when it actually arrives depends on how quickly the receiving bank processes it.
Start with what yours is worth
Free online valuation. Nothing to pay if you decide not to sell.