Rebag Dives Into Fine Jewelry and Watches

It’s been six years since the launch of Rebag, a digital, luxury handbag-resale platform. It’s extended the second (third, or fourth) lives of high-end handbags and small accessories. As of today, the company will further dig its heels into the luxury sector by adding fine jewelry and watches to its business. So along with your Birkin or Box bag, you can pick up a Rolex Oyster Perpetual GMT II-Pepsi Dial watch, or a Van Cleef Alhambra necklace.

“Our ambition is to offer customers a relevant platform to execute resale services on a large scale,” says CEO of Rebag, Charles Gorra. “Our entry into watches and jewelry was the logical next step. While these categories have their own specificities, they also share many characteristics with luxury handbags.”

From the outside, Gorra’s decision may seem curious, with a troubled economy and predictions of a double-digit contraction in global personal-luxury sales for this year from both Bain & Company and McKinsey & Company. But as recently as last week, other studies and statistics show that, when it comes to jewelry, the sales aren’t as dire as predicted, and McKinsey & Company does make mention of a small improvement for 2021.

With an eye on both the past and the future, Rebag’s launch could be a smart investment, with online luxury sales increasing even before the shuttering of many brick-and-mortar stores and the fallout from COVID-19. That, along with the sheer fact that the resale business can also offer a discount that comes buying a pre-owned anything. Below, some of our favorites from the initial offering.