In luxury, trends rarely stand still. What’s in demand one year can feel overexposed the next, while overlooked pieces suddenly re-emerge with new relevance. Lately, though, the shift feels less about what’s trending – and more about what lasts.

During a recent conversation at the Bvlgari Hotel in Tokyo, PurseBop caught up with Luxury Promise founder Sabrina Sadiq to unpack what’s really trending right now. 

Working across luxury handbags, watches, and fine jewelry, Sabrina has a unique, cross-category view of the resale market – shaped by what clients are actively buying, sourcing, and collecting. The result is a more nuanced read on trends as they’re happening, and often before they fully take hold.

Here, Sabrina shares her perspective on how the market is moving from availability towards rarity.

Lately I’ve been exploring watches more seriously recently because there’s a very clear change in how they’re being worn and styled. The modern “arm stack” now includes watches in a much more intentional way – but it’s no longer about adding one for the sake of it. It’s about the type of watch you choose.

After the 2020 to 2022 peak, the secondary market corrected, particularly across steel sports models from brands like Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet. What we’re seeing now, supported by both dealer and auction data, is a clear rotation towards dress watches on leather straps, smaller case sizes, and shaped designs. The stack isn’t dead, it’s evolved. It’s softer, more refined, and much more considered.

Culturally, it aligns with what we’re seeing around The Devil Wears Prada 2 – the idea of a return to more polished, editorial dressing where everything feels intentional again. Within that context, the watch is no longer the loudest piece, it’s integrated.

What’s interesting is that people aren’t just looking for a “classic watch” anymore. They want something with design identity and history. Pieces like the Cartier Baignoire, Cartier Clash, the Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse, and the Bvlgari Serpenti all sit within that space.

They were never mass-produced to begin with. To put that into context, Patek Philippe produces roughly 60–70,000 watches annually across all models, with high-complication pieces often in the low hundreds per year. That’s the difference – true scarcity is built into production, not created through demand cycles. People are moving toward rare, design-led, historically anchored pieces, not just recognizable ones.

That same mindset is now very clear in bags, but this is also where the biggest misconception sits.

It’s not a move away from Hermès – the shift is actually deeper into it. While the Birkin and Kelly are positioned as rare within a retail system, what we’re seeing now is buyers moving beyond the traditional wishlist approach and into a more considered form of collecting.

There’s a growing appreciation for craft, construction, and history, rather than simply focusing on the Birkin or Kelly as status pieces.

It’s no longer about the everyday Birkin or the Mini Kelly. Instead, we’re seeing interest move towards more specific, design-led and less readily available pieces.

That includes suede Birkins rather than standard leathers, larger silhouettes over mini formats, first edition shoulder Birkins, and toile canvas combinations. There’s also growing attention on Vibrato pieces, which are no longer in production and were never part of the standard offering.

What ties all of these together is that they sit outside the current system. They can’t be requested or ordered, and in many cases they can’t be reproduced in the same way. That’s really the point – the modern buyer understands collections, materials, and eras much more deeply, and that knowledge is what’s driving demand.

The positioning of these pieces is changing completely.

Styles like the Hermès Bolide, Plume, and Victoria are being re-evaluated as core heritage designs within the house. These are styles that have always existed, but are now being viewed through a different lens.

What’s driving that is what they offer: a more relaxed structure, larger proportions, and real functionality. These are bags you can wear to work, travel with, and live with day to day, without them needing to be a Birkin or Kelly. This is the relaxed luxury look that’s coming through strongly now.

This interest ties directly back to one of the most significant creative periods at Hermès – the Jean Paul Gaultier era.

That period was defined by reinterpretation, experimentation, and a much wider approach to materials and design. There was a real sense of creative freedom in how the house expressed itself.

What we’re seeing now feels like a return to that mindset. In many ways, it represents one of the most creatively rich periods for Hermès, and it aligns far more closely with today’s consumer than the more standardized, system-driven approach that followed.

Jewelry is the third part of this picture, and in many ways, the most significant.

Unlike bags or watches, it isn’t only about production – it’s about nature and skill. Many of the most important gemstones, including Paraiba tourmalines, Kashmir sapphires, Burmese rubies, and Colombian emeralds, come from sources that are now depleted or significantly restricted. That means supply is finite. What exists in circulation today is all that remains.

At the same time, craftsmanship is becoming increasingly constrained. High-level gem cutting – particularly for unusual stones, historic cuts, and complex settings is a declining skill set. Houses like Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels built their reputations on specialised ateliers capable of executing work that is now extremely difficult to replicate.

As a result, we’re seeing a shift towards heritage pieces where the stone, the craftsmanship, and the design all belong to a moment in time that cannot be repeated.

The pattern is consistent – and it’s backed by what we’re seeing in real data and buyer behavior across watches, bags, and jewelry.

There’s a clear move away from what is readily available now, and towards pieces that were made before and cannot be made again.

It’s no longer about a wishlist system or access alone, and it’s not simply about owning a “classic” piece. Instead, across all three categories, people are looking for rare, unique, and story-driven collectibles – whether that’s a watch, a bag, or a jewel.

And this is exactly where we’ve been building. Over the past year, Luxury Promise has focused on more than just bags. It’s been about creating a community that understands rarity – collections, heritage, materials, and scarcity across categories.

Ultimately, the shift is simple: it’s not about what is available, but what still exists.

For those looking to see these trends play out first-hand, Luxury Promise’s live shows offer direct access to Sabrina and the team’s expertise – bringing insight into the pieces and movements defining the market.

Looking ahead to May, Luxury Promise will also host a Tokyo pop-up from May 26-31, 2026, set in the heart of the city’s renowned vintage luxury district in Tokyo:

3-15-5 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo (Opposite St. Grace Cathedral)

For those planning a spring trip to Japan, it promises an epic week of all things luxury, with a pop-up boutique and live shows taking place within the same space – offering the chance to immerse yourself in the world of vintage luxury in the heart of Tokyo.

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Hermès & Chanel Luxury Promise Super Luxe Live from Dubai

Luxury Promise Takes on Tokyo

Love, PurseBop

XO