Credits: Article and images by Michael Friedberg @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/09/30/buying-watches-in-an-age-of-hubris-one-collectors-search-for-the-truth-reprise/
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And not only there
A few weeks before, I had a similar experience involving another boutique of a different luxury watch brand, also to remain anonymous. I walked in and simply asked for, “Any steel sports watch with bracelet.” I knew they were scarce, but it seemed to me to be a simple enough request.
The sales clerk replied that they had none in stock, except one “used” one. That one looked brand new to me, and the boutique was asking about $20,000 more than the retail price of the brand it represented.
I looked puzzled and said, “Isn’t that a bit high?” The clerk replied that it was “market price,” although my research found that to be about $10,000 too high based on secondary market pricing. The salesperson also politely refused to put me on a waiting list, saying they receive only what they’re allocated.
In the latter instance, I reported my encounter to the company itself, who apologized, indicating that was not how they want their company represented and would take corrective action. The representative also said that they had no knowledge of when another model would arrive but would add me to the list of interested buyers. I’ve had that occur before with other brands, and I never received a call back, not even after years. They decided to humor interested buyers but without any real intent to fulfill their list.
Back to the anniversary watch . . . did I really want it after all?
For the anniversary watch, I thought of asking for help from a friend of mine, an executive with the company. I then decided against that, not only because I dislike asking others for favors, but I also wasn’t sure I wanted to do anything with that company. In the other situation, I added my name to the list as I not only believe the watch to be outstanding in design and craft, I trust the company to handle a direct sale with integrity. Over the next year or two I’ll see if my trust was misplaced.
What has occurred in both cases, I believe, is that a scarce product, whether intentionally created or simply due to unanticipated demand, has appealed to an incredible arrogance motivated by, to be candid, dealer greed. My best guess is that, eventually, the market will crash. There can be a softening of demand as buyers look at entirely different luxury goods, be they jewelry, art, automobiles, or many other items. Or a recession, which hopefully won’t occur, may remove enough potential purchasers to soften the demand curve.
However, we have today a luxury market perhaps unlike any other in history. While there always has been a luxury segment for many consumer goods and services, it now has expanded exponentially. Some have blamed the cryptocurrency market or other investments, but that might be a simplistic explanation of a complex phenomenon. A rising tide has always buoyed all ships, but today’s market, especially for watches, appears different.
Many people now view expensive watches as investments. Given the market crash in the spring of 2020 as COVID-19 brought economies to a standstill and the stock market witnessed precipitous plunges, a segment of our society has turned to hard assets. And investments that can be worn serve double duty.
The numbers reflect this boom. Exports of watches with public prices over CHF 6,000 increased almost eight percent in the one year between 2020 and 2021, while lower-priced watches declined in export value. Over the past 20 years, the greatest growth in pricing has been at the higher end of the watch market.
The allure of a valuable asset that will increase in value has caused some newcomers to not know what they’re buying. Of course many do, but there also is a new breed of younger consumers with more disposable time on their hands, sometimes working at home. Many have never experienced a watch market crash.
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Credits: Article and images by Michael Friedberg @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/09/30/buying-watches-in-an-age-of-hubris-one-collectors-search-for-the-truth-reprise/
