A report from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the annual inflation rate in the US accelerated to 9.1% in June of 2022, the highest since November 1981.
Anyone interested in premium watches, particularly ones made by Rolex, Hublot, and Patek Philippe, is conscious of the fact that the finest brands come with a hefty price tag. However, a notable trend in 2021 and 2022 was a sharp rise in costs that was much higher than you may generally predict.
As a result, you are bound to have many concerns about the costs you observe whether you are entering the watch market or want to buy an expensive chronograph for a friend or loved one.
Michael Blakey, a luxury lifestyle YouTuber who is known for his amazing watch collection claims it is because of insane demands from people that watch prices have skyrocketed. This imbalance of demand and supply causes situations where customers cannot truly buy a watch they may have viewed on the internet when they approach Rolex stores since there are rarely any watches for sale.
Rolex increased the cost of its most well-known items by startling amounts. We’re talking percentages that are higher than 10%.
The price of the highly sought-after Rolex Submariner in the no-date form increased by 10.5 percent, from $8,100 MSRP to $8,950. The price of the GMT-Master II jumped from $9,500 to $10,550, an increase of 11%, and marked the return of the steel Oyster bracelet. Though it might seem like it, that isn’t the top. The 36mm Explorer, which was only introduced last year, saw its price rise by 11.6 percent, from $6,450 to $7,200.
Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe recently spoke with Bloomberg and said that the company will be increasing pricing on all of its watches as a result of supplier price hikes varying from 15 to 20 percent.
The complete Patek Philippe website has been updated with new pricing, with drastically varying changes. The 5270J, Patek’s solid-gold grand complication, saw an increase from $176,240 to $182,150, or 3.4 percent, on the lower end of the inflation rate spectrum. A favorite of John Mayer and Keegan Allen, the 5164A Aquanaut Travel Time increased by 4.6 percent, going from $39,030 to $40,810.
Another rising issue according to Blakey is the increase in unethical package agreements. It is a strategy that compels consumers to buy a watch that they don’t want to be given the chance to attain the watch model they desire.
Blakey offers Rolex watches at a fraction of the price at his store but how is he able to do that? Being a collector and a watch enthusiast, he and many other collectors can get these watches at a cost price and chooses to sell them at a lower price. These products aren’t available in other boutiques because the shops sell them before they even arrive in the showroom.
Given the unusual nature of the situation, it is hard to predict how much more prices may grow. However, one thing is certain: Brands cannot reverse pay increases or manufacturing costs. The final price is a result of those actions and their consequences. It just so happens that those final costs are often higher than any of us could have ever imagined.
About Michael Blakey
When Michael Blakey was 19 years old, he became a resident producer at Hansa Studios in Berlin, Germany. Throughout his career, he worked with countless musical talents, such as Boney M, LaToya Jackson, Julio Iglesias, Engelbert Humperdinck, No Doubt, Coolio, and Nine Inch Nails, and even Grammy-nominated comedian Ron White. He is also a successful luxury lifestyle YouTuber with over 1.3M subscribers.
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