Quote:
Originally Posted by pmoz
We'll see what happens, it is hard to predict the future but I agree everything goes in cycles.
To me it just seems counterproductive for Rolex to have the current situation, as their watches have become 'too popular' in my opinion. They want to keep it exclusive and yet I see 7/10 wearing a Rolex at the high-end bars in the inner city, all of them new of course (who cares about Red Subs, PM Daytonas, Bakelite GMTs) and rarely if ever see any Patek, Jaeger, Audemars, Vascheron.
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I purchased a 16610LV in 2010 when the retail was just over £4K and the watch was sitting in an AD's window. Eleven years on, the new version of the watch costs over £7.5K and is now unobtainable. Would raising the price to £10K make a difference? Personally, I don't think it would. Contrary to doomsayers, there are a lot of successful start-ups and entrepreneurs out there who want to enjoy their money. They've worked hard for it and it is not Rolex's fault (or any other high-end watchmaker for that matter) that they want to spend it. Whether it be buying a nice house, a fast car, taking amazing holidays, a Rolex is not a particularly large purchase in that context. I think this is more of the case of demand completely outstripping supply with people happy to pay grey-market prices. Rolex make very attractive looking watches and have a global brand presence which attracts buyers to them. That is not going to change overnight.