Luxury Watch Market Points to Slowing Global Economy
- Prices for luxury watch brands like Rolex and Patek Philippe have fallen near two-year lows on secondary markets.
- Bloomberg's Subdial Watch Index has dropped about 19% in the last 12 months.
- Demand is cooling off for expensive timepieces from top brands amid higher rates and a weakening consumer.
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The global economy is slowing and it's even changing the habits of the biggest spenders — demand for luxury watches has tumbled and prices for Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet timepieces are hovering near two-year lows on the secondary market.
Bloomberg's Subdial Watch Index, which tracks the 50 most-traded pre-owned watches, has fallen roughly 19% over the last 12 months. The gauge shows that prices for the watches that see the highest demand continue to fall, down about 1% in the last 30 days, but at a slower rate of decline compared to August and September last year.
For example, in the last year, the price of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo Ultra Thin, which currently sells for an average of $71,692, has declined more than 35%, Bloomberg reported. Meanwhile, the Patek Philippe Nautilus Travel Time has fallen 28%, and the Rolex Daytona 116506 has dropped 25%.
The Federal Reserve has led global central banks in raising interest rates, which has led to higher borrowing costs for businesses and individuals.
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While inflation in the US has declined from a historic 9% level last year to about 4% last month, policymakers have signaled more rate hikes are likely necessary to bring it down to the target rate of 2%.
In a Wednesday panel with other central bankers, Jerome Powell said he doesn't think the US will hit that target until 2025.
President Joe Biden reiterated this week that he doesn't anticipate a recession, but Wall Street firms aren't so sure. JPMorgan strategists said last week that they see a 23% chance for the US to avoid a recession, while Bank of America's top economist Michael Gapen expects a recession by year-end.
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