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Luxury Watches

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December 25, 2006

Posted by neillevine

About This Editor: I am a writer. Have been writing for other sites, but expect to do most of my future work HERE! My expertise extends from the esoteric such as burning hydrogen to the unpredictability of the stock market and my writing makes me a jack of all trades and exasperated master of none. I have had some influence over national wildfire and water policy and there are hints of a change in energy policy, BUT as Samuel Goldwyn once said, "A verbal promise is not worth the paper it is written on."

         

A watch sparkling with red, white and blue gems (rubies, diamonds and sapphires, to be precise) emits a sparkle that denotes a wealth of luxury that to many consumers is a very glamorous personal accessory, while simultaneously, more prosaically, for people who work in the business it is a reliable source of income.

ArsCompendium’s webmaster has started a new site about jewelry, www.jewelryforums.org , and a recent “Wall Street Journal” article about Swiss watches setting an export record have motivated this article.

World watch sales currently are $23 billion on an annual basis with Switzerland accounting for $10 billion worth, Hong Kong $6 billion, China $2 billion with Japan accounting for the lion’s share of the remainder. A decade or so Switzerland and Japan were the two top watch makers, being equals in dollar volume, with Japan accounting for a far greater number of consumer watches and the Swiss dominating the luxury market since it should be noted that it takes ten watches selling at $100 or so each to equal one sale of a $1,000 watch and so on.

Many Swiss watch companies are comparatively small but the three biggest are Rolex, speaking for itself as a well-known brand, Compagnie Financiere Richemont and Swatch, makers of the popular Swatch brand, along with the more expensive Blancpain, Breguet, Glashutte Original, Jacquet-Drosz, Omega, Rado, and Tissot, amogst others. It also should be noted that Richemont is the second biggest luxury brands company in the world and it sells Baume & Mercier, Cartier, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Piaget, Van Cleef & Arpels, Vacheron Constantin, Officine Panera and A. Lange & Sohne brands.

While there are many fascinating individual watches, depending on ones tastes and pocketbook, the ones that readily catch people’s attention are the ones dripping with white sparklers from Piaget, Winston and Chopard, although many Swiss watches, including Rolex, sport diamonds. If you want variety, gold comes in other colors such as rose and white and watches can be made from alternative precious metals such as platinum and titanium.

If you are not content with merely the hour, minute and second, there are watches that can keep you apprised of the phases of the moon or the orbits of the planets. There are even watches that double as jewelry such as the Reverso from Jaeger-LeCoultre, part time piece and, when you flip the case over, a wrist band.

What you need is money and a yen for luxury.