Vacheron Constantin launches pre-owned service (finally!) December 5, 2024 The booming secondhand market accounts for a full quarter of luxury-watch sales (as of EveryWatch’s survey in March). So what took venerable Vacheron Constantin, with its 260 years of watchmaking history, so long to launch a Certified Pre-Owned scheme (especially given Rolex launched its equivalent two years ago)? The simple answer may well be because [...]
Tudor Pelagos FXD GMT: A real statement from Rolex stablemate December 5, 2024 In the realm of watches at least, we are truly living in a Tudor period. Not ‘Wolf Hall’ Tudor, as was the inspiration for Rolex’s anglophile founder Hans Wilsdorf when he registered his more affordable sub-brand; rather, a period that sees Tudor established distinct from its once-big brother. The new Pelagos FXD GMT proves this [...]
Watches of Switzerland: Why shares in Rolex seller are on the road to recovery December 5, 2024 Shares in Rolex seller Watches of Switzerland have surged to their highest value since January after the retailer revealed positive half-year results. The Leicester-headquartered group reported a revenue of £785m for the six months to 27 October, 2024, a four per cent rise. In a trading update issued to the London Stock Exchange, Watches of [...]
Watches of Switzerland: US market lifts group sales December 5, 2024 Watches of Switzerland has reported an uptick in revenue growth due to growing demand in the US market despite luxury watch sales stagnating in the UK and Europe. In a trading update to markets today, the luxury watch firm said group revenue for the 26 weeks ending 27 October was up 4 per cent year-on [...]
Rolex becomes title sponsor of major sport league November 21, 2024 Legacy watch brand Rolex has today been announced as title sponsor of SailGP, with the Formula 1 of water now known as the Rolex SailGP Championship. The luxury brand joins the likes of Chanel (The Boat Race) in venturing into title sponsorship agreements in sport. The watchmaker has been associated with SailGP since 2019. The [...]
Falling Rolex prices are fuelling a sales boom November 12, 2024 The holiday season has always been pivotal for luxury watch sales, and this year brings a particularly promising outlook. Contrary to the usual holiday price hikes in many markets, the secondary watch market has seen notable price declines. Over the past year, prices for iconic brands like Rolex have dropped by an average of five [...]
Analysts split over US listing for Watches of Switzerland following activist investor campaign October 23, 2024 London-listed Watches of Switzerland has come under pressure from activist investor Gatemore Capital Management to ditch its UK listing for the US, with analysts split over whether the decision would be beneficial for the firm. The UK’s biggest Rolex seller, which runs 221 stores globally, listed in London in 2019 and is currently a member [...]
Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the brightest and best October 23, 2024 We write a lot about watches at City AM. Watches that have been up as far as the moon. Watches that have been down as low as the Mariana Trench. The versions of these trail-blazing timepieces that end up being sold to the likes of you and I enjoy a rather less salubrious fate, adorning [...]
When it comes to luxury watches, the 1990s are back, baby! October 20, 2024 It’s an observation likely to provoke a torrent of below-the-line abuse in watch nerd circles. But here we go: luxury watches as we know and love them owe their existence to a surprisingly modern confluence of circumstances. While the mechanics inside still tick to the tune of 200-year-old technology something happened in the decade that’s [...]
The latest watch news from Swatch, Saint Laurent and more October 20, 2024 The latest goings-on in the world of haute horlogerie, from a back-to-the-future 1970s LED digital to Swatch’s new Mission on Earth range and an actually-futuristic LED analogue DIODE TO JOY In the early 1970s, Girard-Perregaux took it upon itself to develop (at huge cost) its own battery-powered movement, the Calibre 350. Appropriately, the 350 launched [...]