Rolex increases prices again within the year, luxury goods continue to rise

Rolex increases prices again within the year, luxury goods continue to rise

On 7 1, < lastly, the materials and craftsmanship. Aside from precious metals, many luxury watches.luxury watchOne of them, Rolex, carried out its second price adjustment of the year, with an adjustment range of 5%10%. The brand's last price adjustment was on 4 28, with an interval of only 63 days between the two adjustments. Such close intervals, large margins, and high frequency of price adjustments are relatively rare in Rolex's history. Moreover, the price adjustment of new models has caused the resale prices in the Rolex second-hand market to rise accordingly. What kind of impact has the succession of price adjustments had on the Taiyuan market? Our reporters conducted multi-faceted investigations.

Price increases highlight brand value On 7 8, after visiting several shopping malls and luxury watch shops in the provincial capital, reporters found that Rolex had already raised its retail prices on 7 1, with an increase ranging from 5% to 10%. In front of the Rolex counter at Guomao Luxury Goods, reporters saw that the ivory concentric circle Roman numeral dial model in the series had its price adjusted from the original amount to the new amount; a black dial model in the LN series had its price adjusted from the original amount to the new amount. Meanwhile, at Xinyu Sanbao watch shop in Taiyuan Tianmei Xintiandi, reporters saw an Oyster Perpetual Datejust model with reference number, whose price was adjusted from the original amount to the new amount; another Oyster Perpetual Datejust model with reference number had its price adjusted from the original amount to the new amount. Reporters roughly calculated that the price increases ranged from several thousand to tens of thousands of yuan.

Speaking of the reasons for the price increases, the person in charge at Guomao Luxury Goods told reporters that they were mainly caused by rising raw material costs.Rolex watchesThe raw materials used are mostly genuine gold, diamonds, etc., and the climbing prices of gold and diamonds inevitably trigger price hikes for luxury watches. In addition, the scarcity and limited nature of luxury watches are also among the reasons for their price increases.

In addition to the above reasons, Shi Hui, the retail head for Shanxi at Hengdeli Group, analysed in an interview with reporters that the reasons for price increases are multifaceted. Apart from rising raw materials, exchange rates, increasing labour costs, and growing demand are also important factors causing luxury watch prices to rise.

Meanwhile, renowned watch researcher Mr Chang Wei believes that prices are heavily influenced by external factors, leading to fluctuations, but intrinsic value remains relatively stable. Price hikes cannot change this inner core, and even if the same watch has a different selling price due to the passage of time, its value remains the same, reflecting the time cost paid by consumers, making an earlier purchase more economical. Price increases have not affected sales Regarding whether the price adjustment would affect the sales of Rolex watches, the heads of most Rolex counters in the provincial capital stated that, apart from monetary policy, material improvements, and style variations, creating room for brand appreciation and achieving 'value preservation and appreciation' are the primary goals. Therefore, sales will not be affected.

In front of the Rolex counter at Guomao Luxury Goods, after randomly interviewing several consumers, reporters found that since the consumer base for high-end luxury watches mostly consists of high-spending groups with high brand loyalty, upward price adjustments do not affect their desire to purchase. During subsequent visits, reporters found that facing the steadily rising watch prices, not only were sales unaffected, but some counters even experienced out-of-stock situations.

After the price adjustment, what is the situation in the second-hand market? For this, reporters specifically visited Longzhi Watch Shop, the earliest business dealing in second-hand luxury watches in Taiyuan. Manager Ren, who is in charge of sales, told reporters that following the price adjustments, resale prices in the second-hand market have 'risen accordingly', and retail prices will certainly increase as well. However, he also stated that the price increases have not significantly impacted second-hand market sales. Compared with new watches, pre-owned watches offer better value for money; even with price hikes, the cost-performance ratio remains high and does not dampen people's enthusiasm for buying and collecting second-hand luxury watches. Scarcity is crucial for luxury watch investment After continuous price increases, how much room for appreciation do luxury watches still have? Shi Hui said it is hard to say, as some brands are currently lowering prices systematically to narrow the price gap with Hong Kong and Taiwan. However, looking at the overall trend, luxury watches appreciate in value, largely driven by the historical heritage and cultural factors of the watch brands.

Despite the overall upward trend in luxury watch values, which see an annual growth of 5% to 10%, the person in charge at Guomao Luxury Goods reminds consumers to pay attention to the following aspects when investing in luxury watches:

First is the brand. The greater the brand, the higher its collection value.

Second is scarcity. Limited-production watches generally hold higher collection and investment value than regular watches.

Third is functionality. Among watches from the same brand, differences in functions are also key in driving value gaps. Generally speaking, the more complex the watch functions, the greater its potential for appreciation. For example, a Patek Philippe 5002P model featuring 12 complications, due to its extraordinary complexity, shocked the world after being auctioned at a sky-high price of 1057 ten thousand yuan.

Lastly, materials and craftsmanship. Besides precious metals, many luxury watches incorporate exquisite techniques such as enamelling, engraving, and gemstone setting. Specifically, platinum is the most precious material used for watch cases, and rising gold prices serve as a sign of prosperity in the international watch market. Since gold is closely linked to timepieces, the potential for future appreciation and value growth in luxury watch collections is expected to accelerate.