For those of you wondering "Why?" price increases....

[HongNinja]

Here is why. Global demand is UP. Including USA. Credit to WatchTime magazine.

Very interesting given economic times in USA right now. Given these stats, why not increase prices?!

Side note: STILL HATE THE PRICE INCREASES.

[NEW]

Wow!!!

[Grissom]

Wow!! is right.......

[wokafu]

look at da percentage ..china was up almost 48%..scaryyyyy..didnt expect thailand to be up over 40% too..interesting...thanks for sharing...

[MortgageGuy]

Man oh man, this is crazy... dare I say "bubble"

[Linzjnr]

It's hard to believe isn't it, on one hand you put on the news or read a newspaper and it's all financial doom and gloom and on the other people are spending up big on luxury watches. I guess that for everyone that loses money on a down turn someone else makes it.

[Rani Drama]

The thailand figure surprised me. Might be lots of opportunity there based on growth figures.

[wootini]

The rich are getting richer, fact. There is opportunity all over the planet, but it takes a new perspective to extract success in such times.

[Stonedcl]

Most say rolex is not a investment but with inflation your money is better spent in a rolex then sitting in a savings account.. In 2005 if you bought a sub for 3800 and put the same 3800 in the bank I bet you rolex would sell more then the 3800 made in the bank..

[Turk]

Better off putting your money into a high end watch than the stock market right now.

[pawnshopkiller]

Gold.

[bigrustypig]

It's Say's Law of economics.....the rich get richer, the poor get poorer (if remember my Samuelson)

[MY-WATCH]

Unbelivable !!
Thanks for sharing

[Turk]

What is the definition of "poorer" anyways? In the US, 50 years ago, somebody that was poor ate oatmeal everyday for breakfast, bread and cheese for lunch and peanut butter and jelly for dinner. Today, the poor get cable, free rent, free food (steaks), free healthcare. Nowadays, the rich pay more taxes and the poor bitch about not getting enough.

[bigrustypig]

Originally Posted by wokafu

look at da percentage ..china was up almost 48%..scaryyyyy..didnt expect thailand to be up over 40% too..interesting...thanks for sharing...

I think the figures for HK include a decent portion of indirect sales to China because Chinese tourists entering the crown colony for some shopping also snap up Rollys and other Swiss watches. So maybe sales to China might actually be much higher than the almost 48% growth shown by the article.

[SR/1]

Someone with more knowledge than me please chip in, but I recently read on hodinkee or another site that swiss watchmakers may hold off on future increases because of some changes in currency regulation? Of course this was just speculation..

[Sixxgrand1]

I have learned from experience not to believe what you read and certainly not to bank on what you read...magazines are in the business of selling magazines....'nough said..!

[never2late]

Originally Posted by Sixxgrand1

I have learned from experience not to believe what you read and certainly not to bank on what you read...magazines are in the business of selling magazines....'nough said..!

Sound advise this.

[dddrees]

Thanks for sharing.

[rad87gn]

I don't agree with that as a reason. Rolex is increasing their product strength by always increasing prices no matter what the economy is doing. And they are always working on reducing the possiblity of discounts.

[HongNinja]

Originally Posted by rad87gn

I don't agree with that as a reason. Rolex is increasing their product strength by always increasing prices no matter what the economy is doing. And they are always working on reducing the possiblity of discounts.

True. I see what you're saying. However, theyre doing it more frequently. It's partially because they will always raise prices anyways, but if there is that high of a demand, currency rates fluctuating so much, and in order to keep their watches exclusive and valuable, PRICES GO UP. It's simple economics.

Do you think we'd see these same multiple increases in a year if the numbers showed that high of percentages in the opposite direction??? Doubt it. They'd most likely sit on their hands, and have maybe 1-2 increases, not 7363839(sarcasm) of them like we are seeing now.

[Jinder]

Thank you for sharing that! Wow is right!!!

[HongNinja]

Originally Posted by Sixxgrand1

I have learned from experience not to believe what you read and certainly not to bank on what you read...magazines are in the business of selling magazines....'nough said..!

So you're saying these stats are BS???

There's lots of things I've read that I believe. Like the Bible for instace.

[CashGap]

Originally Posted by Turk

What is the definition of "poorer" anyways? In the US, 50 years ago, somebody that was poor ate oatmeal everyday for breakfast, bread and cheese for lunch and peanut butter and jelly for dinner. Today, the poor get cable, free rent, free food (steaks), free healthcare. Nowadays, the rich pay more taxes and the poor bitch about not getting enough.

That's what makes it a truism. We no longer define "poor" as lacking food, housing, medical care, transportation, entertainment, etc. We define it as some fraction of what the rich have. So when someone goes out and risks their capital in order to earn a return, and gets "richer", we now consider those on the sidelines to be "poorer" relative to that person.

We are at the point where all true poverty in the world is through willful misapplication of political power. Feeding the world is no longer a challenge.

[Timber Loftis]

Originally Posted by bigrustypig

It's Say's Law of economics.....the rich get richer, the poor get poorer (if remember my Samuelson)

Totally. 2.5 decades of wealth shuffling upward to the main market buyers of these watches, i.e. the already rich, and this is the inevitable result. It's just math.

[Timber Loftis]

Originally Posted by Turk

What is the definition of "poorer" anyways? In the US, 50 years ago, somebody that was poor ate oatmeal everyday for breakfast, bread and cheese for lunch and peanut butter and jelly for dinner. Today, the poor get cable, free rent, free food (steaks), free healthcare.

Considering the number of uninsured has gone steadily up while the relative minimum wage has gone steadily down, this sentiment, though common, is uninformed at best.

Nowadays, the rich pay more taxes and the poor bitch about not getting enough.

That’s a line for every year from 1913 onward, sized and colored by the tax burden: the amount of tax due relative to the long-term average at each income level. Above-average burdens appear thick and red and below-average thin and blue. We adjusted everything for inflation to ensure an apples-to-apples comparison, with the caveat that the effects of Social Security, Medicare, and other taxes are not included. The underlying data comes from The Tax Foundation, IRS, and Bureau of Labor Statistics, and is the same information we used in last year’s bracket graph, updated for 2011.

Our graph shows a series of tax regimes. Overall, taxes stayed low until 1940, spiked during World War II, remained high through the Korean conflict, and eased slightly in the mid ’60s. From there, they held steady, until President Carter emancipated poverty-level wagemakers with his tax-free under-$8000 bracket, creating the blue wedge in our graph. Three years later, Reagan entered office and began turning the tables, finishing in 1988 with his retrograde 28% upper rate. The rich were now on tax vacation, at the expense of the poor and middle class.

Facts are stubborn things. - John Adams

As for the definition of "poor," the poverty level for 2011 is $22,350 (total yearly income) for a family of four. How much blood do you expect to extract from such a stone?

[CoopJr]

Originally Posted by Timber Loftis

Considering the number of uninsured has gone steadily up while the relative minimum wage has gone steadily down, this sentiment, though common, is uninformed at best.



Facts are stubborn things. - John Adams

As for the definition of "poor," the poverty level for 2011 is $22,350 (total yearly income) for a family of four. How much blood do you expect to extract from such a stone?

Facts? You mean like a certain politician and senile billionaire thinking we're too stupid to know the dif between capital gains tax and income tax?

Here's a real chart from the IRS. Pay close attention to the part that says the bottom 50% pay 2.7%.

[brkanand]

Is this report true?

[HongNinja]

Okay boys, enough politics. Let's stick to Rolex watch talk.

The rich have been shafting the poor since the beginning of time. End of debate.

[Stonedcl]

Originally Posted by rad87gn

I don't agree with that as a reason. Rolex is increasing their product strength by always increasing prices no matter what the economy is doing. And they are always working on reducing the possiblity of discounts.

Not true.. Our economy (us) was doing really well during the Clinton era and carried over to the beginning of the bush era (be4 he made a mess of it) and if you look rolex did not have one price increase from 1996-2004. And then since 2004 they had a price increase almost every year.. From 1990 - 2003 rolex had 2 price increases and from 2003-2010 the had 7!!