Are Watches going to become unaffordable?

Sadly, Im with you..the inflation is affecting everything in life..even food...Making my hobbies alot harder to justify...

I think they will. As new. The price increases last couple of years in every price bracket gives me that impressions. Pre loved prices will more describe real value imo.

The middle market gets squeezed. Go high or go low. The Swiss go high.

It’s fun watching “best watches under $X” videos from just two years back. Most things have doubled.

Is one of your hobbies eating food , sorry couldn't resist

Sadly, it is about my last vice!!! LOL

There are other options available, but @OscarKlosoffWatch nailed it. The Swiss will go premium, because it allows more profit for less production cost.

Short answer yes:

The established brand are all trying hard to rais their prices.

It's also a question of surviving.

The watch market is as small market actually.

Every affordable brand tryes to cross the 1K limit.

Even Casio uses every little change on their watches to tribbel the price.

But there will be other newcommers or less known brand which are will offer affordable watches in future.

I must admit , after I have a few more high end watches I dnt think I will be able to justify the cost.

its getting to the point where they will be so costly that people will stop wearing by them for fear of theft.

I'm a Timex guy, so I think I'll be good for a while. lol. Sorry I couldn't resist, but it's true. My life philosophy was never set your expectations too high so you will never be disappointed. I did that with everything in my life except my wife. For an Average Joe, I married way above my pay rate.

Companies that don't keep pace with the needs of their consumers are ripe for the types of innovative disruptors that hollowed out Kodak, Nokia, Xerox etc. and often result in better products and/or services at competitive prices. For example as Seiko moves it's pricing up market from the "affordable" tier that space gets filled by products vastly superior to what Seiko offered when they dominated that price point. Seiko will most likely never be dominant in that entry level affordable tier again so while Seiko pricing will rise you'll still be able to buy a $200-$300 watch that will be arguably better than what existed in that space before. As you move up the tiers you'll find that if a tourbillon, titanium case or ceramic bezel is your jam they just keep getting cheaper as well. All is not lost.

Last vice… shit, by far my safest!

Lots of lower price fun watches. Rich idiot watches certainly.

I agree that luxury watches have become prohibitively expensive for many enthusiasts. It took me a few years to save up for an Omega Seamaster 300 and, by that time, the price had increased by almost 50%. I had to buy pre-owned. I wish I could afford a Tudor BB chronograph, but that will probably never happen.

Currently, I honestly cannot justify buying anything beyond Islander watches (I own two). My latest, the Republic ISL-139 is a case in point: Swiss-made Sellita SW330-2 automatic GMT, consistently accurate between 3 to 5 seconds per day, 40mm case, less than 12mm thick, saphire everything, 200m WR, can actually track three time zones, incredible lume, etc... all for under US$700.

You can still get a superlative chronometer for $20...

Buy used!! Tho prices are creeping up there too.

Used buys - SM300 - £3200

Willard £650

Quartz Aqua Terra £1300

1959 Alpinist reissue £350

All considerably less than RRP!

Pays to be patient, buy used.

Like real estate , it isn’t one market , I believe the spill over effect is great fot those holding for younger collectors to come in , create more demand and buy those ascending priced watches because the Swiss know the market psychology and trends . I’m pretty sure high end manufacturers use AI to sift through all the data to make their decisions unlike smaller brands .

At the end , I plan on only having three watches that I truly desire , if not two !!! So I will “ watch” the market, pun intended including Tim Mosso to whittle down my collection:) Just my strategy, I know it’s not for everybody.

True, but some things that have always been for us are no longer for us.

It’s like this: Ferraris we’re never for me, and I knew that. But an BMW M3 was something to which I could aspire. But now the M3 costs 3x what it did 10 years ago so it’s not for me again. Now the car I have is the highest thing to which I can aspire.

Yep - the Swiss shipped the fewest watches in 20 years and made their biggest profits ever.

It really feels that way. The financial situation doesn’t help either.

Yup! And they have. I believe the service cost for my Speedmaster when new in 2014 was ~$550. Then it moved to ~$750. And as of this year is ~$950…reaching the basic Rolex servicing price I paid a few years back prior to selling my sub. 😬

Sure, but we're hardly discussing Rolex & Omega here are we? The topic is focused on entry level brands which are becoming less and less accessible despite production costs decreasing in a lot of areas.

Notable examples being the streamlined movement production & warranty servicing system Swatch group has developed for the Powermatic 80, and how case machining has never been cheaper.

Of course, most Swiss brands shifted into the luxury segment, as it is far more profitable. I don't think watches are getting more expensive overall, especially when adjusted for inflation.

The Seiko SQ I received in 1988 (I think) would have been around $700 today's dollars. It had a titanium case and a standard quartz movement. A very comparable JDM quartz watch, except that it had a solar movement, cost me around $250 dollars.

So no, outside of the luxury sector, and the push of mid-level watchmakers trying to get into the luxury sector, I don't think watches are getting more expensive when corrected for inflation. What is indeed relatively new, is that high-end watches are being purchased purely from an investment perspective.

The cost of service relative to the watch will continue to increase, because outsourcing and automation will drive the cost of the new movement down, but largely don't apply to the servicing of the movement.

You can also have Japanese watches or microbrands within the ‘affordable’ bracket. You just have to step outside your ‘normal’ viewpoint and not limited urself to Swiss brands.

The Khaki Field Mechanical is how much now? Grrr. I thought it was just the high end but as people have said, it's probably across the board. There have been many articles recently talking about how Swiss watchmakers are making more money selling fewer watches now. Only way to do that is to increase prices. I hope that the market will shake some of these prices back to normal. They all can't be Veblen goods right?

I guess I'll stop complaining about Seiko pushing upmarket as they seem to just be filling in the price segment/space left behind by the Swiss. Micro-brands here I come (I just need to find someplace where I can try them on first).

Micros also don't have the overhead of larger brands and in some cases can charge less. Smarter companies also ditch elaborate packaging (just like in the fragrance world) which helps keep the price point in check as well.

It's painful watching in different currencies too. I see a 2 year old video of an absolutely gorgeous watch for $200usd, then I go to look and it's like $400-$500 Canadian now :(

I can definitely recommend the Islander Republic without hesitation. I am struggling not to wear it every day.

I agree... selling a few less-worn watches is always a good idea to fund future purchases. Let's spread the joy of wearing a well-worn Seiko diver, even possibly a future collectable, with someone who will give it more wrist time. 😉

I think we should be more concerned with the oversaturation of the market rather than the price of certain established brands. It’s rather tiresome to see yet more microbrands not really offering much else other than loose homages.

Name me a microbrand that released something truly unique in the last three years?

anOrdain with the enamel

Vero Open Water maybe - in terms of a diver that’s quite a nice package. It really doesn’t look like everything else.

Vertex MP-45 (it’s unfair to call them a microbrand but they are a true resurrection of the original name and classic brand, owned by the same family, and I doubt they fit any other category at present). A monopusher - been so long since I’ve seen a genuine, decent monopusher.

Electricianz - don’t like them but at least it’s not something boring with an NH35a.

Kuoe Kyoto with 35mm classic references - in a sea of 38mm+ this is incredibly refreshing

So long as we in the west have trade relations with China, watches in general will remain affordable. This says nothing at all about European watches though.