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Comment by duaneb | Hacker News Reader

> (also excludes Amazon and Walmart)

What value is this again? That seems like the majority of the market right there.

Well, if you're an analyst, you analyze the data you have, not the data you need. Or something.

I suspect the people paying for this research are in the watches sold in department stores industry. To some extent, they're only concerned about their little microcosm.

Then these reports get churned out and Bloomberg publishes them because they need to publish something and it's cheaper than doing more extensive research of their own.

Watches are a niche market with die-hard enthusiasts and fervent collectors. If you are planning on purchasing a high-end watch, you're more likely to step into a jewelry or watch-only shop, or watch specialist or distributor. Big box stores simply don't carry these types of watches nor are you getting the best deal for one if you find them there. Not to mention, you're at risk that it might be a fake. We're talking about brands such as Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, JLC, Vacheron Constantin, Rolex, and Hublot.

>If you are planning on purchasing a high-end watch, you're more likely to step into a jewelry or watch-only shop, or watch specialist or distributor.

+ EBay

How many people actually buy high-end watches, though? Surely it's a tiny portion of the consumer base. I would also highly, highly doubt that most would want to replace a rolex with a watch that is highly likely to die, break, or obsolesce.

Maybe the watch market is dying because it's only useful as a status item.

It's not simply just a status symbol, it's saying you appreciate the finer things in life and that you are someone interesting. In the world of business, having these accessories and toys can be very beneficial to your career and networking. Unfortunately, that's just show society works these days and has been working for the past few centuries. Being able to wear a Audemars Piguet into a restaurant and having the gentleman across the room come by and compliment your watch can open many doors. But that's not say that's why most people wear these high-end watches. I don't think it clicks for most people until you actually wear one of these things on your wrists. And you're simply a watch enthusiast or you aren't one--many would argue to say its in their blood. The way I see it, watches are an important investment and something that every man (and woman) should have in their arsenal.

And touching on just how big the market actually is, big enough to warrant VC funding: http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/11/kevin-roses-watchville-and-...

I think the last sentence is a little ridiculous, but I wear a Breitling Navitimer and it gets plenty of attention. Or it used to in my last job in finance. Now that I've moved on, no one really cares. My Movado I got for $300 is "cooler" looking to the average person.

It just depends on the environment you're in.

It seems you are describing how status symbol works

> it's saying you appreciate the finer things in life and that you are someone interesting

Another way of saying it is "you spend your money on worthless crap". This is emphatically not what I think of you, understand, just that wearing expensive jewelry may open doors, but it will also cause people to judge you. Perhaps rightfully so.

Personally, I would never want to think that anything I earned was through cultural manipulation. Of course, I can't help it, but I also can't help being a white male.

I really take issue with people who attempt to argue that jewelry is anything but a frivolous luxury.

Here's one starting point for information on the market size for watches:

http://www.statisticbrain.com/wrist-watch-industry-statistic...

    ================================================================
    Number of watches sold annually worldwide	      1,200,000,000
    Number of smartwatches sold in 2014	                  6,800,000
    Average price of a smartwatch sold in 2014	               $189
    Number of Swiss Watches sold annually	         29,200,000
    Number of watches produced by China annually	663,000,000
    Number of watches produced by Hong Kong annually	354,000,000
    Average cost of a Swiss watch	                       $739
    Average cost of a China watch	                         $3
    Switzerland watch market share in terms of value	       54 %

Wow, thank you. I had no idea swiss watches were so expensive.

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