Horological Meandering

Been to Zürich the other day and while it was a family trip, I could not stop making it watch related, too (which one of us can? ). And there have been some quite interesting observations I made. Let\'s start with the outright shocking. One of the truly s...  

so I'm going to check out the bargains!!

Thanks for chiming in!

Thanks for the update!

You will hardly be able to miss what I described...

Was in Düsseldorf today, seen quite a few Panerai LE. Years ago these references like the 685, 687 and 662 would have been hard to get watches that sold out the first day of SIHH Today they are all in the window, UNSOLD

Thanks for sharing, Bruno!

Not all were limited editions, though.

Saturation is a given if brands are buying stocks back from ADs.

However, I do get some offer for discounts during my trip in Feb, and looking back, the deal was better than in Germany for that watch. On the flip side, dollar is so weak now so maybe that's why discounts can help to offset some foreseeable weakness ahea... 

But maybe it's time for another trip?

But I do not know from which stores you speak. Non, that I would know of (and I know all of them ;-), looks like a discount store or has discounts pointed at openly. Except 1 window (from Meister and often from Kurz) of about 20 windows, where they have t... 

I guess he's referring to Türler, which will close shop by end of the year, if I'm not mistaken. Best Marco

That bit I did not know. And yes, the discount signs were only at this one store (visible from the outside).

not so desirable models but..now that I know better I will try again to see if there is anything interesting !

And of course share any new purchases

It was Türler. The others did not look anything like it...

No message body

Apparently they are about to close...

Swiss watch exports numbers are still way down. The industry is still in crisis-my take.

I guess ADs may be a better bet for those?

Thanks Padj!

That's why I wanted to see if my experience was unique or shared

Luxury goods are often considered as Veblen goods. You need also money and a serious purchasing power to purchase some timepieces. Despite some so called discounts, some pieces are not sold because on some markets, the economic situation has worsened. I r... 

Hi all Although some higher end shops do have a small selection of watches in a discount window most seem to try and avoid this move for obvious reasons. However if not all most of these retailers are and have offered 0% finance deals over up to 4 years w... 

Small payments make the purchase more easily digestible for those where the cash outflow of a new purchase is an issue. It will not sway everyone but will also be cheaper to offer for an AD than a discount and it will definitely not produce a precedent in... 

Last man who knew everything according to his contemporaries I can definitely understand your approach, though. Still, I don't see us being past the conspicuous consumption phase as a society, in spite of some difficulties to move product. So from that pe... 

However, I have to be reasonnable because I have five watches in service and servicing a mechanical watch costs money and other usual expenses. I prefer to be cautious and wise when it comes to watch purchases, I am also very very selective of what I buy ... 

Time being the other one

I travel very often, in the last couple of months I've been to Dubai, , Geneva, London, Paris, New York, Verona, Venice, Bologna and Florence. Of course I have stopped off at AD's in every destination and have witnessed a modest softening of prices, but r... 

Interesting to hear. There was a high complication watch from one of the brands you collect seriously discounted in that window in Zürich, btw. As long s brands can afford to take longer to sell, all is good, I guess. Not sure that all can, though...

I think it is very dealer specific, I am in Bologna at the moment and the AD was not willing to budge, he was almost offended I asked for a discount. Others are more flexible depending on the model, personally I find it difficult to achieve discounts on g...