Patek Philippe

murcielago_boy
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Is Patek inextricably linked to value considerations?

First off Dje - I sincerely hope this post is not breaking any rules. If it is, I sincerely apolgise. I am posting in the belief that this is valid discussion about one our favourite brands - it has nothing to do with specific numbers which is NOT what I want here.

I wanted to put something in front of my fellow Patek fans:

I think it would be fair to say that Patek is widely regarded as the finest timepiece manufacturer in the world. Certainly the brand positions itself as such and more to the point this brand perception is certainly mirrored by the pricing as well - I think that's fair to say.
Well it's my belief that this brand positioning necessarily draws away from purest possible love for the pieces themselves. What I'm trying to say here is this: "it is because of Pateks brand and commensurate pricing, that we see more financial consideration being attributed to the brand than any other." Or put another way, if Patek prices halved, value considerations would be half as important etc etc - we could more easily spend more time thinking about the beauty, quality and joy of the pieces themselves.

We have to be realistic here. With the current Patek collection priced the way that it is, you'd have to be insane not to ask deep searching questions about the rarity, residual values and tradeability of a timepiece. It's just not good enough to say "if you love it, buy it" - that's just not realistic nor sensible - and this is regardless of net worth or income (because even if a 5016 is mere chump change to you, it's simply bad business to not consider the numbers behind its purchase
So you then have to ask the questions no-one wants to hear on this board....

My point is this:

Patek is a victim of it's own marketing and brand perception - when Thierry Stern talks about "other brands being unable to retain their value" then what are his collectors going to think? When the AD says to you "it's a Patek, it's an investment" then what are you going to think?
Pateks marketing, pricing and perception itself is actually taking away from the beauty and production of their own pieces and binding it closer to value and financials and THAT is the problem and the company itself is responsible.
No fine swiss timepiece is truly cheap but with PP at the top of the tree and aiming to stay there in the future, it is more vulnerable to value considerations than any other brand especially if its making deliberate efforts to put financial arguments in the heads of its customers (which it will NEED to do with their ever more increasing prices.)... This message has been edited by Dje on 2011-06-20 23:06:02 This message has been edited by Dje on 2011-06-21 12:25:28 This message has been edited by Dje on 2011-06-21 12:25:48