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☆ Demand for luxury watches shows no sign of fading, says Audemars Piguet CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Robert Frank | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

watch nowThe luxury watch market is well-positioned to avoid a crash as tight supply and a new generation of young collectors drive demand, according to the CEO of Audemars Piguet. With demand for watches outpacing supply of new inventory, prices for pre-owned watches have skyrocketed, along with online sites like Chrono24, Watchfinder and Watchbox that buy and sell pre-owned watches. A pre-owned Audemars Piguet Royal Oak "Jumbo" that retails new for $35,000 is currently listed on Chrono24 for $115,000. Audemars Piguet produced only 50,000 watches last year and is expected to produce about 51,000 this year, Bennahmias said. Source: Audemars PiguetAudemars is now celebrating the 30th anniversary of its popular Royal Oak Offshore model, a larger version of its signature Royal Oak.

☆ Swiss watch execs say the market is 'slowing down' — but that just means waitlists for new Rolexes or Patek Philippes are a little less long
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The frenzy for new Swiss luxury watches is softening from its pandemic peak, when exports hit $27.6 billion. "The market is a little bit slower than before," Patek Philippe chairman Thierry Stern told Bloomberg. That doesn't mean watches from top brands are suddenly available to buy — it just means waitlists are slightly shorter. "I see in the past two months, the market is a little bit slower than before," chairman Thierry Stern told Bloomberg. Swiss exports boomed during the pandemic to a record 25 billion Swiss francs ($27.6 billion), but even with the recent softening, Stern told Bloomberg demand still vastly outstrips supply.

☆ The Best New Watch Designs of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Jenny Hartman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo: From left: courtesy of patek philippe, courtesy of van cleef & arpels, courtesy of zenith, courtesy of cartier, courtesy of chopard, COURTESY OF vacheron, courtesy of rolexThis past week, the watch world flocked to Geneva for Watches and Wonders, the industry’s largest and most closely watched fair, where nearly 50 brands and manufacturers unveiled their latest designs. At the event, brands including A. Lange & Söhne, Zenith and Panerai focused on their sportier and more utilitarian models, introducing new interpretations of the classics with a mix of vintage-inspired details and, in some cases, a new minimalism. Rolex introduced the 1908 Perpetual, a sleek and dressy timepiece that launches a new line of watches for the brand. Striking new jewelry pieces from companies like Chanel and Van Cleef & Arpels added a lighthearted approach to serious gemstones and gold.

☆ Used Rolexes Are Beating the Stock Market
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Alyssa Lukpat | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

One of the hottest collector’s items these days is a preowned luxury watch. Expensive secondhand watches from brands such as Rolex and Patek Philippe have become increasingly popular in recent years, particularly with younger buyers, according to a report published this month by Boston Consulting Group. Preowned luxury watches became more valuable as demand grew but supply remained tight, BCG said.

☆ Want to beat the market? Go invest in a secondhand Rolex.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Secondhand watch prices fell 8%, compared with the S&P 500's 19% drop and bitcoin's 65% crash. Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet are seen by watch lovers as the "Big Three" luxury makers, with a 70% market share. But prices for preowned timepieces fell slightly for all those brands in the last quarter of 2022, Morgan Stanley said. Secondhand Rolex prices slipped 5% over that three-month period, led by losses from the popular Daytona, GMT Master II, and Submariner models. "As these three brands account for around 70% of the secondary watch market, their price decline continued to weigh on the overall market."

☆ Why now may be a good time to buy a used Rolex — if you plan to keep it
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Prices for pre-owned Rolex watches have been on the slide for almost a year after posting record highs. The biggest reason for the price decline, analysts say, was a surge of additional watches to the market. Watch prices quickly followed suit, entering a months-long decline that is only now beginning to show signs of leveling off. But the tumbling price of used luxury watches like Rolex, Audemars Piguet, and Patek Philippe can also be explained by a simple economics principle: supply arriving to meet demand. "The price correction was mainly driven by the increase in supply," wrote Morgan Stanley equity analyst Edouard Aubin and colleagues.

☆ I started an Instagram fan page for luxury watches and turned it into an $8 million resale business — here's how
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Claire Turrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

He launched the company in 2020 and opened a brick-and-mortar store in a mall in Hong Kong in 2021. When I was being interviewed by Hypebeast in Hong Kong, I met my future cofounder and ecommerce expert Sean Wong. By July 2020, Sean had left his job, and I'd moved to Hong Kong to launch the brand. The Wristcheck store in the Landmark Atrium mall in Hong Kong. By November 2022, we'd raised $8 million, with our lead investors being Gobi Partners, who manage the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Investment Fund.

☆ Blackstone's real-estate business is totally fine, so please stop asking about it
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Blackstone's real-estate business is literally fine, everyone. Yes, the private-equity giant had to limit investors from pulling their money out from the $69 billion Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT) in December. And yes, it's also true that Blackstone had to tell investors again on Wednesday that investors were pulling money from BREIT. Murphy, an executive at Standard Investments, serving as Blackstone's new COO of corporate private equity and Heather von Zuben's appointment as COO of Blackstone's credit arm. As much as I enjoy poking fun at Blackstone, Schwarzman and Gray aren't necessarily wrong, to a degree.

☆ Rolex watches have outperformed gold, real estate, and stocks over the past 10 years, and sellers believe their future value will continue to deliver
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Dominick Reuter | Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Prices for luxury watches like Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet skyrocketed in 2022. Demand for second-hand luxury watches will likely stay high next year, according to Chrono24 founder Tim Stracke. Around 14% of the platform's sales come from Rolex watches, and 80% of those are pre-owned. "The new programme makes it possible to purchase pre-owned watches that the brand itself has certified and guaranteed. Its aim is to bring added value to the existing supply of pre-owned Rolex watches.

☆ Rolex is starting to sell officially certified used watches
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rolex officially launched a program for certified pre-owned watches in December. Last week, the Swiss company launched a "Certified Pre-owned Programme" for watches that are at least three years old. Now, certified pre-owned watches will be minted with the brand's official insignia as well. Its aim is to bring added value to the existing supply of pre-owned Rolex watches. While prices for second-hand luxury watches have dropped considerably over the past few months, they haven't completely wiped out their pandemic gains.

☆ Cambodian PM to give luxury watches as ASEAN summit souvenirs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A view of the mechanism of a wristwatch intended as a souvenir for world leaders gathering at the ASEAN Cambodia 2022 summit, in this undated image obtained from social media on November 10, 2022. Hun Sen official Facebook page/via REUTERSPHNOM PENH, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, an aficionado of luxury watches, will hand out intricate, locally made timepieces as souvenirs for world leaders at an international summit he is hosting this week. "These watches have been prepared and assembled by pure Cambodian technicians, which is part of scientific and technology and developments of Cambodia," Hun Sen wrote of the 25 limited-edition watches. While some Cambodians criticised the extravagance of the high-end gift, others praised Hun Sen for promoting the country's fledgling watchmaking ambitions. Sok Eysan, a spokesperson for Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party, said there was "nothing political or strange" about the watches.

☆ Merrill Lynch's support staff is fed up. Here's why client associates at the massive wealth manager are heading for the door.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The support wants supportThere's another uprising on Wall Street. And at Merrill Lynch, which oversees $2.7 trillion in assets, there is plenty of dirty work that falls to the 6,500 CAs. But it's important to remember that we're a long way away from the spring of 2021, when Wall Street was making money hand over fist. Wall Street bonuses are expected to drop by as much as 22% from last year, Reuters reports. If you do one thing today, read this inspiring story about a Wall Street banker leading the evacuation of an Afghan colonel and his family.

☆ From fly fishing to cycling — the new popular pastimes of the ultra-rich
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

For the ultra-rich, fly fishing is one of the most popular ways to spend time, a new report says. Fishing and cycling are among the ultra-rich's top ten favorite ways to spend their time, according to new research by wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth and investment migration consultancy Henley & Partners. Cycling and mountain biking beat skiing to third place, with only golf and art collecting being more popular. Back in 2000, both cycling and fishing were much lower on the list, ranking seventh and tenth respectively, New World Wealth told CNBC's Make It. Among anglers, fly fishing was especially popular.

☆ London, Paris, Frankfurt and beyond: CNBC names Europe's best hotels for business travel
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-04 | by ( Monica Buchanan Pitrelli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

CNBC Travel and the market data firm Statista today release a ranking of the "Best Hotels for Business Travelers" in Europe. FrankfurtSofitel Frankfurt Opera JW Marriott Hotel Frankfurt Best Western Premier IB Hotel Friedberger Warte Le Meridien Frankfurt Steigenberger Airport Hotel FrankfurtSofitel Frankfurt Opera Source: Sofitel Frankfurt OperaThe Sofitel Frankfurt Opera is on Opera Square, or the Opernplatz, near the city's famed opera house. ParisLe Bristol Paris Les Jardins du Faubourg Kimpton - St Honore Paris Pullman Paris Center-Bercy Le MeuriceLe Bristol Paris Source: Le Bristol Paris | Claire CocanoGuests of Le Bristol Paris can count President Emmanuel Macron as a neighbor — Elysee Palace, the official residence of France's president — is just steps away. StockholmGrand Hotel Stockholm Radisson Blu Waterfront Hotel Stockholm Hotel At Six Bank Hotel Lydmar HotelGrand Hotel Stockholm Source: Grand Hotel StockholmTying for No. ViennaPalais Coburg Hotel Residenz Hotel Sans Souci Wien The Ritz-Carlton, Vienna The Harmonie Vienna Grand Hotel Wien This grand hotel built in 1845 is the former home of Austrian royalty.

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