Joe Bell now does watch refinishes, using a teeny tiny aireraser,
and you of course get a micro joe bell logo.
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Oceanus looks good Dustin. A little too polished for my liking, but the feature set sounds great. I dont see myself moving away from automatic mechanical watch for the daily driver, but i can get the appeal.
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-- my RS / NorthStar Pointer on my wrist past twelve years with zero malfunctions.., only off in the shower, swimming or post-hole digging...
purchased #2 of the above for my son by marriage.., look forward to many years of both...
ronnie with a smile
Really digging this guy.
https://i.imgur.com/m3VKUc5.jpg
Same exact watch since 1996, a bit of patina but still ticking....
https://i.imgur.com/rej9bGKh.jpg
Simple economics:
- Rolex has not raised US (and other markets) prices in several years (I think not since 2012).
- Worldwide currency values change so this helps even out worldwide prices (i.e. UK prices are up an average of more than 7%, less in the US).
- You can acquire many Rolex watches today (just not always the ones over-hyped on social media).
I have said it before that in a not so long time ago, the Rolex DateJust was the hot watch to have (with waiting lists) but you could walk into any store and get a stainless steel sports watch. Trends change so now it is the opposite, stainless steel sports watches are in demand and DateJusts are a plenty except the ones that look like stainless steel sports watches which people are now buying because they cannot get the sports ones.
The other issues are that there are simply more people in this world today than not that long ago, more wealthier people, social media which reinforces the "keeping up with the jonses" mentality, and the fact the younger generations are starting to be interested in watch ownership and collecting that did not interest them just a few years ago (i.e. millennials).
Also, why is a Rolex price increase so interesting when so many other industries raise prices each new model year (bikes, cars, etc.)?
And as many people do not know, Rolex is a charitable trust and not a public company so it can do whatever it wants.
I'd assume because it's not an across-the-board increase.
I also imagine Rolex MSRP means very little. Does anyone buying timepieces pay MSRP, be it above or below? Or even have knowledge of MSRP? That industry is worse than the bike industry when it comes to pricing.
Rolex MSRP means quite a bit, actually. Some watches can be negotiated down depending on the model and the market, but Rolex ADs do their best to sell at MSRP. And an AD that sells at a premium runs the risk of finding themselves in Rolex's sights, and not for a good reason. The premium brands I'm most familiar with really do want watches sold for MSRP and they manage their dealers and market as tightly as the law allows. Some brands don't really care as long as product is moving, though they're not likely to admit that, but the in demand premium brands, Rolex and Patek in particular, very much care.
agree. it's also a brilliant strategy for any premium brand. once you start having annual blow-out sales, and unload old stock to shady distribution lines, it totally devalues the brand.
it's the reason that if i want a Rolex i'm comfortable going to my dealer and paying MSRP, and on the other hand if i want a pair of Super Record shifters, i'm going to PBK because i'll feel like a sucker paying MSRP at the LBS.
^^Yup. It's a smart move for high end brands.
Citizen is terrible at controlling prices, or at least at having any meaning in MSRP - you can generally find any of their stuff for about half the MSRP shown on the website. They list this guy at $525, I bought one for my dad last year for $200.
With Seiko (and Grand Seiko) trying to better control their MSRP pricing (at authorized dealers) and move both brands upmarket, I would not be surprised if we see the same from Casio in the not so distant future. The only issues is that they (Seiko and Casio) make exponentially more models and watches than the high end luxury brands so an attempt to control pricing and keep prices near MSRP might be an exercise in futility.
Casio is unique because they have such a wide range in pricing. You can buy a digital Casio at WalMart for ~$15 or you can drop a few grand on a limited edition G Shock.
They kinda do. Casio, ProTrek, G Shock, Edifice, Oceanus brands - they're all different brands, but they all also say 'Casio' on them (like my Oceanus pictured earlier in this thread). But G Shock for example, there's the basic square for ~$40 on one end and the limited edition high end models like this one that go somewhere in the $7,000 range.
And Seiko is doing the same thing...Prospex, Presage, Essentials, Seiko 5, etc.
It's just too bad they could not have come up with a better name than "Grand Seiko" for the higher end stuff which is supposed to compete with Swiss luxury brands. Grand Seiko won out over King Seiko many years ago and has cache in Asia so I do not think they wanted to give up the name.
Rolex did it right so many years ago. After Rolex was already successful they came out with "Tudor" as the every-man's brand. And they did a significant re-launch into the USA market not 10 years ago. I think it is great that many people have realized you do not need to spend Rolex money to get an amazing Swiss watch (BlackBay, BlackBay 58, BlackBay GMT, Pelagos, Heritage Chrono) from basically the same company. In many respects, the Tudor offerings are more daring and interesting.
https://www.tudorwatch.com/statics/i...230dk-0008.png
I'm going to have to pay attention to this now, because I'm intrigued. It used to be very apparent with Oakley, when Oakley still owned Oakley. But since being bought out by Luxotica, it seems their policies regarding pricing have become more relaxed. I used to not be able to find glasses anywhere for less than MSRP. Now I don't even bother with EPs.
Absolutely. Rolex, for instance, is no fan of the gray market and the overly inflated prices for their grail pieces. They really want their customers to have a wonderful experience at and build a relationship with their AD. The ADs view themselves as an extension of the brand and Rolex wants to support the official channel. It's all part of an ecosystem they work hard to create and manage.
There may be something there. Rolex (and Tudor) and Patek are independently owned. Brands like Tag Heuer are owned by conglomerates and also tend to be more lax with pricing.
It's probably worth noting at this point that while I'm not in the business, I'm close to some people who are so I spend a pretty good chunk of my time in that world.