Some rarities spotted in London...credit crunch?

I had a day off today and spent some time in London's West End. Naturally this included some window shopping, and I spotted these (sorry for the appalling quality of the pictures, from my mobile phone).
I also saw a platinum VC da Vinci, platinum VC Ingenieur, gold BI, 2 minute repeaters, several ref. 5022 (gold) and several ref. 5021; two da Vinci pertetual KK editions, three German football team double chronos (three! must be a tribute to England's recent football win in Germany!), a new Spitfire double chrono ref. 3718 and finally a VC Aquatimer (first I've seen in the UK). The VC Aquatimer and Pilot have a serious amount of lume!

Whilst these top end IWCs may seem commonplace in ADs in Europe or perhaps the USA, they are rare in the UK, in my experience. I'm not sure if this suggests that in the credit crisis ADs are not selling their stock, or if the UK is becoming a bigger market for IWC (seems unlikely given the fall in the value of the GBP), but either way it gave me an afternoon of pleasure!

(And I have finally given myself the 40th birthday present I promised back in April...pictures to follow)

Ross

let's hope it's due to the UK being a bigger

market now for IWC.
i was at a patek event last thursday in glasgow and at nearly every table, the guests were talking about IWC to the patek staff. they were raging and extremely arrogant about being above IWC.
i had to point out to them where the winding system some of their watches use originated.
but my point is, IWC is definitely becoming a much more talked about brand in the UK. i am hearing it everywhere and this has happened only in the last 6 months.
looks like it was a good day off ross.
stephen

Sometimes - this is a branding strategy...

I am not saying that you may be incorrect. That is one explanation.

Sometimes, ADs get pieces "on commission" to display for a duration of time, and sell if they can from the IWC platform. Many times, a group of high-end pieces draw a lot of attention - and build the brand equity up. They can draw attention to the other "dealer-owned stock" in the display case. These high-end pieces in fact, attract sales from buyers of "lower-end" watches.

For example, a buyer who may have had his heart set on a IWC, Panerai, Zenith, or Breitling (just examples) - (undecided at the point of sale) may see these amazing IWCs' and decide that IWC has such an elevated range of complicated, PREMIUM, artistic pieces.

As a result, the buyer may decide that IWC is a higher-premium/more exclusive brand - and buy that Portuguese Chrono Automatic over the other watches at the point of sale...

This is just one way of reading into this... just a notion.

Good point...although>

I should have made it clear that I saw these examples at 3 separate ADs. However, the majority were at one AD, who have a large selection of alternative high end choices, so there may be truth in what you propose.
Regards

Some rarities spotted in London...credit crunch?

why is that gorgeous Minute Repeater sitting on an Ingenieur stand???

With a little luck ...

.. they are selling the Minute Repeater for the same price as an Ingenieur - you can only dream.

Cheers from the cellar

It's not just London ...

As you know, I was spotted recently in New York. For a couple of years, the IWC stock in American dealers I have visited was low and fairly dull. I assumed that a weak dollar and growing interest in the east saw production diverted to the new markets. It may be, of course, that the stock just flew off the shelves. This November, I was very pleasantly surprised by the diversity of high end IWCs in two mid-town stores. A strong dollar may have resulted in production being switched westwards. To my surprise, I was ushered out of a store on the corner of Madison and 57th at 6pm. Closing time. That was the strongest indication of the recession, early closing during the week before Thanksgiving week. London still feels a couple of quarters behind New York in terms of the recession. I suspect the watches spotted in Bond Street may still be there in January. Tough times.

I didn't have the nerve to ask!

The economy must affect the luxury watch industry

Many people don't buy five-figure items without some shot of cash: a bonus, a jump in investments, etc. No luxury item is completely recession proof.

Richemont has begun taking steps: for examples, all of its brands at SIHH have cancelled their lavish parties (instead, there will be small dinners). I have heard that while it is a "tough environment" IWC is doing better than most other brands., I also hear that sales may be up for 2008, although possibly not as much as the most ambitious forecasts. Much depends on specific markets.

Despite some dire reactions (or over-reactions in my view) I think it's more complex than some generalizations allow. Some models and some markets are OK, and some brands will do much better than others.

Regards,
Michael