SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
The recent swoon in cryptocurrency valuations "has directly impacted pricing of luxury watches from brands like Rolex and Patek Philippe," said the company, which is based in Karlsruhe, Germany, and has more than half a million watches listed for sale on its website...
At the same time, Stracke said trading volumes on the platform, which links dealers or private sellers with buyers, have jumped more than 50% in the first half of the year.
The price of a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711A, which sells for about $35,000 at retail, surged to $240,000 in the first quarter, according to Chrono24. Now the blue-dialed steel sports watch is fetching about $190,000 [...]
But why the soaring demand in the first place? In addition to crypto and stock-market gains, stimulus cash bolstered the secondhand-timepiece market, one segment of the larger luxury-goods market, which includes handbags, designer sneakers and fine jewelry, among other high-cost items. Rampant inflation and the war in Ukraine contributed to their appeal, as buyers sought tangible stores of value.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by istartedi on Friday August 05 2022, @04:52PM (1 child)
This may be a somewhat dated observation since it's been a while since I was out there in the work world, but in a word: Salesmen.
Probably not just salesmen, but people to whom they pitch--the C-suite, and those who fancy themselves being there some day. It's obviously not about telling time. It's about status.
This is based almost entirely of my observation of interactions involving a sales guy in our office, and the occasional people of a similar ilk who'd come by. They don't *all* play the watch game, but for those who do it's a conversation starter and a way of sizing up the wealth and/or status of the wearer.
Also, some performers, usually rappers who want to project an air of wealth but that's a different vibe.
I'm not saying I like the idea of people sizing each other up based on such things. I'm just saying it happens, and I'm probably a hypocrite for subconsciously sizing people up based on something else I'm not even aware of. I think it's human nature.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 2) by Mykl on Sunday August 07 2022, @05:32AM
Agree.
These over-the-top watches are for those who need other people to know that they're wealthy. The truly rich don't need to buy into that, and are unlikely to drop tens of thousands of dollars on a wristwatch.