A watch is an accessory that is practically redundant in today’s digital age. To find out what time it is, you just need to look at your phone (which is already in your hands almost all the time). So why bother with a watch?
Therefore, watches are more correctly given the title of jewelry. Watches, especially luxury aka luxury, are a symbol of social status.
On the luxurious wrist of the penggede, watches can often be seen that ordinary people can only dream of. Rolex Daytona, Audemars Piguet (AP) Royal Oak, or Patek Philippe Nautilus are some of the types that become the holygrail of horology addicts.
The price of these products is not high. Rolex Daytona, for example. For the most basic type, made of stainless steel construction (stainless steel), the price starts from Rp 421 million, citing the site chrono24.com. while the most expensive type, which has a white gold component, is priced from Rp 716 million.
While AP Royal Oak, still quoting chrono24, the cheapest is valued at Rp 92 million. The most expensive can reach Rp 594 million.
jamsource: chrono24.com
Then for Patek Nautilus, still according to chrono24, the cheapest price is a variant for women which is Rp 153 million. The most expensive are those equipped with features or complications of a timer (chronograph) with a price tag of Rp 1.76 billion.
These watches are not for normal people. Only those with money can buy it. Especially if you buy on the secondary market, the price can be much higher than the retail price.
But now the moneyed groups are in trouble. It is not really to fall into poverty, but their wealth shrank as the fall of the capital market.
Since the end of 2021 until the end of last week, the S&P 500 index has fallen 18.19%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 25.63%. A correction that is above 20% indicates that the market is in a depressed or bear market.
The stock market crash helped make the wealth of billionaires shrink. For example, Elon Musk, who is still ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world.
As of June 30, 2022, Musk holds 162.96 million shares of Tesla, the automotive company he founded. Last weekend, Tesla shares were priced at US$ 752.29 / unit.
That is, Musk’s wealth from Tesla shares alone is us$ 122.59 billion. Assuming US$ 1 equivalent to Rp 14,981 as the central rate of Bank Indonesia (BI) dated July 8, 2022,Musk’s wealth is Rp 1,836.6 trillion.
Late last year, Musk still held Tesla shares of 172.61 million units. At that time,Tesla’s stock price was US$ 1,199.78.
So, Musk’s wealth at that time was US$ 207.09 billion. If paid with the latest exchange rate, it is equal to Rp 3,102.44 trillion.
Thus, Musk’s wealth decreased by 40.8% over the year. Nominally, the price of the real-world version of Tony Stark evaporated Rp 1,264.84 trillion. Wow…
People like Musk are the target market of Rolex, AP, and Patek. When the market was giddy, then the price of Rolex et al were shaken.
Quoting The Washington Post, now the price of Rolex Daytona, AP Royal Oak, and Patek Nautilus has dropped. But it is still much higher than the initial or retail price. If you can get that watch at a retail boutique, then you deserve a star.
Economic sluggishness, which can lead to recession, does have an impact everywhere. For the watch industry, the effect was felt.