No luxury markets outperformed the FTSE 100 last year March 5, 2025 The once reliable luxury market suffered last year, with even the top performers in the market only posting modest gains in a weak market. The Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index (KFLII), which tracks the performance of 10 popular investments, fell 3.3 per cent for the second year in a row. The FTSE100, meanwhile, posted gains [...]
Who watches the Watches? February 19, 2025 As a newly minted Picture Editor and thus part of the management team of a then-popular left-wing national newspaper, I sat in on a discussion about why the poor ate so badly. Having only recently landed the job and as keen as mustard – and oh so naive – my feet were still planted firmly [...]
Total value of luxury watches stolen tops £1.6bn February 18, 2025 Criminal gangs are “entrenched” in the theft of luxury watches, a chairman of a watch recovery database has warned after registered losses surged. The Watch Register, the world’s largest international database of lost and stolen watches, had over £150m worth of luxury watches reported as lost or stolen last year. Brits made up £60m of [...]
Watches of Switzerland: Rolex retailer bolstered by US sales February 6, 2025 Watches of Switzerland has expressed optimism about the European luxury market and noted momentum in the US, in the latest signs the global luxury market is beginning to recover from a two-year downturn. The watch retailer said the luxury market, which has been under pressure from lower disposable income and changing trends, has stabilised. The [...]
Luxury stocks boom as Richemont kicks off reporting season with a bang January 16, 2025 Luxury stocks across the world have been given a boost by Cartier-owner Richemont’s booming sales figures this morning. Richemont’s report, the first set of luxury results covering the festive season, indicated that the luxury market may finally be recovering from a slowdown that has lasted nearly two years. Revenue from jewellery, Richemont’s biggest division, rose [...]
H Samuel and Ernest Jones owner cuts loss despite £40m sales hit January 6, 2025 The company behind high street jewellers H Samuel and Ernest Jones significantly cut its loss despite sales falling by almost £40m during its latest financial year. The Birmingham-headquartered business has reported a pre-tax loss of £483,000 for the year to 3 February, 2024, down from the £8.9m loss it posted in its prior 12 months. [...]
Rolex Price Hikes 2025: What They Mean for Collectors and Buyers January 6, 2025 The watch community has long speculated about whether Rolex would raise its prices in 2025, and now the answer is clear: yes, they have. The adjustments span across nearly all collections, from the utilitarian Submariner and GMT-Master II to the elegant Day-Date and Datejust. While some increases are modest, others are significant—particularly for models featuring [...]
Watchfinder continues in the red as sales tick below £100m January 2, 2025 Watchfinder continued to make a heavy loss during its latest financial year as its sales dipped below the £100m mark. The London-headquartered business, which sells second-hand watches, has reported a pre-tax loss of £12.6m for the 12 months to 31 March 2024. The figure comes after the firm also lost £12m in the prior year. [...]
Best watches to buy for 2025, from Patek Philippe to Bremont December 26, 2024 If you’re looking for a super-stylish and extremely capable watch to see in the new year – and many many new year’s to come – we have a great list of seven of the best watches to buy for 2025, from a brilliant Bremont to a sumptuous Seiko, and from Patek to Christopher Ward. Bremont [...]
Omega Speedmaster makes a giant leap back December 23, 2024 Omega didn’t know it at the time, but one of NASA’s earliest astronauts, Walter M. ‘Wally’ Schirra had taken a shine to Biel/Bienne’s pre-eminent watchmaker. Specifically, its relatively new entry to the post-war boom in mechanical stopwatch wristwatches, or ‘chronographs’, the Speedmaster. Long before its qualification as the American space agency’s standard-issue timepiece for the [...]