Many people look at the world of luxury watches with a degree of incredulity; why exactly would you pay hundreds, or even thousands, of pounds for a watch when you can get something that functions perfectly well for so much less? Well there’s no one answer to that question, but instead there are several contributory factors that make these timepieces so pricy. Here are a few of the primary explanations outlined:
History and Tradition
Many luxury watch brands have literally hundreds of years of experience when it comes to quality watchmaking. This adds almost unlimited prestige to their watches, meaning that, although these timepieces clearly cost more, they are true status symbols for the wearer to access. Even the most popular of ‘designer’ watches simply cannot command this sort of universal respect., and thus they are always going to be a cheaper, yet less acclaimed, option.
Materials and Craftsmanship
Your ‘common or garden’ watch could well serve you very competently, but it is nothing compared to the effort that goes into a luxury watch. Not only are the materials the very finest that are on offer, but the techniques that are used also border on the unprecedented. For example, the new Rolex has managed to blend two colours of ceramic in a fashion that was considered almost impossible, and many other watches are equipped for service at high altitudes, unfathomable depths and even in space, so extra cost is only natural for such high performance products.
Mechanical versus Quartz
We touched upon the province of watch movements in our last blog, and most luxury watches make heavy use of the mechanical movements that we outlined there. Simply put, the intricacies of these movements are much more expensive to make than simple quartz mechanisms, and are frequently developed in-house, so they carry all of the prestige of their parent brand within each and every component.
The Perception of Luxury
Despite more concrete reasons being outlined above, the fact also remains that luxury watches are priced as they are because they are seen as ‘luxury’ products. Thus, people are prepared to pay more for a timepiece that they see around the wrist of David Beckham or Roger Federer. The extra value of luxury watches is no fabrication, but it would also be untrue to deny that, for some, cost ceases to become an issue; they simply must have one because of the globally recognised connotations.
In actual fact, luxury watches are not always priced to the maximum, and if you look around you can usually find a splendid watch with a lot of heritage that is well within your price range. When you’re obtaining such a special item though, you are really going to want to do your utmost to take care of it, and most luxury watches function best when they are serviced every few years. It ensures their continued performance, and here at Martins of Glasgow we are experts when it comes to servicing and repairing such watches.
Whether you’re looking for Rolex, Breitling or Omega watch repairs, or indeed any other brand of wristwatch, we’re ideally suited to ensure that your prized timepiece remains in peak condition. Contact us now to find out more.