Crypto Downturn Hits Luxury Watches Market Sales
Nicholas Otieno Aug 08, 2022 09:45
Reports show that crypto traders and users are more likely to purchase luxury items. The meltdown in crypto prices has directly impacted the pricing of luxury watches.
Over the past few weeks, the cryptocurrency market has quietly slipped into distress as the world grapples with interest rate hikes and inflation. Housing affordability and cost of living concerns have currently become a priority among consumers.
The downward spiral has put economic investors, including those desiring more tangible assets, into a panic mood.
The ongoing uncertainty surrounding crypto markets has seen more owners offloading their high-end watches, with supplies for the Rolex Daytona and Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711A now “much larger”. Online watch trading platform Chrono24 recently revealed the matter.
According to Chrono24, citing sources from Bloomberg, the fallen crypto values have “directly impacted pricing of luxury watches from brands like Rolex and Patek Philippe”.
The Karlsruhe-based business, one of the world's largest dedicated second-hand watch retailers and marketplaces, is currently holding more than half a million timepieces on its website. This means that the collapse in crypto has significantly eased the supply of the world’s most sought-after watches – as collectors can get their hands on a new Rolex or Patek for the first time in a long time Philippe.
Over the past few years, Chrono24 said it reaped the benefits of the surging interest in the luxury watch market, capitalizing on the new wave of buyers. The rapid increase in valuations for cryptocurrencies opened up a new category of consumers, driving the prices of particular models and brands such as Rolex, Audemars Piguet, and Patek Philippe sky-high.
But now, funds at hand have dropped, an incident that avid watch fans were not expecting. The fallen values of digital assets have forced the once investment-friendly buyers into reverse, selling off their assets at an alarming rate. Chrono24 CEO Time Stracke said the recent global impacts have seen prices for the most sought-after watches fall loser in line with other similar watches.
The latest development is a knockdown for crypto fans and watches lovers. Increased availability of high-end watches has driven prices down and removed the barrier to entry for the luxury watch game, making it slightly easier to secure that grail piece.
Crypto Markets becoming a way of life
In May, Italian luxury brand Gucci made major headlines when it started accepting payments in cryptocurrency in some of its American outlets.
Gucci joined a list of high-end luxury consumer brands that are looking to stake their claims in the above $1 trillion crypto market.
Crypto markets have shown interest in high-end luxury clothing brands and Electrical Vehicles like Tesla as demand and adoption become more commonplace in major industries.
Crypto has become a way of life for many, from novice traders using crypto as a way to get into the DeFi marketplace to investors looking to buy digital assets to hedge inflation.
And some major industries and multinational brands have caught onto the idea of using crypto as a form of payment for goods and services and as an opportunity to attract lucrative clients who are open to indulging in luxury items.
For some high-end brands, cryptocurrency is more than just a coin, it has become a sign of wealth and status, innovation, and progressivism. These are the qualities that high-end users want to be associated with.
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