Cannot Find a Rolex or Patek Philippe? Blame the Reddit crowd

tech.hindustantimes.com:

It’s not just toys, tech and turkey that are in short supply this Christmas. Rolex watches will be harder to find too. Luckily for bling seekers, there are other ways to get in on the luxury watch boom.

A combination of lockdown savings, roaring markets (until recently at least), revenge spending and a broader interest in alternative assets has sent demand for the hottest watches far outstripping supply. Waiting lists have gotten longer and prices on the second-hand market are skyrocketing.

Interest in iconic models, such as the Rolex Daytona, the Patek Philippe Nautilus and the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, is long-standing. There’s also fanfare around the skeletal watches made by Richard Mille, the Rolex Submariner and the GMT-Master II. Among the most hyped recently is the Rolex palm print dial, dubbed the “Weed” in some circles. 

Of course, there have always been more buyers than available timepieces. Rolex is estimated to make about 1.1 million watches a year, while Patek Philippe makes about 65,000 and Audemars Piguet about 45,000 — hardly enough to satisfy luxury shoppers. 

But interest in watches has exploded over the past two years, as lockdowns led people to funnel money that would have gone to vacations and fine dining into luxury goods instead. The first choice for men was a watch, and many buyers reached for the brands they knew best. Record stock markets and soaring cryptocurrencies have not only brought wealth, but also driven a broader interest in investing in alternative asset classes, whether it’s non-fungible tokens or timepieces.

The mismatch became so great that in September, Rolex SA took the highly unusual step of issuing a statement that scarcity was not a strategy. It simply could not keep up with demand