Why Swiss Watches Are So Expensive

It is generally believed that the scarce materials used in watchmaking, such as gold, diamonds, etc., are the main reasons for the high price of watches. But that's not the case. Can you prove that a steel watch can be sold for twenty-five thousand dollars? no, you can not. So the raw material is irrelevant most of the time.

Of course, we will also talk about some brand effects, the reasons for luxury marketing. But let's go the other way and look at some other reasons. This reason is not only for Swiss Haute Horlogerie, not only Swiss timepieces, in fact, Haute Horlogerie is also expensive (relatively speaking). Let me give some examples of non-Swiss watches:

This is a watch made by British Roger W. Smith. Valued at around £300.000, all parts of this watch are handcrafted using traditional techniques. The Englishman was an apprentice to the best watchmaker of the 20th century, George Daniels, and his watches are really good! Believe it or not, it took him about 11 months to make a watch. At this time, when you consider the 11-month salary of the world's top watchmaker, and then think about the bills given to you by other watchmakers, plus his unparalleled watchmaking skills. Oh, all of a sudden you think, the price seems reasonable too.

This movement belongs to German watchmakers A. Lange & Söhne. They started research and development in 1995 and completed it in 1999. 4 years of R&D just to create this watch. I haven't even talked about its assembly process, which can take up to 6 months each. So the price you pay for a watch is the salary, impeccable craftsmanship and exclusivity of these top watchmakers in the world. Because at most 5,000 of the world's 7 billion people are eligible to wear this watch.

The artwork pictured above is from Lang & Heyne, and it also has a name called Albert. Lang & Heyne is also a German watchmaker, and you can find his watchmaking shop in Dresden. Albert is a single-button, column-wheel chronograph with an engraved balance cock, exquisite workmanship. Just polishing all the parts takes about 6 months.

Legend has it that Picasso was sketching in the park when a bold woman approached him.

"It's you—Picasso, the great artist! Oh, you must paint my portrait! Please."

Picasso agreed to sketch her. After studying her for a moment, he sketched her portrait with a pencil. Five minutes later, he handed the woman his artwork.

"It's perfect!" she gushed. "You captured my essence with one blow in a wonderful moment. Thank you! How much do I need to pay you?"

"Five thousand dollars," the artist replied.

"What?" The woman was furious. "How could you want so much money? It only took you less than 5 minutes to draw it!"

Picasso responded, "Ma'am, it took me 40 years + 5 minutes."