NEWS: Swiss Franc goes up, the Price of Patek Philippe in Australia goes down..?

Felix Scholz

Even though it’s only February, 2015 is shaping up to be annus horribilis for the Swiss watch industry – and in uncertain economic times, an industry looks to its leaders to see which road they will take. The shortest telling of this story is that Patek are taking the low road, to lower pricing.

On 15th of January 2015, just days before the opening of the prestigious SIHH the Swiss watch industry was dealt a very nasty blow. Out of the blue the Swiss National Bank announced that it was abandoning its long-standing currency cap against the Euro. The immediate result was that the Swiss Franc had an unprecedented 30% increase overnight.

This is the largest single currency market movement in 24 hours. Ever. For more on the impact of this we recommend reading some expert financial (as opposed to watch experts) analysis.

Aside from generalised chaos on the Swiss stock markets this move has big implications on the export heavy Swiss watch industry. Share prices for dominant players Richemont and the Swatch Group suffered, and Nick Hayek, CEO of the Swatch group described it as a “tsunami for the country’s economy”.

In the wake of this shockwave we’re beginning to see how the different brands are dealing with the ramifications of this new financial order. Many brands are opting to increase prices to maintain profit margins, which just made your dream watch about 10-15% less affordable.

Or did it?

If your grail watch is a Patek Philippe (and you’re not reading this in mainland Europe or Tokyo- where prices have increased) you’re in luck. Patek have bucked this trend, reducing the prices across most of their range (excluding the ultra-high end collections) by 7% in the US and Hong Kong, 5% in Switzerland and 3% in the Asia Pacific (including Australia).

Read the full letter from Patek Philippe President Thierry Stern to retailers (via Perpetuelle).