Patek Philippe bucks the trend, decreases prices in 2026 + Vacheron Constantin announces Concours d’Élégance Horlogère
Jamie WeissYearly price increases are a painful fact of life when it comes to the watch hobby. The last 12 months in particular have seen many big names hike their prices drastically, in part to react to the Trump administration’s whopping 39% tariff against Swiss watches, despite the fact that the watch industry has been contracting since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, I’m pleased to report that one of the most coveted (and expensive) brands on the market is actually bucking the trend and reducing its prices for 2026, namely Patek Philippe.
According to watch industry commentator (and spicy meme merchant) @kingflum, from the 1st of February, Patek will have an across-the-board price decrease of 8% to calibrate for tariffs, which will serve as something of a reset. “Following the reset, expect an upward adjustment of approximately 6%, specifically on gold references,” he advises.
Normally, brands never reduce their prices – if they get hiked, they stay hiked – so it’s interesting that Patek is doing such a reset. 8% might not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but considering Patek’s average retail price is around US$50,000, that’s a significant chunk of change. However, this price decrease must be understood within the broader context of Patek’s pricing strategy over the last few years. In 2025, prices rose 15%, and in 2024, prices rose 7% – so maybe this is really just a 7% price increase for 2026? Is my maths mathing?
Melbourne watch fans rallied for our Maurice de Mauriac event
After the excesses of the holiday season and into the strange purgatory that is January, what better way to kick the new year into gear than with a spot of tennis? Well, just in time for the Australian Open, Maurice de Mauriac has just released their latest tennis-inspired Rallymaster, the Rallymaster IV, which we launched with a party at our Melbourne Discovery Studio earlier this week.
Maurice de Mauriac co-owners Leonard and Masha Dreifuss were in town for the occasion, and had one exciting twist for us: of the two watches we had on exhibition for the evening, one of them couldn’t be tried on… Because it was actually Russell Crowe’s watch! The legendary actor and watch collector is a fan of the brand, and Masha and Leo plan to hand-deliver Rusty’s Rallymaster IV to him at his farm in country Victoria. Very cool. Thanks to all who came!
Vacheron Constantin announces a Concours d’Elegance for watches
For those who aren’t familiar with the term, concourses d’elegance are, as the name implies, exhibitions of elegance; of beauty. It’s a term that refers to events where cars are judged on their rarity and condition, with only the most pristine and beautiful vehicles getting the top gong. Indeed, you’ll often hear car enthusiasts talking about cars being in “concours” condition, which is to say that they’ve been exceptionally well maintained and preserved.
Well, it seems that Vacheron Constantin is applying the same concept to watches, launching its very own Concours d’Élégance Horlogère in partnership with Phillips. It’s open to pieces produced between 1755 and 1999 (quartz watches, clocks, and heavily modified pieces are excluded), and there will be seven different categories, including chronographs, chiming watches and métiers d’art. It’s set to take place in Geneva on November 10th this year, following Phillips’ autumn auctions.
Few single brands could pull such a concours off, but Vacheron is one of them. The oldest continually operating watchmaker in the world has arguably the best back catalogue in watchmaking, and has a particular commitment to preserving and celebrating its heritage, as demonstrated by its Les Collectioneurs program and Historiques collection.
It does make me think that it would be great to have a proper, totally open concours d’elegance for watches. In the same way you’ll see rare Alfa Romeos and Bentleys ‘competing’ in motoring concourses, imagine a show where the finest, rarest, best-preserved watches are exhibited next to each other – Audemars Piguets and Breguets, perhaps? One to ponder. Anyway, hope you all have a great weekend!
Jamie and the Time+Tide Team
Watch meme of the week: place your bets
This one’s courtesy of @vanillabeanisaac.
Wrist shot of the week: an underrated Reverso
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The Jaeger‑LeCoultre Reverso Duoface Grande Date GMT is one of my personal favourites: I love the confident asymmetry of its dials, as well as the fact it’s got two pushers like a chronograph but it’s not actually a chrono!
Time+Tide Shop pick of the week: Serica 6190 ‘TXD’
How about a casino-themed watch with good specs? Serica’s new 6190 ‘TXD’ takes its familiar field‑watch architecture and dresses it up for poker night. The brand has used a tuxedo dial before, but here the concept is pushed further, with a polished enamel execution that plays with the classic alternating light and dark rings. The underlying case keeps the same practical dimensions as the rest of the 6190 family, measuring 37.7 mm across, 10.4 mm thick and 46.5 mm lug‑to‑lug, while a COSC-certified Soprod M100 keeps it ticking. It also comes on Serica’s slinky, retro Bonklip bracelet. Winning vibes all around.
The Serica 6190 ‘TXD’ is now available in the Time+Tide Shop. Price: A$2,350
Our favourite Time+Tide coverage of the week
These are the 5 must-watch big box watch brands in 2026
With 2025 now behind us, the watch community is already eagerly anticipating what 2026 has in store. Maybe it is our biases as watch journalists, but the reality (or our reality at least) is that Watches and Wonders 2026 is not that far off in the distance. LVMH Watch Week 2026 is just about a week away, too. As watch geeks, we’re confident that many of you are likely to be across all the ins and outs to come from the wide spectrum of watch brands in the market today – nevertheless, Zach’s highlighted five “big box” brands that he believes are a must-watch for 2026… And Zach’s usually on the money. Read his thoughts here.
Omega’s latest pair of Speedmaster Moonwatch Professionals feature lacquered reverse panda dials
New year, new Speedies! Omega is starting 2026 off on a high note with two new takes on its most iconic watch, the Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional, sporting reverse panda lacquer dials and ceramic bezels. We know some of you may be preemptively rolling your eyes at the idea of a reverse panda dial being called new – so, hear me out. When using common colours like black and white, or a rather common colour scheme like a reverse panda layout, it’s all about the details and execution of the dial. Thankfully, Omega has executed these dials well.
It’s time for Blancpain to bring back the water-resistant minute repeater
With the recent release of the Grande Double Sonnerie putting Blancpain minute repeaters back in the spotlight, it got Andrew O’Connor thinking: why doesn’t Blancpain bring back the water-resistant minute repeater? This article takes a deep dive (pun intended) into the history of Blancpain’s somewhat-overlooked Léman collection of the 1990s and 2000s, and how, within this collection, Blancpain experimented with some impressively water-resistant chiming watches that haven’t been attempted since – and maybe it’s high time they were. Read our in-depth piece here.