Men’s Specialty Watches, Why Are They So Expensive?

Men’s specialty timepiece make up only a small fraction of the watches sold in the world, but they can cost more than most other styles, why? Why is it that watchmakers like Panerai, a famous Italian brand, can expect us to pay so much more for their models than other? Well, because they are expensive and not overpriced. An expensive timepiece is one that has a high retail price, while an overpriced piece is priced too high for the quality to stand up to. There are many overpriced watches on the market, but collections like those that Panerai watches produces aren’t one of them. Below are a few of the reasons that some watch brands are so expensive; some of the reasons will make perfect sense to you, while others will make you think twice. In either case, it’s always best to know what drives up the price of a watch and if you can re-coup that cost later, when you try to sell it;

• Developing new watch movements can get very costly. You might ask why new ways of keeping time need to be developed, and that would be a valid question…given the fact that the basic structure of timekeeping has changed very little in the past 150 years. The truth is that watchmakers want to stand out and have a design they can call their own, and the only way they can do this is through costly product development.

• Movements are expensive. Whether they buy the movement or create it in-house; mechanical movements are still very expensive. They have a lot of different components and come with different levels of complications.

• Many watchmakers produce limited edition timepieces. It makes sense that the fewer the pieces offered, the higher the price will be. This is one very important reason for the expense of a luxury timepiece.
• Most high end timepieces are created by experienced watchmakers, who have worked in the field for many years and demand high pay for their craft.

• Many people get a piece of this pie. Yes, there are lots of hands waiting to receive a bit of profit from these designs. That is why a watch that cost $1,000 to create can easily sell for $5,000 once it gets to the store.

At the end of the day it’s not the price of the watch that’s important, but rather whether the price adds up to the quality and value.

See all the special Panerai watches at Watches by Design.