With London continuing to rank among the world’s most visited cities – the UK capital topped a survey by MasterCard in 2014 and 2015, but ceded second place to Bangkok last year – it’s no surprise that tourism is a big driver of UK luxury sales. Nearly 48 per cent of visitor expenditure went to shopping in 2016, reports the annual Mastercard Global Destinations Cities Index.
David Coleridge, chairman of The Watch Gallery, which was acquired by Swiss retailer Bucherer last month and operates four standalone stores including the watch business of department store Selfridges, says that a “big proportion” of his watch sales come from tourists.
“The weak pound is continuing to stimulate business in central London,” says Mr Coleridge, who adds that the top brands by value are Rolex, TAG Heuer, Omega and Patek Philippe, with Audemars Piguet also popular. While the likes of Rolex and TAG Heuer have a “broad spectrum of appeal – for example, not just Chinese or English,” says Mr Coleridge, “Audemars Piguet is more to do with the relative scarcity of the product and great quality. Demand exceeds supply.”
Audemars Piguet’s top sellers in the UK are the 41mm steel Royal Oak self-winding with either a black or silver dial (£15,000) , or the 42mm Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph (£21,900) in steel with a slate-grey dial or the 18ct pink gold version with a matching dial (£34,300). At the London department store Harrods, Audemars Piguet’s limited edition pieces do especially well, and indeed the famed shopping destination attracts watch buyers seeking more higher-priced, special editions. Richard Mille and Roger Dubuis are particularly sought after brands, it says; the latter just opened its first boutique in London, in Harrods, last month, with customers notably keen on its Excalibur range.
Sport watches are also popular in the UK. At TAG Heuer, for example, its bestsellers are its motorsport-inspired Carrera line (at £3,550 for the top end) and Formula 1 models, which start from £1,550.
Meanwhile Patek Philippe is also currently seeing demand for its sports designs, says Mark Hearn, the brand’s UK managing director. The Nautilus and Aquanaut ranges for both men and women are popular, and interestingly, over half of the Geneva watchmaker’s sales in the UK are made outside of London, says Mr Hearn. “The typical UK buyer is someone who appreciates understated elegance and timeless style,” he adds. “Very often, they are looking for a timepiece with real value, both financial and emotional, to pass on to future generations”.
Indeed such classic, heritage pieces are big sellers in the UK. At Cartier, demand for its Tank – which this year celebrates 100 years – shows no sign of abating. “This iconic watch has inspired countless variations yet managed to preserve its distinctive identity and continues to be a bestseller,” says Laurent Feniou, Cartier’s UK Managing Director. He adds that the Ballon Bleu de Cartier also performs well, as has the cushion-shape Drive de Cartier, which launched last year to “huge success”, and now comes in a flatter and sleeker version for 2017.
Perhaps it is because gloomy as colour is particularly en vogue right now, or due to how well the RM 11 collection has obsolete. What makes this watch special from an eye collector’s perspective is that the caliber RM11 movement continues to stand out. The 4Hz, 55 hour power reserve automatic combined both a chronograph as well as an yearly calendar (month as well as a big date indicator) together. As practical as this mix appears like, few if any other watch brands have tried to offer a competing product.The RM11 movement also looks fantastic. Entirely skeletonized, being produced using finely finished titanium bridges, the motion view is a less than subtle reminder to the owner of why a product such as this might cost a lot. Few manufacturers are as proficient as Richard Mille when it comes to displaying modern microcosms within their complete mechanical glory. In a era when mechanical watches are increasingly different from their smartwatch siblings, showing off the guts of the watch hasn’t been more popular.The RM 11-03 in the Quartz TPT instance follows the classic Richard Mille tonneau-shape but with some crenelation for your case screws. The watch comes on a “vented” custom black rubberized strap and seems about as much like a modern super-machine on the wrist because you can hope for. Should you have to spell out why Richard Mille does and it will, it’s because it respects the principles of traditional watchmaking while incorporating almost completely modern design components and themes.
