Christopher Ward has not increased its base prices for over two and a half years, according to its managing director Mike France, and maintains a strict policy of transparency over what taxes and duties make up the final price.
However, rising import duties to its largest market, the United States, have made its watches considerably more expensive following the overnight imposition of a 39% tariff on Swiss-made goods entering the country.
The additional cost has also made Christopher Ward watches considerably less expensive when bought in its domestic UK market than in America.
Browsing on christopherward.com this morning, and logging-in as a client from Staten Island, NY, the award-winning Bel Canto offered for $4,225, the same as its price at launch, caught my eye.
Added to basket and proceeding to checkout, the usual 9% sales tax of $374.97 for a New York State resident was added and, from this morning, a customs duty of $674.03, a bump of almost 16%.
That takes the final price to $5,274.
Adding a sales tax to an advertised price is accepted, but duties are typically concealed within that advertised price.
Interestingly, it is now considerably cheaper to buy a Christopher Ward watch in the UK, where the advertised price is the price you pay.
At £3,495, or $4,697 at today’s exchange rate, buying a Bel Canto in Britain now costs $577 less than in the United States.
Direct to consumer brands like Christopher Ward face a different challenge from the new 39% tariff compared to more wholesale-oriented businesses.
In the typical wholesale model, watches are imported in the United States with a stated value of around half their retail price, because it is the wholesale price that retailers pay the importers.
The 39% duty would therefore be calculated on that wholesale price.
With direct to consumer sales of Swiss-made watches dispatched to the customer in America, it is the customer who is effectively the importer, and therefore carries the cost of the duty on the full retail price of the watch.
This would be the case even for a US-based microbrand that has its watches made in Switzerland.