Expensive brass work, polished glass, soft furnishings, exotic woods and leathers and a well-stocked bar; these are the trappings of every successful luxury watch retailer today as carefully chosen scents, subtle music and whispering associates fan out across showroom floors.
This is the image the biggest premium watchmakers in the world, along with their authorised dealers, want to project to customers who, in many instances, could buy watches from the same brands at significant discounts on the secondary market.
They remain loyal to authorized dealers because they want to feel the embrace of an official store experience and maintain a relationship with a trusted friend.
Rolex and Patek Philippe, which have shown an unshakeable commitment to working with a global network of ADs, are demanding partners for their retailers, insisting they deliver the highest level of service or run the risk of losing the brand.
However, luxurious service while selling to a client should be only part of the story. After sales service, when a watch needs a tune-up or repair, is equally important. And the industry is still rubbish at it.
Many parallels have been drawn between the car industry and the watch market, particularly the showroom experience where brands like Mercedes or Cadillac are just as demanding about how their cars are sold as Rolex is for its watches.
Just as in the car industry, we are seeing brand-driven quality control extend to certified pre-owned watches, which are now being sold with Rolex’s backing alongside new pieces at its authorized dealers.
Just like at Mercedes and Cadillac.
Car manufacturers want their vehicles kept in top condition by their authorized dealers, and they are given the tools and training to achieve that. These authorized service centres are typically more expensive than unregistered garages, but they give peace of mind to customers and bind them into remaining loyal so that they trade-in their car for a new one every few years.
Importantly, customers can expect their cars to come back to them fully serviced and valeted within 48 hours of dropping it off.
This is where the luxury watch industry fails. Even the simplest of services for a Rolex Oyster Perpetual or Submariner takes several weeks (Rolex says its turnaround time has been consistently below 15 days for the past year) and costs upwards of $1,000, so long as nothing is broken or worn out.
Everybody gets frustrated about this time and extortionate cost, but few have the resolve to fix it.
Rolex recommends its watches are serviced every ten years, and are sold with five year warranties. It is rare for anything to go wrong, and Rolex points out that it costs a great deal less to keep a watch on the road over a decade than a car, which requires far more frequent services and MOTs.
A full watch service is an exhaustive process.
Every watch and movement is stripped to its components, which are all cleaned, dried, lubricated, reassembled and tested before being polished back to near mint condition.
Customers pay around 10% of the price of their watch for this service. By comparison, servicing a $70,000 Mercedes costs closer to 2% of its purchase price and the owner will be driving it away the day after dropping it off.
The price of an official service may be justifiable because of the expertise and equipment required, but expecting customers to wait months to get their watches back is a failure of the watch industry that needs to be addressed before a new wave of customers, who joined the ranks of luxury watch clients since the pandemic, become disillusioned and decide to spend their wealth on brands and experiences where they feel more respectfully served.