Patek Philippe Cuts Prices in U.S.
The good news is that if your Valentine didn’t buy you a Patek Philippe watch this weekend it will cost you less to buy one of your own. The bad news is that if you’ve already purchased a few as an investment, your collection just went down in value.
As of February 10, the luxury watchmaker cut the price of its timepieces by 7% in the Americas, 5% in Switzerland and 3% in Asian-Pacific markets. Prices will be unchanged in Great Britain but be raised by 5% in Japan and 7% in the rest of Europe.
Patek Philippe CEO Thierry Stern sent a letter to retailers on February 9 explaining the new price changes that will be good through June of this year. Larry Pettinelli, President of Patek Philippe USA, released this official statement: “Based on the unexpected decision of the SNB on January 15th not to defend the Euro at the 1.2 level, Patek Philippe was forced to make some difficult decisions regarding worldwide pricing. Pricing adjustments were made in an effort to protect retailers and our clients, and ensure there is less of a disparity between the global markets.”
These changes can be blamed on the Swiss National Bank, which raised the currency cap last month causing the franc to surge and the prices of Swiss-made watches to rise.
