The good news about watches is that, despite the economic downturn, they're increasing as a percentage of overall sales for some 27 percent of National Jeweler's product panel members, and they are holding steady for yet another 48 percent.

According to other recent product panels, that is a larger percentage than those who cited gold jewelry sales as going up (11 percent) or who named diamond jewelry sales as being on the rise (24 percent).

Then, there's the bad news: Watch margins have slipped for about 30 percent of the product panelists and are flat for 58 percent.


Mondaine, which touts itself as an “affordable luxury” brand, is priced between $175 and $600 and is sold in numerous museum stores throughout the United States.

Some jewelers say the increased availability of watches sold on the Internet, where gray-market timepieces often abound, has driven down their price points, as customers come in with printouts of watch prices found on the Web.

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Source: NationalJeweler.com
www.nationaljeweler.com