This week, we take a look at why watch prices keep climbing and the brands that are committed to keeping their prices flat. Read on for a look at the fundraising strategy of new luxury holding company Inside Out, and a roundup of executive moves and important fashion news of the week.
In the watch world, price increases are as regular as the seasons. Rolex raises its prices frequently, as do many of the other major luxury watch brands like Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet.
But at a time when prices for seemingly all goods are increasing all the time, coupled with uncertainty and economic chaos due to tariffs and other geopolitical tension, watch prices are becoming more complicated. Big brands like Rolex, which cater to a wealthier clientele, can keep increasing their prices, but watch brands targeting aspirational and lower-price customers are doing the opposite. They’re committing to keeping prices low in order to serve the customers who can’t keep up with the luxury sector.
According to John Shmerler, CEO of the 1916 Company, which owns watch retailers like Watchbox and Govberg Jewelers, there are three factors that have made watch prices shoot up in the last few years. First, gold prices increased more than 40% last year and forecasts predict they will go up another 8% this year. That’s why the biggest price increases at Rolex have been in their gold watches, while their steel watch prices have remained steadier.
Second, there is a shortage of the highly-skilled workers who can make handmade watches, Shmerler said. The Employers’ Convention of the Swiss Watch Industry estimates that the industry needs at least 4,000 new watchmakers by 2026 to keep up growth. In response, Rolex has opened a new watchmaking school in Texas, while both Cartier and LVMH have newly established watchmaking contests.
Costlier materials and lack of labor are both simple supply-and-demand factors, but the third is more complex. Watches are an international business. Most are made in Switzerland and sold to retailers around the world in different currencies. With geopolitical tensions rising and trade wars flaring up, different currencies can have wildly different values.
“Currencies used to stay more stable,” Shmerler said. “Today, you see wide variations in currency pricing. If the brands aren’t careful, they can end up with huge price differences for the same watch in different countries. When the dollar is strong, an American might fly to another country to buy a watch at a lower price. The brands could lower American prices to stay competitive, but American retailers don’t like that. So the watch brands raise prices elsewhere to keep things even.”
The result of these increases is that watch exports of high-end Swiss watches are down. The number of watches exported from Switzerland fell by nearly 10% last year while the value of those exports fell by just under 3%. In other words, there are far fewer watches coming out of Switzerland, but the ones that do are more expensive. That reflects a broad trend in luxury fashion in which brands continue to focus on the narrowest, wealthiest segment of their clientele. But that strategy leaves a growing audience of potential watch buyers who are priced out of the brands they may have aspired to.
In response, non-luxury watch brands are committing to flat prices and accessible models to capture the segment of the watch customer base that can’t afford a Rolex. Marathon, a Canadian watch brand whose military-inspired watches sell from $290-$4,500, didn’t raise prices last year and doesn’t plan to this year, either. Marathon Watch president Mitchell Wein told Glossy that the brand has committed not to “succumb to luxury price inflation.” Marathon’s watches are made in Switzerland and sold entirely online. It is also the sole supplier of watches to the United States Armed Forces.
“Duties are affecting the price of watches depending on the country the watches are being imported into, and they’ll greatly impact companies that have their watches made in China as they will incur heavier duties coming into North America,” Wein said. “With inflation, a lot of materials prices have gone up, in addition to workmanship and labor, which is a really big part of making a watch.”
Other watch brands are marketing their juxtaposition against luxury brands with frequent price increases. In October, Timex ran a promotion where it sold 1,000 watches for $1 each, explicitly calling out the recent increases in prices from other brands in its social campaign around the launch. Timex has also kept prices flat in the last two years.
G-Shock, a popular brand of watches owned by the longstanding Japanese electronics company Casio, is also committing to keeping its watches accessibly priced. While it has raised prices of a few models at the top of its price range, it has made up for it by introducing a number of newer models that are priced at entry-levels. The DW5000R-1A Origin Revival, for example, was released in December and priced at under $200.
Whether this strategy will work out for lower-price watch brands remains to be seen, especially as Americans continue to cut back on discretionary spending amid tariff-induced economic uncertainty. Swatch Group, owner of several brands that make accessibly-priced watches, saw its profits drop by 75% last year, so a return to growth is necessary. But Shmerler said lower-price brands like G-Shock are in a better position to thrive without raising their prices compared to high-end brands, which often make only a few thousand watches per year.
“If you contrast [the luxury brands] to G-Shock, the latter is just pure manufacturing,” Shmerler said. Lower price brands are able to keep their prices low because they’re not as heavily affected by issues like the shortage of skilled watchmakers or the rising cost of precious metals, since they require neither. “They can hold prices because they’re better at manufacturing at scale. The more volume you’re doing, the easier it is to do it at a lower price.”
Fundraising: Inside Out’s $300 million bet on sustainability
The fashion industry has spent years marketing sustainability while continuing to fuel overproduction, greenwashing and environmental destruction. Inside Out LLC, the new holding company founded by Suzy Amis Cameron, is positioning itself as a radical alternative — one that embeds sustainability into its financial model rather than using it as a marketing tool. Inside Out is taking on luxury’s biggest sustainability failures and proving that profit and environmental responsibility can coexist.
“Inside Out is more than a company; it’s a movement to reimagine how business interacts with the planet and its people,” said Amis Cameron. “We’re setting a bold new standard.”
Inside Out’s fashion division, IO Fashion, Textiles and Home, is at the forefront of this movement. The company has acquired WRAD, a consultancy known for its sustainability work with Kering and Ferragamo, and led Series A funding for Sheep Inc., a carbon-negative knitwear brand leveraging regenerative farming and supply chain traceability.
“Sheep Inc. has transformed something as simple as a sweater into a powerful tool for positive impact,” said Matteo Ward, CEO of IO FTH. “They’ve made transparency, traceability and regenerative farming not just selling points but standard practice.” The brand, which produces carbon-negative Merino wool garments, connects customers directly to the farms where the pieces originate, using technology to highlight the environmental impact of each product.
“If we’re to impact the larger global fashion industry, we must change how stakeholders think about ROI, proving that responsible business practices drive long-term profitability,” said Amis Cameron.
The challenge? Scaling this model in an industry that rewards short-term financial gain.
“Fashion must redefine its role,” said Ward. “A new balance is needed between aesthetics, functionality and technology to address the contemporary needs of humanity and all living beings, with a primary focus on health and well-being.”
If Inside Out succeeds, it could force brands to compete not just on craftsmanship and heritage but on true sustainability. If it fails, it will serve as another reminder of just how deeply entrenched fashion’s problems really are. For now, though, the $300 million bet is on sustainability becoming a real standard, rather than an industry talking point. –Zofia Zwieglinska
Executive moves
- Demna is the new creative director of Gucci. The mononymous designer has been creative director of Balenciaga, through thick and thin, for 10 years. He takes over the position from Sabato de Sarno, who left the company in February.
- On Wednesday afternoon, Fossil Group announced the appointment of CFO Randy Greben, formerly of Casper Sleep and Ann Inc., which owns Ann Taylor and Loft. He joins Fossil as part of the company’s “business turnaround strategy,” according to a company rep.
- Frederic Arnault, son of LVMH boss Bernard Arnault, is taking over as the CEO of Loro Piana after the departure of Damien Bertrand. In other LVMH exec shakeup news, Pierre-Emmanuel Angeloglou is taking over as deputy CEO of Christian Dior Couture.
- Giovanni Mattera-Vairo was appointed managing director of high-end jewelry brand Leviev on Monday.
Other news to know
- The trade war over the Trump administration’s tariffs continues, with Canada and the E.U. retaliating with tariffs of their own. Meanwhile, the U.K. has opted not to implement tariffs as it seeks a friendlier trade relationship with the U.S.
- Speaking of the administration, Trump political appointee Laurine Pinover was criticized this week for posting fashion looks to her Instagram with links to her ShopMy page, along with the hashtag #dcinfluencer, while at work at the Office of Personnel Management.
- Golden Goose is one of many sneaker brands with impressive earnings recently. After Adidas reported a 12% increase in revenue in 2024 last week, Golden Goose reported a 13% increase in 2024 on Wednesday.
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