Patek Philippe Calatrava has very little variability in it's pricing: That's a good thing.
At WisePricing we like to cover interesting pricing trends for luxury products.
One product that we have been tracking is the Patek Philippe Calatrava a beautiful luxury watch that according to Hodinkee “is the best Calatrava in a generation”.
And unlike the Patek Philippe Aquanaut 5167A the Calatrava has very little variability in it's pricing.
If you're wondering, Patek Philippe has listed the Calatrava’s MSRP at $56,904.
And the retailers who are selling this watch appear to agree with this pricing.
According to our data the price range of the Calatrava is between $56,900-$65,000.
So what’s driving this
According to our data at WisePricing, Patek Philippe’s authorized retailers have all listed there pricing inline with the MSRP (see image below). This is not surprising because luxury and ultra luxury brands have very close and tightly regulated relationships with their authorized retailers.
Data from WisePricing
What about the online retailers
I think what's more interesting though is how the online retailers are pricing the Calatrava. According to our WisePricing data the online retailers have also listed it at or slightly above the MSRP (see below). One retailer has it listed at $65000 and the other online retailer has it listed at $59950.
Data from WisePricing
So why is there such little variability?
According to several watch enthusiasts that we spoke to there could be several reasons for this.
In general Patek Philippe makes a very limited number of watches annually, creating a scarcity model resulting in higher demand from collectors and enthusiasts.
Patek Philippe is very well known for being a top-tier watchmaker and their watches typically retain their value and even appreciate in value as well.
This impacts the gray market where unauthorized dealers still have to sell their watches at or above retail price because if they heavily discount prices then this would damage the perceived value of the brand and the reputation of the retailer.
So this is a good thing right?
As the title says the lack of pricing variability is a good thing. Luxury brands like Patek Philippe who rely on authorized retailers to distribute their watches need to ensure that the retailers sell their watches at their recommended prices which prevents brand erosion and maintains integrity and value of their products.
Before you go…
If you are a luxury brand or a retailer who sells luxury products and are interested in trying out WisePricing to make more data driven decisions on pricing and improve margins email me back for a demo.