High-End Retail Shops Around the World Preparing to Showcase Apple Watch

[mj1108]

What is Apple's point of making the $10,000 Apple watch? Can someone tell me?

Is it to make more money for Apple? Is it to make Apple seem higher end than they already are? Is it to get press for the Apple watch? Is it to alienate all of the Apple fans that are not super rich? Is it to justify Angela Ahrendts existence on earth?

It all seems like a bad idea.

It lets Apple market it as a high end fashion item.

Sure there will be a number of people who buy them for $10,000....but those people are just idiots with money to burn since there will likely be a new one next year. $10,000 on a watch that can last for decades is another story.

 

[Serban]

"except those watches appreciate in value. a $17,000 apple watch will be worth a fraction of it's original value in a couple of years."

yes those who buy that dont care about appreciate....and still...the solid gold can be sold for at least 6-7000$ because gold is growing in the past years

 

[lazard]

many people that spend $17k on a watch don't do it for appreciation in value. They do it for status or other reasons. It's the same people that spend $ '000 on handbangs, clothes, etc. all which goes out of fashion or wears out (depreciates). I guess Apple is just applying it to technology and hiring fashion industry execs to help them.

you're right, most buy it as a status symbol. However, I don't think anyone would find a $17,000 watch assembled in China a status symbol.

 

[paul4339]

you're right, most buy it as a status symbol. However, I don't think anyone would find a $17,000 watch assembled in China a status symbol.

Possibly. But I think that will change over time (no pun intended).
Right now China has bad name because most things that come from China is poorly manufactured. Japan used to have the same reputation as China.

Also I find the reverse is happening, manufacturers will 'make/assemble' stuff in Switzerland and France just to make it seem higher quality or luxury. The product will eventually establish a reputation for itself, regardless of where it's made.

 

[mlblacy]

I'll stick with my Swiss made timepiece, thanks apple for making the decision so easy for me

Thanks for keeping us posted! We were all wondering what you were going to decide.

 

[lazard]

"except those watches appreciate in value. a $17,000 apple watch will be worth a fraction of it's original value in a couple of years."

yes those who buy that dont care about appreciate....and still...the solid gold can be sold for at least 6-7000$ because gold is growing in the past years

you're overestimating the amount of 18 karat gold that Apple will use in their watch...especially with reports that Apple plans on cranking out 1 million of their gold watches a month in the second quarter. Even with a modest estimate of 2 troy ounces of gold used per watch, that comes out to 746 metric tons of gold per year which is roughly 30% of the world's annual gold production. Even if you cut back the amount of gold used per watch or the number of gold watches produced per month, that's still a lot of gold. Not even Apple can secure that much gold without paying an arm and a leg.

 

[Reason077]

What is Apple's point of making the $10,000 Apple watch? Can someone tell me?

Is it to make more money for Apple? Is it to make Apple seem higher end than they already are? Is it to get press for the Apple watch? Is it to alienate all of the Apple fans that are not super rich? Is it to justify Angela Ahrendts existence on earth?

It is to make the other Watch models look cheap.

 

[chris975d]

People that can afford these do not care if the hardware will be outdated in a year or two. They only care about having the most expensive watch available and the attention it will gather.

many people that spend $17k on a watch don't do it for appreciation in value. They do it for status or other reasons. It's the same people that spend $ '000 on handbangs, clothes, etc. all which goes out of fashion or wears out (depreciates). I guess Apple is just applying it to technology and hiring fashion industry execs to help them.

Both of these are actually BIG misconceptions about why people buy high end watches. We (myself included) buy/collect high end watches because we appreciate the history and artistry of making such a tiny machine that does something so (relatively) precise. This is the VAST majority of people that buy watches in this price range. Sure, there are a few people out there that buy them just to be conspicuous, but that's actually the exception, not the norm. They just usually happen to be the most vocal/showy about it, so maybe that's where this misconception comes from. But I have a large circle of fellow watch collectors/enthusiasts (both in person and online) , and none of us, or the majority of the owners on watch forums buy watches just cause they are flashy.

 

[Reason077]

Apple plans on cranking out 1 million of their gold watches a month in the second quarter.

No chance of this. There aren't even 1 million people in the entire world who are in the target market for a $10,000 watch.

The Edition watch will be produced in the 10s of thousands. Not millions.

 

[lazard]

No chance of this. There aren't even 1 million people in the entire world who are in the target market for a $10,000 watch.

The Edition watch will be produced in the 10s of thousands. Not millions.

Apple has asked its suppliers in Asia to make a combined five to six million units of its three Apple Watch models during the first quarter ahead of the product’s release in April, according to people familiar with the matter.

Half of the first-quarter production order is earmarked for the entry-level Apple Watch Sport model, while the mid-tier Apple Watch is expected to account for one-third of output, one of these people said.

Orders for Apple Watch Edition – the high-end model featuring 18-karat gold casing – are relatively small in the first quarter but Apple plans to start producing more than one million units per month in the second quarter, the person said. Analysts expect demand for the high-end watches to be strong in China where Apple’s sales are booming.

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/02/17/apple-orders-more-than-5-million-watches-for-initial-run

 

[paul4339]

...especially with reports that Apple plans on cranking out 1 million of their gold watches a month in the second quarter. .

1 million watches a month maybe, but not 1 million gold watches a month. no way.

 

[Vogue Harper]

"except those watches appreciate in value. a $17,000 apple watch will be worth a fraction of it's original value in a couple of years."

yes those who buy that dont care about appreciate....and still...the solid gold can be sold for at least 6-7000$ because gold is growing in the past years

I wonder if the fact that Apple use gold in an alloy hence the "two times harder than normal gold" claim, will have an effect on the liquidity (in the accounting sense of the word rather than chemical sense) of the gold.

 

[lazard]

1 million watches a month maybe, but not 1 million gold watches a month. no way.

they're betting on China market.

 

[kettle]

What is Apple's point of making the $10,000 Apple watch? Can someone tell me?

Is it to make more money for Apple? Is it to make Apple seem higher end than they already are? Is it to get press for the Apple watch? Is it to alienate all of the Apple fans that are not super rich? Is it to justify Angela Ahrendts existence on earth?

It all seems like a bad idea.

I'm starting to think it might be like a 'loss leader'

I hope someone thought that 'at worst' it will make the other Apple hardware seem better value - maybe the macbook won't feel as expensive as it is

(just thinking out loud)

 

[lazard]

I wonder if the fact that Apple use gold in an alloy hence the "two times harder than normal gold" claim, will have an effect on the liquidity (in the accounting sense of the word rather than chemical sense) of the gold.

they're using 18 karat gold which is 75% gold and 25% alloy which makes it more durable than pure gold (24k).

 

[El Cabong]

you're right, most buy it as a status symbol. However, I don't think anyone would find a $17,000 watch assembled in China a status symbol.

Ironically, it's pretty clear that this watch is aimed at a certain class of people, particularly prominent in China, with obscene amounts of money to burn.

http://www.gq.com/news-politics/201501/chinas-richest

$17K is nothing to people with this kind of money.

 

[phillipduran]

I think it is mostly there so that people buying the lower ranges feel like they are getting a great deal.

No, I don't think anyone is thinking they are getting a great deal when the competition is selling similar hardware for so much less. Apple is the expensive watch option and $10k plus watches are just going to make them look like elitist watch peddlers.

"Come over here $10k watch buyer where you can get away from the peasant class lined up at the genius bar. Unlike them, you're special, you deserve the extra special experience."

Again, this whole thing sticks bad.

Apple has entered. . . the Twilight Zone.

 

[darcyf]

When Tim spent like 18 seconds talking about the Edition during yesterday's event, the message was pretty clear:

This Watch is for a different class of customer; the kind that doesn't watch keynotes or obsess over technology. It's ok if you don't understand this Watch. This Watch is not for you.

 

[paul4339]

I'm starting to think it might be like a 'loss leader'

I hope someone thought that 'at worst' it will make the other Apple hardware seem better value - maybe the macbook won't feel as expensive as it is

(just thinking out loud)

Loss leader? I'm thinking the opposite. The $10-17k luxury watch is the most profitable (by far). It's the lower end watch that have the slimmer margins.

.

 

[lazard]

Ironically, it's pretty clear that this watch is aimed at a certain class of people, particularly prominent in China, with obscene amounts of money to burn.

http://www.gq.com/news-politics/201501/chinas-richest

$17K is nothing to people with this kind of money.

true, the Chinese have a lot of money to burn, but the last thing they would want would be a watch made in China. Obviously this is different with the iphone since pretty much all phones are made in China.

 

[TonyC28]

People that can afford these do not care if the hardware will be outdated in a year or two. They only care about having the most expensive watch available and the attention it will gather.

That's an interesting perspective and one that I think a lot of people share. We tend to assume all rich people are the same as the celebrities we've seen on "Cribs." But the reality is that most millionaires, the overwhelming majority that we've never heard of nor ever will, didn't get to be millionaires by buying a $17,000 watch just for the heck of it.

 

[darcyf]

Loss leader? I'm thinking the opposite. The $10-17k luxury watch is the most profitable (by far). It's the lower end watch that have the slimmer margins.

.

Yeah I think the idea behind the sport is like having the cheapest bottle of wine on the menu - to push insecure people towards paying more for a more expensive bottle.

The price and finish of the sport raises the perceived prestige of the other two.

 

[chris975d]

That's an interesting perspective and one that I think a lot of people share. We tend to assume all rich people are the same as the celebrities we've seen on "Cribs." But the reality is that most millionaires, the overwhelming majority that we've never heard of nor ever will, didn't get to be millionaires by buying a $17,000 watch just for the heck of it.

This. Good lord I'm so tired of this misconception of how and why people buy expensive watches. We don't buy $10K + watches "just cause". A VERY few do, and it's those that are the most vocal and conspicuous about it.

 

[Vogue Harper]

"Come over here $10k watch buyer where you can get away from the peasant class lined up at the genius bar. Unlike them, you're special, you deserve the extra special experience."

That's an interesting point - although you can enjoy a Rolex AD-like experience when you purchase the Watch Edition (which is presumably the point of these high end retailers setting up pop-up shops to sell the Watch Edition) if it goes wrong, would you enjoy a Rolex like experience with dedicated service centres just for the Watch Edition or would a Watch Edition owner have to book an appointment at a Genius Bar like everyone else and suffer the ignominy of their USD10,000 watch having the same issues as that of the proletariat?

 

[gmanist1000]

What is Apple's point of making the $10,000 Apple watch? Can someone tell me?

Is it to make more money for Apple? Is it to make Apple seem higher end than they already are? Is it to get press for the Apple watch? Is it to alienate all of the Apple fans that are not super rich? Is it to justify Angela Ahrendts existence on earth?

It all seems like a bad idea.

Because they can afford to.