The fallout from the crypto downturn is reaching into some unexpected corners—including the sale of the luxury watches favored by high rolling crypto traders.
Due to the recent “crypto winter,” in which the market’s total value shrink from $3 trillion to temporarily less than a trillion dollars, there’s a mismatch between the supply of trophy watches and wrists to wear them.
That’s according to online watch trading platform Chrono24, which told Bloomberg that crypto prices falling “has directly impacted pricing of luxury watches from brands like Rolex and Patek Philippe,” Chrono24 said in a statement to Bloomberg.
What was once a high-flying secondary market for luxe watches has been grounded just as the prices of Bitcoin and Ether trade about 65% lower than their highs last November, despite a recent uptick.
During the latest crypto bull market, which peaked around November 10, there was a jump in the prices of luxury timepieces like the Rolex Daytona and Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711A.
Chrono24 told Bloomberg that the price of a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711A, which costs about $35,000 retail, jumped to $240,000 in the first quarter. Now, the price of the watch has fallen to $190,000.
At the same time, a company executive added that the company’s trading volumes increased 50% in the first half of the year. Chrono24 expects sales to increase on the site in the latter half of the year.
