Luxury watch whose demand increases as price rises, with high cost enhancing status and exclusivity among collectors.
A Veblen Good is a product whose demand paradoxically increases as its price rises. In watches, this applies to luxury timepieces from brands like Patek Philippe, Rolex, and Audemars Piguet — where high prices signal exclusivity and status, making the watches more desirable. The watch's value derives partly from its cost and unattainability.
The clearest examples are Patek Philippe's Nautilus and Calatrava, Rolex's Daytona and Submariner, and Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak. These watches have waitlists despite high retail prices, and their secondary market values often far exceed retail — the opposite of normal goods, where demand falls as prices rise.
Luxury watch prices rise through deliberate scarcity, brand heritage, materials costs, and status signaling. As prices increase, the watches become more exclusive and desirable to status-conscious buyers. This creates self-reinforcing demand: higher prices attract wealthier collectors, increasing brand prestige further. Unlike normal goods, price cuts would reduce, not increase, their desirability.