Watch shortages are spreading beyond Rolex, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe, with lists lengthening for some models from Tudor, Cartier and Zenith.
Watches of Switzerland CEO Brian Duffy told Bloomberg that demand was so high for luxury watches right now, that customers are having to wait for more and more references.
“We can’t get enough [Cartier] Santos. We can’t get enough Tudor, particularly the chronograph models,” Mr Duffy said.
Rolex shortages continue. Authorised dealers now present watches in windows as “exhibition only”, meaning they can be seen and tried-on but not purchased for walk-in customers.
The brand issued a statement last year saying that it would not compromise quality in a rush to make more watches.
Zenith has also introduced the dreaded exhibition only tag for its hottest watches such as the Chronomaster Sport.
Cartier is being more proactive when it comes to manufacturing.
The company’s CEO, Cyrille Vigneron, said last week that it had developed a method for ramping up production of its hottest watches much more quickly that competitors.
“We have come to be super fast compared to other big competitors,” he announced as he revealed he could boost quantities for watches with the longest waiting lists within a few months.
