Investors in The Watches of Switzerland Group have been on a roller-coaster ride since the business went public on the London Stock Exchange in May last year.
The initial public offering price of 270p looked a bargain as shares immediately started trading at around 290p over the summer and fall of 2019.
The greatest headwind at the time was a shortage of watches from the likes of Rolex, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe and a general softness of the UK market for luxury goods brought on by paralysing uncertainty and political chaos over the country leaving the European Union.
A landslide election victory by Boris Johnson in December raised optimism that the country could put the agony of Brexit behind it and WOSG shares soared to around 390p in the first quarter of 2020.
Strong sales in the United States through Watches of Switzerland and Mayors stores also boosted optimism.
Stock market panic as the Coronavirus pandemic swept the world halved the price of WOSG shares as the plunged from a peak of 397p to a low in early April of 170p.
But the shares have been on a dramatic surge since the peak of the virus, and ended yesterday nudging close to 300p again, 10% up on their IPO price a little over a year ago and are trading today at 181p after a little profit-taking.
