Watches have been described as the third most desirable ‘investment of passion’ choice for Europe’s wealthiest individuals by Knight Frank Research’s ‘The Wealth Report 2014’.
As reported by Rapaport, Europeans are more likely to invest in watches before fine jewels and only beaten by wine and art. Watches were also voted the third most popular purchase worldwide with art being the most popular. Customers in North America placed watches as the second most desirable ‘investment of passion’.
Australasia was the only region where watches figured outside of the top three, placing sixth and high net worth buyers in this region voted classic cars as the second most popular ‘investment of passion’.
Watches gained four percent last year, supporting a five-year increase of 32% and a 10-year hike of 82%.
Knight Frank Research also found that 36% of wealthy investors globally are expected to increase their spending on luxury goods in the next 12 months with only seven percent expecting to decrease their spend, the biggest fall being seen in Latin America.
Additionally, 61% of respondents said they make an investment of passion simply for “personal pleasure”, compared to just 15% who purchase items as status symbols and 1% who purchase items because they are fashionable.
The Wealth Report compiles surveyed data from 23,000 ultra high-net worth individuals with an average net worth of $68 million.
