Luxury watchmakers to continue accepting crypto as payment despite market crash

TAG Heuer and Hublot are two of many luxury watch brands that have said they will continue accepting cryptocurrency as payment despite the market’s precipitous decline over the last few months.

Indeed, even though the values of cryptocurrencies continue to see significant fluctuations in value, such brands who had just recently started accepting cryptocurrency as a payment method have said that they would keep doing so, as per a report by The New York Times published on August 10.

Chief executive of TAG Heuer, Frédéric Arnault, said during a video interview in early July from the brand’s offices in Eysins, Switzerland that:

“Crypto payments are one more service we offer our customers, even if many will never use it. We have already sold a few hundred pieces in cryptocurrency.”

Buying a Tag Heuer with crypto

Interestingly, if a TAG Heuer client chooses to pay with cryptocurrency, they have a window of fifteen minutes at checkout to complete the transaction at a predetermined exchange rate; beyond that, the rate is subject to change and might be significantly different. 

According to Mr. Arnault, the window provides a kind of protection from the severe volatility that is associated with the value of cryptocurrencies. Arnault revealed that the cryptocurrency payment was the first step in its strategy regarding NFTs and the metaverse.

He added: 

“The market will decide which NFT collection or coin will remain in the next five to 10 years. We will continue to invest in crypto, in NFTs and in blockchains because we believe these technologies are here to stay.”

Hublot crypto sales continue as normal

Hublot was an early user of cryptocurrency in the watch industry. In partnership with OS Limited, a crypto brokerage, it accepted Bitcoin in 2018 for its limited edition Big Bang Meca-10 P2P watch, which commemorated the 10th anniversary of the flagship digital asset.  

The brand’s new 200-piece Big Bang Unico Essential Grey, priced at $20,900 and available exclusively online, is one of the timepieces that may be bought using cryptocurrency since Hublot allows purchases of up to the equivalent of $30,000. 

Ricardo Guadalupe, the CEO of Hublot, wrote in an email that: “We haven’t noticed a direct repercussion on our sales as a result of the volatility in these markets.”

Luxury watch supply impacted by crypto crash

It’s worth mentioning that Finbold reported in July that the crypto crash increased the supply of luxury watches on the second-hand market as the recent drop in prices for the most desirable models showed that the once-booming market for second-hand luxury watches is beginning to lose steam. 

Due to the historically high prices of cryptocurrencies, a new category of luxury consumers had emerged, which led to an increase in price for certain models that was unprecedented in the market’s history.

Yet, Lamborghini dealers are staying warm during the crypto winter, as there is still robust demand for supercars, with the majority of owners belonging to an exclusive group of individuals who are so affluent that they are practically unaffected by shifts in the market.