Clipper,

You are correct. For the past 5-10 years one of the drivers of the high end watch business as well as other high end luxury products has been the China market.

With both legal and illegal gains rampant and money sent overseas, watches, luxury cars and apartments in Singapore and HK have been easy ways to launder ill gotten gains. Now, with Xi taking over and chasing crooked party members expensive watch's are no longer worn in public.

I just returned from Singapore(where my son lives) and HK (where I lived for 30 years) and newspapers report that luxury watch sales are down by 50%.

Not much point in buying an expensive watch and keeping it in the desk drawer!

TomS