Twelve Market Observations By Ben Clymer (August 2026)
Some version of this story has been in the back of my mind for months, maybe years. Because I see, hear, and experience so many wild things in my watch life that it's hard to really understand, I thought the best thing I could do was share them with you. Some of the below are simple opinions; others are hard and true facts. I think I have a unique position in the watch space as the president of a large media outlet (so I see traffic information and click tendencies), I'm a long time consumer of all kinds of watches (vintage, new, independent, big and small), something of a pundit on the industry for large media outlets, a participant in basically all the organizations that focus on the watch industry, and of course, an officer at one of the largest modern watch retailers in the world. Beyond that, the amount of DMs I get from total strangers asking me watch questions is simply b-a-n-a-n-a-s (should that be a series unto itself?). So I thought I'd take some of what's been on my mind from all of the above sources and put it on paper to be read, debated, and (dis)agreed with. So, here are five things that are happening in the watch world that make zero sense, and five more that make a ton of sense. FIVE THINGS HAPPENING IN TODAY'S WATCH MARKET THAT MAKE ZERO SENSE 1. Complicated (Vintage And New!) Patek Philippe Is Trading Below Where It Should Be Trading The 5270G is a fantastic watch, and even at retail, represents very solid value compared to what else is happening out...