One Major Watch Brand Is Actually Slashing Prices in 2026. Here’s Why

Don’t start celebrating yet.

Black rubber strap watch with a brushed silver octagonal bezel and black dial.

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Published January 19, 2026

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As we kick off 2026 in the watch industry, much of the talk in the new year has been about rising prices.

Rolex has reacted to the new 15 percent U.S. tariff on Swiss goods by increasing its prices by an average of 7 percent. Omega, meanwhile, generated a bit of controversy just last week when its new Speedmaster became the first non-special edition steel Moonwatch with a five-figure price tag.

The yo-yoing tariff situation in 2025 resulted in some steep price increases from many brands, with Omega, Tudor and Cartier all raising their prices by more than 10 percent over the course of the year.

But no brand reacted as drastically to President Trump’s tariffs as Patek Philippe, which raised its U.S. prices by an average of 22 percent last year — including a 15 percent hike in September. That’s a massive increase, but with the current tariff situation — at least for now — being less than half as bad as it was at its peak of 39 percent (though still bad, I would argue), some relief is reportedly on the way for potential Patek buyers.

a patek philippe world time watch on a blue corduroy surface — After a massive increase in 2025, Patek’s prices are coming down in 2026 — but not by much.

Watch for falling prices

Time & Tide and Hodinkee are both reporting, citing separate sources, that Patek is planning to cut its prices for U.S. customers by 8 percent across the board come February 1.

This is, of course, welcome news for anyone lucky enough to be in the market for a Patek, which, I feel I should state, I certainly am not.

However, even after this price cut goes into effect, Patek’s retail prices will still be much higher than they were a year ago. Even after the 8 percent SRP reduction, Patek’s price increase still leads the way among major brands with a 14 percent jump since the end of 2024.

patek philippe aquanaut watch on a wrist — With an expected price decrease of only 3.4 percent for “appointment-only models” like the Aquanaut Travel Time, I suppose I’ll go another year without adding one to my collection. Oh well.

What’s more, Patek’s expected price cut is something of a mixed bag. Hodinkee reports that the brand’s “high-value and appointment-only models” — AKA Nautilus and Aquanaut models, among other hype monsters – will only see a price drop of 3.4 percent.

Meanwhile, Time & Tide states that the 8 percent drop will be a “reset” followed by a 6 percent increase in prices for gold watches, citing industry insider “Kingflum,” who runs the ScrewDownCrown blog on Substack.

Still, a watch brand cutting prices is almost unheard of, so even though Patek’s decrease may not amount to much in the grand scheme of things, it’s worth giving the brand some praise for its willingness to cut prices at all. Hopefully, it’s the start of a larger trend across the industry.

But I doubt it.

About the Author:

Johnny Brayson is an editor at Gear Patrol mostly covering watches. He enjoys watches that are packed with blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em details and believes nearly every watch could stand to be a tad smaller.

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