Why watch sharing doesn’t work – even in Switzerland

Hundreds of Swiss luxury watches entrusted to a watch-sharing platform have been stolen in a case of fraud in Japan. A similar service has ceased operations in Switzerland. Is such a business model feasible, or is it fundamentally flawed? Toke Match, a luxury watch-sharing service in Japan, ceased operations at the end of January after customers failed to get their deposited watches back. The total value of the missing watches, around 90% of which are Swiss luxury watches, amounts to around 1.9 billion yen (CHF11 million). In Switzerland, the home of luxury watches, there was also a sharing service that allowed individuals to rent and hire out watches. Launched in August 2019, DIALS borrowed watches with a market value of CHF4,000 ($4,400) or more from their owners and rented them out for three weeks, three months or six months. The rental costs started at CHF150 a month, of which the owner received 40%. “Why buy things when you can share them? This also applies to luxury goods,” ...