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One of the positive signs is that consumers dare to spend more and make quicker decisions on purchasing luxury watches. It is different from the situation in the first quarter, when potential buyers took time before making a purchasing decision.

Buddy Chatikaratana, chairman of Cortina Watch (Thailand), an importer and distributor of 50 luxury-watch brands, said yesterday that some people now had more confidence about spending money on an elegant timepiece. Shoppers who walked into his Cortina Watch boutique shop at the Erawan Bangkok hotel during the first quarter thought very carefully before making decisions, but their behaviour changed in the second quarter. Since then some customers have purchased products at first sight.

"Luxury watches are different from other luxury products. If a watch-lover is confident in the economic and political situation, he or she can make a decision immediately. I believe that the luxury-timepiece market will show growth in the second half of the year," he said.

Deputy Finance Minister Pradit Pataraprasit, speaking yesterday at a seminar called "SME Survival" held by Krungthep Turakij newspaper, said that although several business were recovering, luxury products were still facing a tough time as consumers had postponed their decisions on expensive goods.

However, Buddy said Cortina Watch's sales in the first quarter of the year had dropped by 10-15 per cent from the same period last year but picked up in the following quarter. He believes that the company's sales could show growth in the second half.

"We expect sales this year of Bt600 million, an increase of 20 per cent from 2008," he said.

Cortina Watch plans to expand its boutique shop at the hotel, with work completed by November. It also plans to import two or three new luxury-watch brands in the second half of the year.

Narun Thamavaranukup, managing director of PMT The Hour Glass, a leading importer and distributor of luxury timepieces, including Rolex and Patek Philippe, said the company's sales had similarly been recovering since April. Despite gloomy sales figures in the first three months of the year, it hopes now to see 10-per-cent growth in sales this year, lower than the average growth of 20-30 per cent in years past.

Narun said the company had increased its marketing budget this year by 50 per cent from 2008.

"Watch-lovers normally think a lot before making a decision. We have to do many things to urge them to make decisions quickly, such as launching new collections, giving them discounts and offering special promotions or trips," he said.

Narun added that the economic slowdown was a good time for the company to invest in importing new watch brands and renovating shops. It has this year imported three new brands to add to the 25 it distributes.

Yesterday it launched the Swiss timepiece Hublot on the Thai market. PMT is the sole distributor of this brand in Thailand. It is part of PMT's Big Bang collection, worth over Bt100 million.

Narun said Hublot was a well-known luxury sport watch and he expected it to be among PMT's top three best-sellers within three years.

"The most expensive of this collection is priced at Bt33 million. We have only one, and it is already booked. The price range of Hublot is between Bt200,000 and Bt2 million. We expect to get a good response from Thai watch-collectors," he said.