The economic slowdown in China isn't just cutting into minerals and resources, another product is running into a wall.  Luxury watches are losing their luster as budgets get tighter and newer technologies become more attractive.

Hong Kong is a top market for Swiss-made watches, but the makers of Cartier, Tag Heuer, and other posh brands are buying back thousands of timepieces from dealers - according to retail analysts.  It wasn't all that long ago that tourists from the mainland eagerly lined up outside luxury watch and jewelry shops to take advantage of Hong Kong's tax free policy.  These days, high-end watch stores in the city sit empty for much of the day.

"The market right now is very, very quiet," said Alain Lam, who is executive director of Oriental Watch Holdings Ltd. - one of Hong Kong's largest luxury watch dealers.  "The more expensive and the shinier the watch, the slower it moves," he added.  And luxury goods analyst Luca Solca of the French multi-national bank Exane BNP Paribas says consumers "have adjusted downward their ambitions and buy cheaper watches because they have less money in their pockets".

Another impetus prompting watch makers to buy back their products is to keep them off of the grey and black markets.  Some Hong Kong dealers have been selling shiny watches at a 35 percent discount, just to get them out of the store.  Rather than let that continue - and mindful of an 18 percent drop in sales - Richemont SA is buying back its Cartier watches, and some of its other brands including Piaget, Montblanc, and IWC Schaffhausen.  CEO Richard Lepeu called it an "exceptional measure" for "exceptional circumstances."