What Are The World’s Most Popular Watch Brands And Models? Will Rolex Be Dethroned By The Likes Of Omega, Tudor, And Cartier?

The inspiration for this article stems from a Fratello on Air podcast episode in May. In the episode, Fratello editors Mike, Jorg, and Balazs discussed watch cultures around the globe. While we are an international team at Fratello, we can only speculate on watch cultures based on our own experience. I set out to deliver the cold, hard facts that somehow reinforce the assumptions made as part of the episode. Using statistics, we will define the most popular watch brand and model around the globe. Before we start, take a guess on which watch brand stands above the rest, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

The data we will look at today was graciously provided by Chrono24’s extensive analytics department. In case you don’t know, Chrono24 is the leading global marketplace for watch buying and selling. This is why there was no better source of information than Chrono24 in my quest to get to the bottom of watch tastes around the world. Having a single common platform that aggregates the statistics of which watches are being bought and where they are being bought, was invaluable. However, it must be said that the charts below are the only representative up to a point in time. Even so, tastes are slow to change, so without further ado, let’s dive into the details.

The Rolex sovereignty

It comes as no surprise that Rolex tops the list of the most popular watch brands in each of the top ten countries that use Chrono24. Even outside of the top ten, the trend continues, but we’ll be keeping our focus on the top 10 countries for now. Rolex is the luxury watch industry’s staple and exists in the lexicon of non-watch enthusiasts as a byword for “nice watch.” Establishing yourself as a brand so synonymous with quality across the world’s countless different cultures is no easy feat. By creating solid products, building a strong heritage and brand recognition, innovating materials and manufacturing, and of course, relentlessly marketing, Rolex has established itself as the crème de la crème of watches.

Why the Datejust dominates

The global taste convergence of Rolex offers little insight and certainly not much in the way of analysis. But where things do get interesting is the variance in hierarchy amongst Rolex watch models in different countries. Out of the top ten countries with the most activity on Chrono24, the Datejust tops eight of the lists. In Italy, the Daytona is the most actively searched watch model. The Daytona’s popularity may correlate to the Italian magazine cover that featured late American actor, Paul Newman, prominently displaying the Daytona on his wrist. This front-page cover was a splash and kickstarted a surge in demand in Italy. It’s worth keeping in mind that this took place in the early ’80s when the Daytona was not the hotcake it is now.

Image via Jake’s Rolex World website, www.rolexmagazine.com

Also breaking the norm, the UK’s most searched-for watch is the Rolex Submariner. Much like the Italians with Newman and the Daytona, I feel that a cultural icon connection also captured the nation, shaping its taste in watches. In the case of the UK, there is little doubt that Sean Connery playing James Bond instantly cemented the Submariner as the watch for the distinguished gentleman. If not Bond, then perhaps the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) supplying the Military Submariner, or Milsubs, to personnel eventually rubbed off on the general public.

Top ten Rolex models by nation

When the Datejust is not occupying the top spot, it slots in nicely in second place. It’s not clear from the data if this includes the Lady Datejust, which may boost the overall statistics. But even so, I think we can agree that the Datejust is the definitely most ubiquitous Rolex, which spans professions and lifestyles without pigeon-holing its audience. Below you can see the positioning of the top ten Rolex models, within the entire search terms, amongst the ten most frequent visiting nations. This list is also in order of the nations from highest activity in descending order:

United States of America:

1. Datejust — 1^st
2. Submariner — 2^nd
3. Daytona — 5^th
4. GMT-Master II — 6^th
5. Day-Date — 8^th
6. Explorer II — 12^th
7. Sea-Dweller — 14^th
8. Oyster Perpetual — 15^th
9. Sky-Dweller — 16^th
10. Yacht-Master — 18^th

Italy:

1. Daytona — 1^st
2. Datejust — 2^nd
3. Submariner — 3^rd
4. GMT-Master II — 4^th
5. Explorer II — 8^th
6. Yacht-Master — 11^th
7. Oyster Perpetual — 12^th
8. Sea-Dweller — 14^th
9. GMT-Master — 15^th
10. Air-King — 16^th

Germany:

1. Datejust — 1^st
2. Submariner — 2^nd
3. GMT-Master II — 4^th
4. Daytona — 5^th
5. Sea-Dweller — 7^th
6. Day-Date — 8^th
7. Yacht-Master — 11^th
8. Explorer II — 14^th
9. Oyster Perpetual — 16^th
10. Air-King — 20^th

France:

1. Datejust — 1^st
2. Submariner — 2^nd
3. Daytona — 3^rd
4. GMT-Master II — 4^th
5. Sea-Dweller — 9^th
6. Oyster Perpetual — 11^th
7. GMT-Master — 14^th
8. Explorer II — 15^th
9. Air-King — 18^th
10. Day-Date — 21^st

United Kingdom:

1. Submariner – 1^st
2. Datejust – 2^nd
3. Daytona – 3^rd
4. GMT-Master II – 4^th
5. Sea-Dweller – 9^th
6. Day-Date – 11^th
7. Oyster Perpetual – 12^th
8. Explorer II – 13^th
9. Explorer – 17^th
10. GMT-Master – 22^nd

The Netherlands:

1. Datejust — 1^st
2. Submariner — 2^nd
3. GMT-Master II — 5^th
4. Day-Date — 6^th
5. Daytona — 7^th
6. Oyster Perpetual — 10^th
7. Sea-Dweller — 12^th
8. Yacht-Master — 17^th
9. Sky-Dweller — 21^st
10. Explorer II — 27^th

Spain:

1. Datejust — 1^st
2. Submariner — 2^nd
3. Daytona — 3^rd
4. GMT-Master II — 5^th
5. Sea-Dweller — 10^th
6. Oyster Perpetual — 12^th
7. Explorer II — 19^th
8. Day-Date — 22^nd
9. Yacht-Master — 26^th
10. GMT-Master — 30^th

Switzerland:

1. Datejust — 1^st
2. Submariner — 2^nd
3. Daytona — 3^rd
4. GMT-Master II — 5^th
5. Day-Date — 11^th
6. Sea-Dweller — 12^th
7. GMT-mater — 16^th
8. Explorer II — 17^th
9. Yacht-Master — 23^rd
10. Oyster Perpetual — 27^th

Sweden:

1. Datejust — 1^st
2. Submariner — 3^rd
3. GMT-Master II — 5^th
4. Day-Date — 7^th
5. Daytona — 8^th
6. Explorer II — 10^th
7. Explorer — 11^th
8. Sea-Dweller — 12^th
9. Yacht-Master — 14^th
10. Oyster Perpetual — 16^th

Belgium:

1. Datejust — 1^st
2. Submariner — 2^nd
3. Daytona — 4^th
4. GMT-Master II — 5^th
5. Day-Date — 11^th
6. Oyster Perpetual — 13^th
7. Sea-Dweller — 14^th
8. Air-King — 17^th
9. Explorer II — 18^th
10. Explorer — 23^rd

Most popular watch brands

When looking at the top brands, Rolex is once again the brand that reigns the watch kingdom. And by quite the margin it would seem. According to Chrono24’s statistics, Rolex holds a 25% to 50% market share of the luxury watch industry in most territories. So as we have already spent plenty of time looking into the popularity of Rolex watch models, let’s instead turn our attention to the brands beyond the coronet. Coming in second place and securing the silver medal is Omega. Again, this is consistent across the top ten countries that visit, search, buy, and sell on the Chrono24 platform.

The third place is where things get interesting. Breitling takes third in six of the nations. But in Italy, Breitling doesn’t even make the top ten. Instead, it falls to a lowly twelfth position. Explaining how Breitling has not found favor with the Italian crowd may be a challenge to look into. Italy is, of course, the epicenter of fashion. Even Italian police officers wear uniforms designed by Armani. Breitling, in contrast, is a maker of very toolish and utilitarian timepieces which connect with aviation enthusiasts worldwide. But when it comes to pure and elegant design, only a few models in Breitling’s catalog fulfill that aesthetic.

Most popular watch brands by nation

The same brands make repeat entries in the territories from these lists, perhaps in slightly different orders. But as the margins are so close, it may be the case that the order varies from month to month. Hublot is possibly the outlier that only makes the top ten brands in Spain and Switzerland. Speaking of Switzerland, I was slightly surprised that Seiko, a Japanese manufacturer, ended up in seventh in the proud watchmaking nation. Seiko is the only non-Swiss brand to make Switzerland’s top thirty. Check out the lists below of watch brands again in order of frequently visiting countries to Chrono24.

United States of America:

1. Rolex
2. Omega
3. Audemars Piguet
4. Patek Philippe
5. Breitling
6. Cartier
7. Tudor
8. Panerai
9. Seiko
10. IWC

Italy:

1. Rolex
2. Omega
3. Tudor
4. Seiko
5. Audemars Piguet
6. Patek Philippe
7. Cartier
8. TAG Heuer
9. IWC
10. Panerai

Germany:

1. Rolex
2. Omega
3. Breitling
4. TAG Heuer
5. IWC
6. Tudor
7. Audemars Piguet
8. Panerai
9. Patek Philippe
10. Seiko

France:

1. Rolex
2. Omega
3. Breitling
4. TAG Heuer
5. Seiko
6. Cartier
7. Patek Philippe
8. Audemars Piguet
9. Tudor
10. Jaeger-LeCoultre

United Kingdom:

1. Rolex
2. Omega
3. Breitling
4. Patek Philippe
5. Cartier
6. Audemars Piguet
7. TAG Heuer
8. Seiko
9. Tudor
10. Jaeger-LeCoultre

The Netherlands:

1. Rolex
2. Omega
3. Breitling
4. Cartier
5. IWC
6. Seiko
7. TAG Heuer
8. Tudor
9. Audemars Piguet
10. Patek Philippe

Spain:

1. Rolex
2. Omega
3. TAG Heuer
4. Seiko
5. Breitling
6. Cartier
7. Hublot
8. Patek Philippe
9. IWC
10. Audemars Piguet

Switzerland:

1. Rolex
2. Omega
3. IWC
4. Patek Philippe
5. Audemars Piguet
6. Breitling
7. Seiko
8. Hublot
9. Cartier
10. Jaeger-LeCoultre

Sweden:

1. Rolex
2. Omega
3. Breitling
4. Seiko
5. Cartier
6. TAG Heuer
7. Tudor
8. IWC
9. Audemars Piguet
10. Patek Philippe

Belgium:

1. Rolex
2. Omega
3. Breitling
4. Seiko
5. TAG Heuer
6. Cartier
7. Patek Philippe
8. Tudor
9. Audemars Piguet
10. Jaeger-LeCoultre

Conclusion of the most popular watch brands

So when analyzing the statistics, it is conclusive that the Datejust is emphatically the most popular watch in the world. Not only that, but it just so happens to be produced by the most omnipresent watchmaking brand in the luxury goods industry. Were you surprised by the results? Do you think that there are any other watch models or brands that should be creeping up the lists? Let me know in the comments section below! Thank you again to Chrono24 for supplying the data. You can check out this related article on the Chrono24 magazine site for more details on global watch tastes.