The Most Buzzed-About Watch Brands Right Now

Frederique Constant

“It’s not a top 20 of the most popular brands, but rather a top 20 of the brands that are currently provoking increasing interest among consumers.“

Every quarter, we will reveal the shifting power rankings in the watch market. This overview of movers and shakers is based on data pulled from the world’s largest watch market platform, Chrono24. 

Together with Chrono24 and Ebner Publishing (also known for WatchTime magazine), I started a company called Chronolytics to analyse and structure the data of Chrono24. We had noticed that there was no real source of information regarding consumer behaviour in the watch market, so we decided to fill that gap for watch manufacturers.

Besides being a data vendor for the watch industry, at Chronolytics we also cull data that we consider to be of interest to everyday watch fans — such as the brands that are generating particular interest within a specific time frame. We determine which brands have “moved” the most by looking at shifts in share of interest on Chrono24 from quarter to quarter.

For example, if Bell & Ross had a total share of interest on Chrono24 of 6.05% in Q1 and this increased to 6.12% in Q2, that’s growth of 1.15% — significant enough to propel it into our quarterly Top 20 Power Rankings. Here’s the full list:

So how can this information be useful to watch buyers? Well, it’s not a top 20 of the most popular brands, but rather a top 20 of the brands that are currently provoking increasing interest among consumers. Often, this suggests that these watches will become even more popular — perhaps more collectible — and therefore increase in value over time. 

Another common reason for a surge in interest around a brand is rumours of an upcoming price increase driving people to snatch up bargains while they’re there. Alternatively, it could be  he effect of a successful marketing campaign or a memorable incident involving the brand.

Here’s a more detailed look at five of the brands that generated an increased share of interest over the last quarter.

Perrelet (growth of 22.35%)

Perrelet, who claims to be the inventor of the self-winding movement, has a rich history that goes back to 1777. However, there is still a chance you might not have heard about the brand (even though we mentioned this brand a few times here on AskMen). The Perrelet watches, especially its Turbine models, really come alive because of the visible winding mechanism (12 blades) through the front crystal. Aggressive marketing and the introduction of its new movement might have increased the number of people who started seeking out the brand. We noticed that the interest in Perrelet watches especially increased rapidly in Europe and in the United States. We noticed more advertising campaigns in Europe and more points of sale added to its list of retailers. This might explain the sudden increased interest in the brand. 

U-Boat (growth of 6.58%)

In all honesty, U-Boatis a brand that has not always been taken seriously by watch collectors and enthusiasts. You could even say that this Italian brand has come a long way from a fashion brand to a real watch brand in the last decade. The current range of U-Boat watches has upgraded toward mechanical movements and the use of more high-tech materials. We suspect that there is a fairly new group of watch enthusiasts out there who started to become interested in watches after U-Boat made the switch from being a fashion brand to a real watch brand. Or people stopped caring about this heritage after all these years. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger, a longtime watch collector, has been spotted with a U-Boat. The popularity of U-Boat also proves that there is still a market for extra-large watches.

Rolex (growth of 5.70%)

In times of crisis, people tend to make very safe choices. The safest purchase will probably always be a stainless steel Rolex sports model. The interest in Rolex is still increasing every quarter, and this brand is certainly the one with the highest share of interest among Chrono24 visitors. The Rolex Submariner No-Date (ref. 114060) has been reintroduced last year during BaselWorld and was instantly popular.

Nomos (growth of 3.36%)

This small brand from Glashütte has quite a number of fans all around the globe. With the introduction of its own in-house developed movements and complication watches (world timer, for example), its base of followers is rapidly growing. The typical Nomos design, often referred to as Bauhaus design, is praised by many and the company has won several awards for it. Just recently, Nomos won the prestigious iF product design award for its Zürich collection. The price point of Nomos might also have something to do with its popularity, as the watches start well under $1,500.

Frederique Constant (growth of 2.43%) 

As Frederique Constant CEO Peter Stas writes in his own blog, “Frederique Constant is a company that loves to put a fresh twist into classic ideas and classic designs.” This young company (1988) started out with mainly quartz watches but has grown into watch manufacturing, which needs to be taken very seriously. This company sells well over 100,000 timepieces per year and is growing 25% to 30% each year. Partnerships with people like Eva Longoria will probably give it an additional boost in the years to come.