Unlike the consumer goods, beverages or retail sectors, the note continues, no major consultants have published market share data in the Swiss watch sector. “This is due to the impracticality of conducting such surveys and the complacency of the Swiss watch industry,” it said.
Perhaps no brand is more cautious, or influential, than Rolex, which continues to dominate the market. According to Morgan Stanley’s seventh annual report, released in February, Rolex’s share is said to grow — to 30.3 percent — on the strength of its sales in 2023, estimated to top 10 billion Swiss francs.
However, because the company allegedly prohibits its authorized dealers from sharing point-of-sale data with third parties, the Luxury Watch Barometer’s monthly reports do not include the brand.
The Pre-Owned Sector
In the secondary market, where Rolex both dominates, EveryWatch, a new data-driven company, is helping to shed light on what pre-owned watches are worth and where to buy them.
“EveryWatch was born from a need,” said Giovanni Prigigallo, the co-founder of the business, by phone from Cagliari, on the Italian island of Sardinia, where he lives and works. “We created this service with the idea that there are aggregators in different fields such as art, cars, wine, etc. But it is completely missing in the watch industry.”
The company publishes monthly reports with sales statistics, compiled by artificial intelligence from more than 300 auction houses and more than 180 marketplaces and dealers worldwide. For example, the report released in February included details such as the total value of watches on the secondary market ($9.4 billion), the Cartier that fetched the largest auction price that month (a Crash model, for $277,200) and the model that experienced the biggest price increase compared to the previous month’s results (an Omega Seamaster, which was more than 107.2 percent).
