According to the annual Swiss watch industry report by Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult, Rolex set new records for itself and the watch industry, with an estimated astonishing revenue of 10.1 billion Swiss Francs, an 11% increase from 2022, and a market share of approximately 30.3%, continuing its dominance in the watch world.
The report by Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult also notes that Rolex’s annual production in 2023 is estimated to reach 1.24 million units, showing a slight growth of 3% from 2022. The good news is that the report indicates an increase in the production of the Submariner series and stainless steel watches, showing the brand’s efforts to alleviate the long waiting lists. The significance of Rolex breaking the 10 billion Swiss Francs annual revenue barrier is profound. To put it simply, if you were to add up the annual sales of the brands trailing behind, such as Cartier, Audemars Piguet (AP), Omega, Richard Mille, and Patek Philippe, they still wouldn’t match Rolex’s singular brand performance. The report concludes that no other luxury brand in the global market has demonstrated dominance in its field comparable to Rolex in the watch industry; for example, Louis Vuitton’s leather goods, while highly representative and well-known, have a market share of “only” 19%, unlike Rolex, which accounts for 30% of the watch market.
Cartier remains second to Rolex, with its 2023 sales estimated at around 3.1 billion Swiss Francs. Omega ranks third with 2.6 billion, followed by AP with 2.4 billion, and Patek Philippe with 2.1 billion, maintaining their positions from 2022, but all showing an upward sales trend. Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult highlight Cartier’s popularity due to its hit products like Tank and Santos, while Omega’s Seamaster and Speedmaster continue to be highly favored in the market.
The top 10 brands see brands like Vacheron Constantin breaking their records, with their annual sales estimated at 1.097 billion Swiss Francs, marking an 18% increase from 2022 and breaking through the 1 billion Swiss Francs threshold for the first time, moving up two spots to rank 8th among the elite billion-dollar club of bestselling brands in the watch market.
Interestingly, the brand with the largest growth in sales volume from the previous year remains Swatch, with over 2 million MoonSwatch sold in 2023, and a total annual production of about 5.8 million units. Calculated with an average price of approximately 141 Swiss Francs, this totals an impressive figure of 817 million Swiss Francs, enough to rank Swatch 13th in the Swiss watch market. The collaboration between Swatch and Omega continues to ferment, effectively driving market attention and sales for the former.
Beyond mainstream brands, the 2023 Swiss watch industry sales ranking also highlights a noteworthy phenomenon, with three independent watchmaking brands appearing in the top 50 for the first time since the report’s inception: FP Journe, H. Moser & Cie., and Greubel Forsey, ranked 37th, 38th, and 50th respectively, indicating the growing significance of independent watchmaking brands among collectors in recent years.
