Morgan Stanley releases its Top 20 Swiss watch brands ranking

Morgan Stanley has officially released its annual report for the top 20 Swiss watch brands ranking based on estimated sales revenue.

This collaborative report between Oliver R. Muller of LuxeConsult and the financial services company has been in the works for several years now and has been an interesting indicator of where the market is going for watch enthusiasts and collectors alike.

For this report, estimates are used as the watchmakers/brands have not provided any factual numbers. To no one’s surprise, Rolex has once again topped the list, and has reigned supreme for the past seven years. This most likely will not be changing anytime soon.

Some interesting findings or patterns can be seen in the movement of Swatch itself. The brand made the top 20 list in 2017 and 2018, moved below 20, and in 2023 ranked in at number 13. This was most likely due to its hit collaboration with Omega, who as a watch brand, has consistently placed second or third on the list.

Out of the Holy Trinity, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe have long battled for fourth and fifth place. That’s not what’s surprising. The interesting thing is that the third member of the Holy Trinity, Vacheron Constantin, may soon be entering that competition as it has moved from #14 just four years ago, to now #8.

Brands like Tissot, Longines, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Rado, and TAG Heuer are on the softer side, while Breitling has remarkably climbed from #19 to #9 in six short years. Those interested in seeing how the rest of the mainstream watch brands performed can find the watch brands ranking chart above. As we move towards a more open adoption of independent watchmaking, it would also be interesting to see a chart on some of the bigger independent watch brands and how they compare.

Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash