The 'Big Four' barely felt changes in the watch market, while Omega slipped from 2nd to 5th place.
Last week, we published a report by the Swiss bank Vontobel on the best watch brands for 2025. In this article, we share data from the annual analysis by Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult.
According to the report, the watch market is still dominated by six key players: Rolex, Cartier, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, Omega, and Richard Mille. Four of these companies are privately owned and continue to increase their market share, while their industry peers lose ground. This so-called 'Big Four' includes Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, and Richard Mille.
However, there are nuances. Rolex, which artificially creates scarcity to maintain brand appeal, has seen sales decline for the second consecutive year. Sales volumes of the Swiss watch market leader have decreased to 1.1 million watches (-2%). This is the first such occurrence in over 20 years.
Globally, the industry's situation remains unchanged. Morgan Stanley estimates that there are about 450 watch brands operating in Switzerland, but more than 50% of the market is accounted for by the aforementioned 'Big Four'.
Meanwhile, the Swiss watch market is becoming increasingly polarized. In 2025, 10 of the 50 largest brands faced a turnover decline of 15% or more. This group includes Longines, Swatch, Hamilton, Blancpain, and Breguet (all part of the Swatch Group), Panerai and Roger Dubuis (part of the Richemont Group), Zenith (part of LVMH), Girard-Perregaux, and Franck Muller.
Longines, following Vacheron Constantin, left the so-called 'billionaire club' (list of brands with revenue over CHF 1 billion). Its Swatch Group colleague, Omega, slipped from 2nd to 5th place amid declining sales and the rapid growth of competitors.
As in previous years, the ultra-premium segment remains stable, as seen in the figures. Watches priced over CHF 50,000 accounted for 37% of the total export value and 89% of the overall growth, although they represent only 1.4% of all Swiss watches by volume. Meanwhile, the core segment of the Swiss watch industry, such as Swatch Group brands, is experiencing tough times. This does not prevent the group from dominating the entry and mid-range price segments: in 2025, Swatch Group sold about 8.8 million watches, accounting for about 60% of the volume of the entire 'Swiss made' watch industry.
Independent high-end watchmakers deserve special mention. This sector continues to flourish, as evidenced by revenue growth from brands like F.P. Journe, H. Moser & Cie., and MB&F. An important addition - Christopher Ward made it into the top-50. This brand has become one of the few independent mid-range watchmakers whose value has increased.