Audemars Piguet moves past Patek Philippe for the first time

According to Morgan Stanley’s annual report on the Swiss watch industry, Rolex turnover reached CHF 8.1 billion in 2021. This represents 29 percent of the market, up from its market share of 25 percent a year prior.

Meanwhile, Audemars Piguet overtook rival Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe by revenue for the first time. climbing to the fourth-highest turnover among Swiss watch brands. Here’s the full top ten, along with estimated turnover (in CHF):

• Rolex, 8.1b

• Cartier, 2.4b

• Omega, 2.2b

• Audemars Piguet, 1.6b

• Longines, 1.5b

• Patek Philippe, 1.5b

• Richard Mille, 1.1b

• Tissot, 850m

• IWC, 800m

• TAG Heuer, 680m

Breitling, Hublot, and Vacheron Constantin sat just outside the top ten. For those keeping track, this leaves seven brands in the “billion club” with more than CHF one billion turnover annually (Tissot fell out).

Cartier sales jumped 40 percent year-over-year, vaulting it into the second position above Omega and upsetting the generally accepted one-two punch that is Rolex and Omega in the Swiss watch industry.

Fellow Richemont brand Vacheron Constantin also saw a 50 percent jump in sales. The continued rise in sales for super luxury brands like Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet (and even Cartier) illustrates the sustained move to high-priced watches in lieu of lower-priced brands.

For example, Swatch Group’s brands lost 4.5 percent of their market share over the last two years. Even as a moderately-priced brand like Longines finds continued success, others like Tissot, Hamilton, and Mido have struggled. Swatch Group’s 2021 market share dropped to 22 percent (down from 25 percent in 2020).

Rolex’s CHF 8b in turnover represented CHF 12b in retail sales. According to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, total watch exports from Switzerald were CHF 22.3b in 2021, up 3% over pre-pandemic 2019 levels. In other words, there’s industry growth in new watch sales, but not a ton.

Compare this to the fast-growing secondary market, which has been estimated at $20b, and depending on which consultants/bankers you listen to, is expected to grow at more like 10% a year.

Here’s Bloomberg’s summary of the annual report from Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult.