14.10.2022 - Brands

Data Reveals The Most Popular Luxury Watch Brands Around The World

Everyone has heard of Rolex, Omega, and Seiko, but which watch brand is the most popular? We dug into the data to find out which luxury watch brand is most popular in each country across the world. By examining which brands people search for in different countries and regions, an interesting pattern emerges – let’s break down the data.

The Most Popular Watch Brand Worldwide

It is not a surprise that Rolex proved to be the most popular brand worldwide. With extremely high brand recognition, Rolex is a brand that is ubiquitous with luxury.

However, it is interesting to see that Omega is more popular than Rolex in many countries. Omega dominates Eastern and Northern Europe as the most popular brand. Omega is also the most popular luxury watch brand in the continent of South America, as well as Canada and Russia.

While Patek Philippe is regarded by many as the most exquisite of all watch brands, it only ranks as the third most popular worldwide, and is the number one brand in 18 countries,  including Niger, Mali and Monaco.

Other key brands represented in the data include Hamilton (most popular in France and Germany), Cartier (most popular in Kuwait and Singapore), and Seiko (most popular in Australia and Japan).

When looking at the global search volume we also find that Rolex has double the amount of searches of its closest competitors Omega, Cartier, Rado and Seiko. This shows clearly how dominant the Rolex brand is.

We also notice that being the number one ranked watch in several countries does not necessarily mean that the  brand is the most popular elsewhere in the world. A great example is Patek Philippe which ranks number one in 18 countries, but is out searched by Seiko which only ranks in three.

What makes Rolex so Popular?

When we break down the data by percentage, we find that Rolex is the top choice in almost half of the world’s countries. Omega is the second most popular brand, but is still three times less popular than Rolex. 

Rolex Target Their Clients Very Carefully

Rolex customers can be classified into two major categories; the watch aficionados who appreciate the workmanship that goes into watches, and the people who do not know anything about watches, but know that Rolex is an elite brand. By targeting these two audiences, Rolex segments itself as a very high-quality product that is not only appreciated by those who consider themselves watch connoisseurs, but also by those that simply want to look the part and showcase their wealth.

Rolex also have a limited supply of watches available to the public, although they produce more watches than any of their competitors. The reason the supply is limited is because they are very selective with who they sell their products to. This keeps the brand luxurious,resulting in very high demand.

Rolex Mastered The Art of Watch Marketing

The Rolex Founder Hans Wilsdorf was not just obsessed with making the world’s greatest watch, he was also focused on creating the world’s greatest watch brand. Wilsdorf made a lot of forward-thinking decisions that differentiated Rolex from its competition. For example, he ensured that the Rolex name was printed on the dial – which was not entirely common during times when watch buyer loyalty was to the watch dealer, rather than the watch manufacturer. In fact, Rolex famously chose their name because it was short enough to fit on the face of watches.

Rolex have also continued to embody the luxury represented by their logo with their continued strong brand presence in prestigious sports. Mercedes Gleitze, the first British woman to swim the English Channel, was given a Rolex Oyster to wear during the swim by the brand. Rolex continues to sponsor sports icons such as Tennis superstar Roger Federer.

The Watch Quality Lives Up To The Expectations 

The main driver behind Rolex’s success is of course its high-quality products. These timepieces have a robust and sturdy yet elegant design and have cemented themselves as industry leaders over the years. 

Rolex also rarely make watches with crazy designs in order to keep each watch timeless. You can wear a 20 year old Rolex and not feel like you are wearing an out of date watch. The design matches their durability, making for an easy choice for anyone looking to buy a luxurious watch.

Rolex Have Exceptional Customer Care

Rolex want their customers to feel special before and after buying a watch. This is why their customer service is geared towards giving their customers the most seamless experience possible. They also offer a five year warranty on their watches which helps keep their customer’s minds at ease in case they find a rare fault in their watch.

A Rolex Is Also An Investment 

We did some research on the best investment options in the past five years and luxury watches came second to only cryptocurrency. Rolex have been known to retain their value really well on the second-hand market. In recent times we also see that Rolex are actually growing in value,meaning that people buying a Rolex today are not just buying a fancy timepiece, but an investment piece that could make the owner more money over time.

Most Popular Watch In Each Country 

List of countriesWatchAverage Monthly Searches
AfghanistanRolex390
AlbaniaHublot320
AlgeriaRolex260
AndorraHamilton20
AngolaRolex20
Antigua and BarbudaRolex20
ArgentinaOmega320
ArmeniaRolex170
AustraliaSeiko22,200
AustriaOmega1000
AzerbaijanRolex170
BahamasBreitling170
BahrainRolex480
BangladeshRolex4400
BarbadosBreitling90
BelarusOmega70
BelgiumOmega1900
BelizeRolex30
BeninRolex10
BhutanRolex50
BoliviaOmega50
Bosnia and HerzegovinaOmega260
BotswanaRolex50
BrazilOmega1900
BruneiOmega90
BulgariaOmega590
Burkina FasoRolex10
BurundiRolex20
Cabo VerdeRolex10
CambodiaRolex480
CameroonRolex90
CanadaOmega18,100
Central African RepublicRolex10
ChadRolex10
ChileOmega390
ChinaRolex260
ColombiaOmega480
ComorosRolex10
Costa RicaOmega140
Côte d’IvoireRolex20
CroatiaOmega880
CubaNo Data
CyprusOmega390
Czechia (Czech Republic)Omega1000
Democratic Republic of the CongoRolex50
DenmarkOmega1300
DjiboutiPatek Philippe10
DominicaPatek Philippe10
Dominican RepublicOmega210
EcuadorOmega110
EgyptRolex1900
El SalvadorOmega50
Equatorial GuineaPatek Philippe10
EritreaRolex10
EstoniaOmega210
Eswatini (fmr. “Swaziland”)Patek Philippe30
EthiopiaRolex880
FijiRolex30
FinlandOmega880
FranceHamilton3600
GabonPatek Philippe10
GambiaRolex50
GeorgiaRolex390
GermanyOmega8100
GhanaRolex1000
GreeceOmega2900
GrenadaPatek Philippe10
GuatemalaOmega110
GuineaRolex20
Guinea-BissauPatek Philippe10
GuyanaRolex50
HaitiRolex40
Holy SeeNo Data
HondurasOmega70
HungaryOmega2400
IcelandOmega70
IndiaRolex301,000
IndonesiaOmega2900
IranNo Data
IraqRolex880
IrelandRolex2900
IsraelRado1900
ItalyOmega5400
JamaicaCartier260
JapanSeiko2400
JordanRolex590
KazakhstanCartier170
KenyaRolex1000
KiribatiRolex10
KuwaitCartier1300
KyrgyzstanRolex30
LaosGucci40
LatviaTissot170
LebanonRolex590
LesothoRolex20
LiberiaRolex30
LibyaRado140
LiechtensteinPatek Philippe10
LithuaniaOmega260
LuxembourgOmega260
MadagascarAudemars Piguet10
MalawiRolex20
MalaysiaRolex8100
MaldivesRolex140
MaliPatek Philippe10
MaltaOmega170
Marshall IslandsRolex10
MauritaniaHublot30
MauritiusRolex210
MexicoOmega1900
MicronesiaRolex10
MoldovaOmega70
MonacoPatek Philippe10
MongoliaRolex90
MontenegroOmega110
MoroccoRolex390
MozambiqueRolex40
Myanmar (formerly Burma)Rolex320
NamibiaRolex90
NauruPatek Philippe10
NepalRolex1000
NetherlandsOmega4400
New ZealandRolex1300
NicaraguaOmega30
NigerPatek Philippe10
NigeriaCartier2400
North KoreaAudemars Piguet20
North MacedoniaBreitling210
NorwayOmega1600
OmanRado480
PakistanRado12,100
PalauPatek Philippe10
Palestine StateNo Data
PanamaOmega90
Papua New GuineaPatek Philippe10
ParaguayHamilton30
PeruOmega170
PhilippinesSeiko12,100
PolandOmega2900
PortugalHamilton1000
QatarRolex720
Republic of the CongoRolex50
RomaniaOmega1600
RussiaOmega1600
RwandaRolex90
Saint Kitts and NevisHublot20
Saint LuciaRolex20
Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesPatek Philippe10
SamoaPatek Philippe10
San MarinoRolex10
Sao Tome and PrincipeRolex10
Saudi ArabiaRado6600
SenegalRolex20
SerbiaOmega720
SeychellesRolex20
Sierra LeoneRolex70
SingaporeCartier6600
SlovakiaOmega720
SloveniaOmega390
Solomon IslandsRolex10
SomaliaRolex260
South AfricaRolex6600
South KoreaCartier720
SpainHamilton2900
Sri LankaRolex1900
SudanRolex70
SurinameRolex40
SwedenOmega2400
SwitzerlandOmega2900
SyriaNo Data
TajikistanPatek Philippe10
TanzaniaRolex590
ThailandGucci3600
Timor-LesteRolex10
TogoPatek Philippe10
TongaRolex10
Trinidad and TobagoRolex170
TunisiaRolex170
TurkeyOmega1600
TurkmenistanHublot20
TuvaluHublot10
UgandaRolex590
UkraineOmega590
United Arab EmiratesRolex12100
United KingdomRolex74000
United States of AmericaRolex165000
UruguayOmega40
UzbekistanRolex210
VanuatuA.lange & Sohne10
VenezuelaOmega70
VietnamCartier1900
YemenRolex50
ZambiaRolex210
ZimbabweRolex210

Methodology

We gathered keyword search data from the past year using Keyword Planner to find the average monthly search volume for each of these watch brands. We checked for (Brand Name) + (Watch) to ensure that the search intent was correct i.e. That people were searching for a Gucci Watch and not just Gucci.