Morgan Stanley/LuxeConsult: Watch Report 2025 – 4 manufacturers dominate the Swiss watch industry

Morgan Stanley's annual report on the state of the Swiss watch industry, prepared with the support of the Geneva-based consulting firm LuxeConsult and based on sales estimates of 50 Swiss watch brands, is eagerly awaited every year and receives considerable attention in the industry.

The Morgan Stanley/LuxeConsult report on the state of the Swiss watch industry for 2025 has now been published, marking the second time the Swiss watch sector has received a report. Decline in export figures had resulted in a decrease of 1.7 percent compared to 2024.

„2025 was a year of uncertainty – and required agility, discipline and strategic clarity from the CEOs of the entire Swiss watch industry,“ summarizes Oliver Müller, industry expert and owner of LuxeConsult, on his LinkedIn account, and lists ten insights from the current report.

• Structural polarization continues to increase: The four largest privately owned watch brands in Switzerland – Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and Richard Mille – increased their combined market share by 2.2 percentage points and now hold 49.1 percent of the market. This means that these four manufacturers now dominate half of the Swiss watch industry.
• The dynamics in the luxury segment are changing the rankings: omega It fell two places to fifth and was overtaken by Audemars Piguet (third) and Patek Philippe (fourth). This underlines the ongoing Strength of the ultra-luxury segment.
• The „"Club of Billionaires"“ Only six brands remain: Longines has been eliminated, as sales fell by 18 percent to CHF 920 million compared to the previous year.
• Rolex: The undisputed market leaders: Rolex exceeded the CHF 11 billion mark in wholesale sales and gained 100 basis points in market share – thus consolidating its structural dominance despite economic challenges.
• Cartier – outstanding among listed companies: Cartier consolidated its position as number 2 with a market share of 8.7 percent (+70 basis points) compared to 5.7 percent in 2019 – a remarkable growth of 300 base points.
• Richemont – portfolio divergences: In the Specialist Watchmakers division, a decline of 56 basis points was recorded compared to the previous year (currently -273 basis points compared to 2019). IWC, however, was able to achieve growth of 5 basis points (%) compared to the previous year. At the group level, including Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Montblanc, market share remained virtually unchanged at 17.6 basis points (%). This trend was largely driven by the strong growth of the jewelry segment (Cartier +10 basis points (%), VCA +13 basis points (%)).
• Swatch Group – structural pressure persistsThe Swatch Group was once again the largest market share provider in the industry (-216 basis points to 16.1 %). Since 2019, the cumulative market share loss amounts to approximately 1,029 basis points. Omega (-8 % year-on-year) continued to lose market share (-60 basis points), particularly to Rolex.
• Premiumization The trend is accelerating further: Watches priced over CHF 50,000 now account for 37.3 percent of export value and contributed 89 percent of total growth in 2025, even though they represent only 1.4 percent of sales volume. Value creationg is increasingly concentrated in Top segment.
• Independent brands continue their success: As in previous years, Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille have once again recorded the largest market share gains.
• LVMH – limited size in the Swiss watch industryLVMH remains the sixth-largest Swiss watch group with a market share of 5.25 percent (-16 basis points). All of its pure watch brands recorded declines: TAG Heuer (-2 basis points), Hublot (-7 basis points), and Zenith (-15 basis points).