Editor’s Note
The luxury watch market is showing signs of stabilization in 2025, with a notable shift in consumer preferences. As highlighted in this analysis, elegant designs, rectangular cases, and classic complications like the moon phase are gaining prominence, signaling a move toward timeless sophistication.
The global luxury watch market is stabilizing significantly in 2025. According to an analysis by Chrono24, elegant models, rectangular cases, and complications like the moon phase are gaining importance.
The global secondary market for luxury watches underwent a noticeable correction in 2025. After years of speculative excesses, the classic collector’s mindset is returning to the forefront, according to a recent analysis by the online marketplace Chrono24. The result, based on millions of transactions worldwide: while sports models continue to dominate in volume, the strongest growth is seen in elegant designs, smaller cases, and sophisticated complications.
The increased demand for dressier models is striking. Rectangular cases grew by 9.3 percent, thereby breaking the long-standing dominance of round diver’s watches. A shift is also evident in dial colors: while blue and black are stagnating, precious metal tones are gaining significant momentum. Green recorded an increase of 9.5 percent, champagne 7.9 percent, and gold 6.5 percent. Watches are thus increasingly understood as an expression of personal style preferences – less as a speculative object, more as a piece of jewelry with character.
Among complications, the moon phase stands out in particular. It recorded growth of 15.3 percent, underscoring the renaissance of mechanical finesse that is motivated primarily aesthetically, not functionally. Cartier benefits from this development, for example: demand for classics like the Santos and Tank drove the brand’s growth by 8.3 percent.
In the high-end segment, Vacheron Constantin took the lead in terms of momentum with a market share increase of 13.4 percent. The Overseas collection, in particular, developed exceptionally strongly with growth of 17.3 percent. This successfully positions the heritage brand in competition with Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet.
IWC achieved a remarkable comeback. The brand increased its market share by 14.4 percent. The main drivers were the Pilot lines with an increase of 10.0 percent and the reinterpreted Ingenieur, which grew by 90.9 percent. This development points to a return to technically oriented brands that offer solid availability and are less dependent on gray market premiums.