The global watch market is worth roughly $135 billion in 2026, yet the number that best captures where the industry is headed is this: only 26% of consumers still wear a traditional watch, down from 46% in 2020, even as Gen Z spends more on mechanical timepieces than any generation before it. The market is splitting in two, with smartwatches on one wrist and a booming pre-owned luxury trade on the other. Here are 44 verified statistics, each with its source, covering market size, Swiss exports, brands, smartwatches, resale, and buyer behavior.
Key watch industry statistics (the editor's cut)
- The global watches market generated about $135.63 billion in revenue in 2026. (Statista)
- Swiss watch exports fell 1.7% to CHF 25.6 billion in 2025, a second straight yearly decline. (Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry)
- Rolex alone holds 32% of the Swiss watch market, with 2024 turnover above CHF 10.5 billion. (Morgan Stanley / LuxeConsult, via Monochrome)
- Pre-owned watch sales reached roughly $17 billion in 2025, with Rolex accounting for about $5.7 billion of it. (WatchPro)
- There were 562.86 million smartwatch users worldwide in 2025, up 23.7% year over year. (DemandSage)
- The Apple Watch took 23% of global smartwatch shipments in Q1 2026. (Counterpoint Research)
- 41% of Gen Z bought a luxury watch in the past year, spending an average of $10,870. (Robb Report)
- Pre-owned Rolex prices climbed roughly 550% over 15 years, from about $2,000 in 2010 to $13,426 in 2025. (Robb Report)
- Only 26% of consumers still wear a traditional watch, down from 46% in 2020. (Deloitte, via Luxury Tribune)
Market size and growth
The global watches market generated about $135.63 billion in revenue in 2026. That is the broad estimate covering both traditional and connected timepieces. (Statista)
Statista projects the market to grow at a 5.62% annual rate from 2026 to 2031. Steady mid-single-digit growth reflects a category that is maturing rather than surging. (Statista)
Mordor Intelligence puts the 2026 market slightly lower, at about $132.22 billion. Estimates vary because analysts draw the line between watches, jewelry, and wearables differently. (Mordor Intelligence)
IMARC valued the global watch market at $81.35 billion in 2025 and expects $116.14 billion by 2034, a 4.04% compound annual growth rate. (IMARC Group)
The luxury watch segment alone was worth about $63.44 billion in 2026. Luxury is where most of the industry's revenue and nearly all of its cultural weight sit. (Statista)
Traditional quartz and mechanical watches accounted for 67.89% of watch market revenue in 2025. Despite the smartwatch surge, the classic wristwatch still drives roughly two-thirds of the money. (IMARC Group)
Asia-Pacific is the largest regional market for watches, ahead of Europe and North America, driven by demand across China, India, and Southeast Asia. (Mordor Intelligence)
The headline takeaway: the market is large and slowly growing, but the growth hides a split between falling traditional-watch wear and rising smartwatch adoption.
Swiss watch exports
Swiss watch exports fell 1.7% to CHF 25.6 billion in 2025, the second consecutive year of decline. (Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry)
Finished watches alone were worth CHF 24.4 billion, also down 1.7%. Swiss watches remain the value benchmark for the whole industry even as volumes slip. (Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry)
The number of watches exported fell 4.8% to 14.6 million units, about 740,000 fewer than the year before. Fewer, pricier watches is the long-running Swiss trend. (Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry)
The United States accounted for 17% of Swiss watch exports in 2025, holding its place as the single largest destination market. (Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry)
By region, exports were roughly flat in America (+0.3%) and Europe (-0.3%) but fell 3.8% in Asia, dragged down by Japan, China, and Hong Kong. (Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry)
Employment in the Swiss watch sector fell 1.3% at the end of 2025, mirroring the softer market. (Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry)
Brands and market concentration
Rolex holds an estimated 32% share of the Swiss watch market, a level of dominance no other luxury brand matches in its category. (Morgan Stanley / LuxeConsult, via Monochrome)
Rolex's 2024 turnover topped CHF 10.5 billion, roughly CHF 500 million more than the prior year even as the wider market shrank. (Watch Analytics)
Cartier ranked as the second-largest Swiss watch brand and Omega third in the 2024 Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult report. (Morgan Stanley / LuxeConsult, via Monochrome)
The "Big Four" independents (Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and Richard Mille) command 47% of the market, up more than 1,000 basis points from 36.8% in 2019. (Morgan Stanley / LuxeConsult, via Monochrome)
Combined turnover of the top 50 Swiss brands fell from CHF 36.13 billion in 2023 to CHF 35.26 billion in 2024. The pie shrank while the top players took a bigger slice. (Morgan Stanley / LuxeConsult, via Monochrome)
Concentration is the story here: a handful of brands own an outsized share, and that gap has widened through the downturn.
Smartwatches and the Apple Watch
There were 562.86 million smartwatch users worldwide in 2025, a 23.7% jump from 454.69 million in 2024, with the figure projected to reach 740.53 million by 2029. (DemandSage)
Global smartwatch revenue is expected to reach about $55.16 billion by the end of 2026. The connected segment now rivals the traditional watch category in dollar terms. (DemandSage)
Global smartwatch shipments grew 4% year over year in Q1 2026, signaling a steady recovery after a flat stretch. (GSMArena)
The Apple Watch captured 23% of global smartwatch shipments in Q1 2026, up from roughly 20% a year earlier. (Counterpoint Research)
Apple's shipments rose 21% year over year in Q1 2026, the fastest growth among the top 10 brands. (AppleMagazine)
Huawei was the second-largest smartwatch brand with a 17% share and 12% shipment growth in the same quarter. (AppleMagazine)
The Apple Watch accounted for 90% of AI-capable smartwatch shipments in Q1 2026, underlining Apple's lead in smarter wearables. (MacObserver)
An estimated 39.8 million Apple Watches were sold worldwide in 2024. Apple does not disclose the figure, so this is a widely cited third-party estimate. (Statista)
Apple's Wearables, Home and Accessories segment brought in $37 billion in fiscal 2024, down from $39.9 billion in 2023. The Apple Watch is the anchor of that line. (Business of Apps)
North America made up 38.81% of the global smartwatch market in 2025, worth about $14.95 billion. (Fortune Business Insights)
More than 26% of Americans now own a smartwatch. Adoption has moved from early-adopter novelty to mainstream accessory. (DemandSage)
92% of smartwatch users rely on their device for health and fitness tracking, the category's defining use case. (SQ Magazine)
61% of first-time smartwatch buyers in 2025 named health monitoring as their main reason for buying, and 43% wear the device every day. (SQ Magazine)
The pre-owned and secondhand boom
Pre-owned watch sales reached an estimated $17 billion in 2025, and Rolex accounted for roughly $5.7 billion, about a third of the entire secondhand market. (WatchPro)
Pre-owned Rolex prices rose roughly 550% over 15 years, climbing on average from about $2,000 in 2010 to $13,426 in 2025. (Robb Report)
Rolex's certified pre-owned program generated about $594 million in sales in 2025, up 204%. Brands are moving directly into the resale market they once ignored. (Centurion)
The global pre-owned luxury watch market is growing at roughly 10% a year, faster than the primary market, as platforms and certified programs make buying used mainstream. (Luxury Daily)
In the United States, the largest region by sales, average secondhand transaction prices rose 8.43% year over year in Q4 2025. Resale values firmed up as speculative flippers gave way to genuine collectors. (Luxury Daily)
Who is buying, and what they want
Only 26% of consumers still wear a traditional watch, down sharply from 46% in 2020, as smartwatches become the default choice for everyday wear. (Deloitte, via Luxury Tribune)
Even so, 54% of consumers plan to buy a traditional watch within 12 months, almost matching the 53% who plan to buy a smartwatch. Intent for both runs neck and neck. (Deloitte)
Nearly 58% of buyers do not want to spend more than CHF 1,500 on a traditional watch, a reminder that most demand sits well below luxury price points. (Deloitte, via Luxury Tribune)
41% of Gen Z acquired a luxury watch in the past year, spending an average of $10,870, roughly double what millennials spent. (Robb Report)
Gen Z buys an average of 2.4 new watches and 1.43 pre-owned watches per year, easily the most active buying generation. (Robb Report)
40% of millennials and Gen Z say they are likely to buy a pre-owned watch in the coming year, a higher share than among older generations. (Second Movement)
More than 70% of younger luxury buyers now rank craftsmanship and material quality as the top factor in their repeat purchases, favoring quality over quantity. (Cosmopolitan India)
Women now make up about 51% of the buyer segment, up from 37% in 2020, one of the clearest demographic shifts in the category. (Market Research Future)
How shoppers are choosing watch brands
With hundreds of brands competing across a market this size, most buyers now start from a shortlist rather than a blank slate. The data points to a clear split in how people shop: everyday buyers weigh smartwatches against affordable quartz and mechanical watches, while collectors chase heritage names whose resale values keep climbing. If you are trying to narrow it down, a researched, category-by-category overview like the best watch brands is a faster starting point than scrolling brand sites one by one.
The numbers also explain why "buy once, keep it" thinking is back. When pre-owned Rolex prices rise 550% over 15 years and younger buyers rank craftsmanship first, the smart move for many shoppers is fewer, better watches. Whether you lean toward a daily smartwatch, an entry mechanical piece under CHF 1,500, or a collectible with resale upside, matching the watch to how you will actually wear it beats chasing hype. A shortlist of the best watch brands grouped by use case makes that match easier to spot.
Frequently asked questions
How big is the watch industry in 2026?
The global watch market is worth roughly $132 to $136 billion in 2026, depending on the analyst. Statista puts total watch revenue near $135.63 billion, while Mordor Intelligence estimates about $132.22 billion. The luxury segment alone accounts for about $63 billion of that. (Statista)
Are traditional watches losing to smartwatches?
For everyday wear, yes. Only 26% of consumers still wear a traditional watch, down from 46% in 2020, and there were 562.86 million smartwatch users worldwide in 2025. But buying intent is nearly even, with 54% planning to buy a traditional watch versus 53% a smartwatch, so many people simply own both. (Deloitte)
Which watch brand is the biggest?
Rolex, by a wide margin. It holds an estimated 32% of the Swiss watch market with 2024 turnover above CHF 10.5 billion, far ahead of Cartier and Omega. Rolex also dominates resale, accounting for about $5.7 billion of the $17 billion pre-owned market. (Morgan Stanley / LuxeConsult, via Monochrome)
How much does Gen Z spend on watches?
A lot. 41% of Gen Z bought a luxury watch in the past year, spending an average of $10,870, roughly double the millennial figure. They also buy the most watches of any generation, averaging 2.4 new and 1.43 pre-owned per year. (Robb Report)
Is the pre-owned watch market a good place to buy?
It is the fastest-growing corner of the industry, expanding about 10% a year. Prices for sought-after models have risen sharply, with pre-owned Rolex up roughly 550% over 15 years, and certified pre-owned programs now offer brand-backed guarantees. It rewards research, since values vary widely by model and condition. (WatchPro)
How many people own an Apple Watch?
Apple does not publish exact figures, but an estimated 39.8 million Apple Watches sold worldwide in 2024, and the device held 23% of global smartwatch shipments in Q1 2026. More than 26% of Americans now own a smartwatch of some kind, and Apple is the clear US leader. (Statista)
Why do people still buy mechanical watches?
Craftsmanship, heritage, and resale value. More than 70% of younger luxury buyers rank craftsmanship and material quality as their top purchase factor, and many treat a good mechanical watch as a lasting object rather than a gadget. Strong resale performance, especially for brands like Rolex, adds a practical reason on top of the emotional one. (Cosmopolitan India)