the luxury watch market | France

1.1 Market definition

Luxury watchmaking is a category that groups together watches from quality manufacturers whose manufacture required precise watchmaking work on mechanical movements, but also on the elaboration and finishing of watch cases, as well as on elements such as dials and hands.

The high-end watchmaking segment exploded in France with the rise of luxury brands in the 1990s, driven in particular by the development of mass tourism in Asia since the 2000s. The 2008 crisis put an end to this boom, but the industry has recovered since 2010.

Traditionally dominated by large historical companies the market has seen the arrival of new competitors first in the 1990s, and then more recently. Indeed, in the first instance, the large fashion brands but also small artisanal players are trying to make a place for themselves on this market. Secondly, the development of smartwatches has changed the balance in the luxury watch market: Apple has, for example, managed to sell more Apple Watches than all Swiss watch brands combined, in 2019.

However, even though there are many brands in the luxury watch segment in France, four major groups are competing in this market. Among these actors, the convergence between luxury and watchmaking is undeniable :

• Swatch Group Breguet, Omega, Blancpain, Longines, Tissot, Tiffany
• LVMH Group TAG Heuer, Christian Dior, Zenith, de Beers, Hublot, Fred
• Richemont Group brands MontBlanc, CBI, Vacheron Constantin, Piaget, Panerai, Van Cleef
• Rolex