CONSUMERS
Rolex Dominates US Searches For Watches
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Which are the most-searched for watch brands by consumers in the United States? Rolex GMT-Master II with a “Pepsi” red and blue cerachrom bezel Interest in luxury timepieces by U.S.…
Over the last decade, collaborations between luxury brands and contemporary artists have gone beyond mere artistic partnerships towards a new kind of luxury branding.
PARIS – Art and fashion have always developed side by side, for fashion, like art, often gives visual expression to the cultural zeitgeist. During the 1920s, Salvador Dalí created dresses for Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiapparelli. In the 1930s, Ferragamo’s shoes commissioned designs for advertisements from Futurist painter Lucio Venna, while Gianni Versace commissioned works from artists such as Alighiero Boetti and Roy Lichtenstein for the launch of his collections. Yves Saint Laurent’s vast art collection, recently auctioned at Christie’s in Paris, testified to his great love of art and revealed the influence of a variety of artists on his own designs.
In the 1980s, relationships between luxury brands and artists were advanced when Alain Dominique Perrin created the Fondation Cartier. In the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, a book marking the foundation’s 20th anniversary, Perrin says he makes “a connection between all the different sorts of arts, and luxury goods are a kind of art. Luxury goods are handicrafts of art, applied art.”
The Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemparain building in Paris
Which are the most-searched for watch brands by consumers in the United States?
Rolex GMT-Master II with a “Pepsi” red and blue cerachrom bezel
Interest in luxury timepieces by U.S. consumers – based on the amount of timepiece-related searches generated in the U.S. – remained stable (down 2%) when compared to Q1 2013, according to a recent World Watch Report update released by Digital Luxury Group.
Indeed, the five most-searched-for brands in Q1 2014 and Q1 2013 were exactly the same, remaining in the same order of preference.
Rolex remains the most-searched for luxury timepiece brand in the United States – by a country mile. The brand commanded a 30% share of search in Q1 2014, increasing by 1.4% compared to the previous year.
Tag Heuer came in second with an 8.74% share of search, though interest in the brand dropped 13.55% compared to Q1 2013. It was a similar story at Breitling, where the brand managed to hold-on to the number-four spot – ahead of Cartier – despite a decrease in search volume of 8.7% (compared to Q1 2013).
Top 9 Most-Searched For Watch Brands in the United States
Also on the wane, searches for Panerai (down 5.74% on 2013) and Audemars Piguet (down 9.55%). As searches for Patek Philippe increased by 6.89% year-on-year
Of particular interest were the brands where search volume increased the fastest. Tudor ranked #1 in terms of increase in interest, as it went from being the 30th most-searched-for brand in the U.S. in Q1 2013, to the 14th most-searched-for brand in the market in Q1 2014.
This increase in interest – an increase of 95.68% – has happened less than a year after its new NYC store opening, which appears to have had a significant impact on online interest for the brand in the United States. It’s interesting to note this rapid increase, given that the brand is owned and manufactured by Rolex.
Though their products and marketing strategies remain markedly different, it is interesting to see Rolex’s dominance with two brands in the Top 15.
5 Fastest Growing Watch Brands in the United States
Equally of interest was the increase of interest in Greubel Forsey, one of the most complicated, rare and expensive marques of haute horlogerie. Although the ten-year old brand ranked 50th of the 62 brands tracked by DemandTracker™, interest has shot up by 67% in just one year.
When we consider that Van Cleef et Arpels, Richard Mille and Jaquet Droz rounded out the top five, in terms of biggest increases in interest, we can perhaps surmise that the North American watch consumer is becoming increasingly knowledgeable and discerning, and looking beyond the big established brands.
DemandTracker™ is a data collection solution for keyword phrases searches on different platforms. Built-in semantic analysis allows for in-depth understanding of spontaneous interest of the prospective clientele for any kind of pre-defined topic.
Creative Strategist, Digital
Sophie Doran is currently Senior Creative Strategist, Digital at Karla Otto. Prior to this role, she was the Paris-based editor-in-chief of Luxury Society. Prior to joining Luxury Society, Sophie completed her MBA in Melbourne, Australia, with a focus on luxury brand dynamics and leadership, whilst simultaneously working in management roles for several luxury retailers.
