Everything You Need to Know About Watch Rankings
Do you know that on the totem pole of horology, the almighty Rolex is often ranked only somewhere in the middle? If so, what are those brands in the tiers of “Exceptional Horology” and “Super Luxury Extreme”? Do you agree that Czapek and RGM are in the same league of Omega and Tudor? What are the top German brands besides A. Lange & Söhne? How about the best brands from Japan and Scandinavian countries?
In our daily life, we are accustomed to rankings and ratings for what to buy (think Consumer Reports), where to eat, where to go for vacation, and what movies to watch, etc. Watch brand ranking can be similarly useful. For budding collectors, watch rankings are very handy resources to get to know unfamiliar brands and become informed buyers. For seasoned aficionados, who have formed opinions in their mind on brands, the rankings and the rationales behind them may help uncover new opportunities. Watch collection is fun in part because we are learning something new everyday and we can research and argue about brands we may never be able to own.
In this article, we will review four watch brand rankings and see if there is some consensus among them and if there are insights that may be gained. Ranking of anything are subjective and are determined by the methodologies behind them. One approach to watch ranking is to stack rank the brands based on a set of criteria. Another approach is to define a few tiers and then group the brands into these tiers. There are pros and cons to both approaches as we delve into specifics next.
Watch ranking by Professor Bill Sander
Retired Professor Bill Sander has a prolific watch channel on YouTube called WatchArtSci beginning in 2016, where he produces 2-3 videos a week. Bill covers all sorts of topics including buying guide, watch review, brand comparison, free collection review and live steam discussion. I especially enjoy his collection reviews and had submitted mine for review to join the fun.
Bill published in 2017 the most comprehensive watch ranking I could find on the web. Please see the table below and go check out Bill’s 16-minute video for his explanation. Bill took a tiered approach with four major tiers: Standard Horology, Strong Horology, High Horology and Exceptional Horology. We may see that the top tier is pretty much occupied by the independent watchmakers. Bill deems the GPHG awards in very high regard, so it is not surprising that many GHPG winners fared well in this ranking. Patek, Lange and Jaeger-LeCoultre are in the 2nd tier, together with a few more indie brands. Rolex and Omega are together in the 3rd tier. The brands in the 4th tier mostly don’t have in-house movements.
The Top Swiss Watch Brands Ranking by Swiss Divers Watches
Swiss Divers Watches is a watch review and shopping site created by Alexander. The site offers reviews on watches and publishes Top 15 Luxury Watch Brands in the World. I like this ranking as it was based on a very systematic method for this usually subjective endeavour. Alex defined 14 ranking criteria which were used to come up with total scores for each brand:
Long and respected history
Limited supply – large demand
Reputation/status/prestige
Whether or not the brand is a fully independent watchmaker
Pioneering spirit and innovations
Impact on watchmaking history and modern culture
General in-house production (meaning every aspect of the manufacture is in-house)
In-house made movements
Movement complications
Steel grade
Build quality
Price range
Good resale value
Market presence/Market share/Market dominance
The ranking is shown in a rising order below. The brands included are all well-established historical brands that score high on the comprehensive evaluation framework. Please follow the links to read Alex’s assessments for these brands.
7-Level Luxury Watches by Mr. Paul Pluta
Mr. Paul Pluta is a long-time Youtuber who has two main channels: ArchieLuxury for general watch topics and Paul Pluta for collection reviews. Paul posts 2-3 collection reviews a week each costing $50 or $100 depending on the length of the review. One may not like Paul’s style, but by the large number of review requests from around the globe, we know that Paul offers something that addresses a real need.
Paul posted a video “7 Levels of Luxury Wrist Watches” in 2018 that offers another reference, which was a tiered approach that aimed to group brands together. Paul would consider a brand’s higher end models separately from the lower end models. This makes a lot of sense, as for some brands, the range of product quality and exclusivity is rather big. For example, he would divide IWC into “IWC with in-house movements” and “IWC with off-the-shelf movements”.
Here is the watch ranking as described in Paul’s video:
Subpar entry level (1)
Omega
Tudor (non-in-house)
Tag Heuer
Entry-level (2)
Tudor Black Bay
Omega Speedmaster
Upper Entry (3)
Breitling SuperOcean
Omega Seamaster (co-axial)
Zenith (El Primero)
Luxury (4)
Rolex
IWC (non in-house movement)
Upper Breitling (Bentley)
Upper Luxury (5)
Jaeger-LeCoultre
Breguet (type 20)
IWC (in-house movement)
Super Luxury (6)
Patek Philippe
Vacheron Constantin
Audemars Piguet
A. Lange & Söhne
Jaeger-LeCoultre (high-end)
Breguet (high-end)
Super Luxury Extreme (7)
Patek Philippe (grand complication)
Richard Mille
Greubel Forsey
Best Swiss Watch Brands by Bespoke Unit
Bespoke Unit is a site covering watches and other lifestyle topics. Their review of watch brands was categorized by price, function and country. Let’s look at the Swiss watch brands first where four tiers were adopted: entry-level, mid-tier, high-end and haute horlogerie. More details may be found at this page: Best Swiss Watch Brands by Price.
Entry-Level (1)
Tag Heuer
Hamilton
Tissot
Oris
Longines
Mid-Tier (2)
Rolex
Omega
Jaeger-LeCoultre
Panerai
Zenith
High-End (3)
Patek Philippe
Audemars Piguet
F.P. Journe
Vacheron Constantin
Breguet
Haute Horlogerie (4)
Greubel Forsey
Bovet 1822
Richard Mille
Jacob & Co.
Kari Voutilainen
Top watch brands from other countries are available as well: German brands, French brands, American brands, Japanese brands, Italian brands, Scandinavian brands, Australian brands and Chinese brands.
While these rankings were developed by watch enthusiasts and collectors with different methodologies, we may see some obvious consensus and interesting insights. The independent brands are driving the cutting edge in horology, as it should be. They are like the startups in the tech scene as they need to push the envelope to outshine the established players. Rolex is awesome but there are a lot of other brands to explore, especially for young collectors who may be priced out of the red-hot models. The comprehensive list from Professor Sander offers an excellent roadmap for the exploration of unfamiliar brands. While the center of watchmaking is still in Switzerland, there are intriguing timepieces produced in other countries as well. Among the established brands, I feel that the ranking by Swiss Divers Watches is spot-on, with the Holy Trinity of Patek, VC, and AP at the helm followed by Lange, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Rolex. The timepieces from these top brands will enrich any collections and bring watch lovers long-lasting pleasure and enjoyment.
Last but not least, follow Professor Bill Sander’s YouTube channel WatchArcSci and you will learn a lot. Submit photos of your collection and get a free video review. Happy collecting!