Gen Z, the generation born between 1997 and 2012, is reshaping the luxury watch market. That’s the key takeaway from the H1 2025 report from the watch resale marketplace Chrono24 and the online watch platform Fratello. How exactly are Gen Z’s tastes different from previous generations? Below, we note three of the report’s highlights.
The Dress Watch Renaissance
Not so long ago, all the cool kids wanted steel sport watches on integrated bracelets. Think the Rolex Daytona, Patek Philippe Nautilus, and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. By contrast, dress watches, often defined as slender and elegant timepieces that come on straps as opposed to metal bracelets, were relics of an earlier age.
Then Gen Z entered the watch market. Driven by a desire for adornment that allows them to express their individuality, this demographic has single-handedly reversed the steel sport watch trend of the past decade by favoring dress styles, often in vintage timepieces. The Chrono24-Fratello report notes that dress watch purchases by Gen Z have risen 44% since 2018 compared with 29% for other age groups. What’s more, dress watches now account for 12% of all watches bought today by Gen Z, the highest share among all age groups.
The report also noted that in terms of pricing, 22.4% of buyers sought dress watches priced below 2,000 euros (about $2,322), reflecting Gen Z’s current purchasing power. Meanwhile, 21.5% of buyers—likely of the older, more seasoned variety—purchased pieces above the 10,000-euro mark. The report’s conclusion: “Affordable and very expensive dress watches are in high demand, not much in between.”
Cartier Is a Gen Z Favorite
Of all the brands to catch favor with Gen Z, Cartier is a clear standout. Over the past seven years, the brand’s share of Gen Z’s total watch purchases has grown more than four-fold, from 1.7% to 6.8%. That increase has far outpaced Cartier’s growth in the overall market, where it has increased from 2.9% to 4.8%.
Cartier’s reputation as an elegant dress watch brand that produces a variety of fetching and unusual shaped timepieces has certainly helped its standing among Gen Z. After all, its vast and varied archive makes it eternally appealing for vintage hunters, and its status as a maker of stylish and prestigious timepieces resonates with Gen Z’s abiding interest in social sharing.
In other words, for members of Gen Z—a demographic that views consumption and content as inextricably linked—posting an image of your new Cartier watch to Instagram Stories is bound to get a ton of likes. And that’s the point.
Rolex Still Rules
Here’s a statistic bound to surprise anyone unfamiliar with the Swiss watch business: Roughly one out of every three watches sold today is a Rolex. That stat reflects both the brand’s dominance in the primary market—where its estimated 2024 sales of 10.6 billion Swiss francs represented 32.1% of the market, up from 26% in 2019—as well as its No. 1 spot in the secondary market.
According to the Chrono24-Fratello report, the brand has stabilized at 33.7% (pre-owned) market share with the Daytona overtaking the Submariner as Rolex’s No. 2 collection behind the evergreen Datejust, perpetually at No. 1. Because even among anti-conformist Gen Z, classic always wins.
Top: Tangente Gold Neomatik Ref. 161 in 35 mm 18k gold case, $13,000; Nomos Glashütte
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