For Omega, I don’t think anyone would be surprised to hear that the Speedmaster was at the top of the list – followed by, more Speedmasters of various references. Coming in third is the Seamaster Diver 300M, the Seamaster Aqua Terra, and the Seamaster Planet Ocean. Omega has made a point of pumping out new Seamaster models over the last couple of years (Olympics anyone?), and while I don’t think it would be enough to overtake the brand’s core model, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Seamaster start climbing the ranks over the next few years.

IWC was another surprise for me. Topping out their most popular model was the Portuguese Chronograph. Despite a large portion of IWC’s 2016–2017 releases being Pilot watches, the Portuguese is still king. Sandwiched between two Portuguese models are 3 variations of IWC’s Pilot Watch with the Pilot Chronograph, Pilot Mark, and Big Pilot.

Of the four brands listed, Breitling is by far the most interesting, and dare I say ironic. The most popular Breitling in Chrono24’s catalog is the Breitling Navitimer. I feel that this statistic is going to validate a lot of the sentiment that Breitling should not have “re-imagined” the watch the way they did. To me, it shows that they have a highly-sought after watch with a design and utility that consumers want. But maybe the updated Navitimer with the “lucky number 8” may prove to be a great attempt to climb up from the 10th spot in the Asian markets. Behind the Navitimer falls the Chronomat, the Breitling for Bentley Collection, the Superocean, and the Superocean Heritage. Surprisingly, no Avenger or Super-Avenger model made the top five.

Average Watch Price On Chrono24

The last statistic from Chrono24 spans more than just a year. Chrono24 takes the last 5 years and compares the median price of new and used watches on their site. Over the last five years, Chrono24 has only seen an increase year over year. Despite downward trends in the overall market, the prices of watches on both the new and secondhand market have increased. While last year the new watch market made the biggest swing from under, this year seems to make the biggest jump in the used market. Five years ago, the average used watch was priced at less than $7,000, where this year it’s over $8,000 – and the average new watch that would run under $9,000 is up to a whopping $11,500. Despite a number of these brands lowering their cost of entry over the last 2 years – instances like the IWC Da Vinci collection and Breitling Skyracer come to mind – the new and secondhand market prices continue to rise. I would speculate that the increase in steeper discounts buyers are able to obtain through grey-market and secondhand sales have influenced the budget of potential customers. Buyers are looking for a bargain and willing to flex their budget a bit more if they know they are getting a $10,000 watch, but are more hesitant to part with cash on a $7,000 watch without much of a discount. Since the cost of new watches is trending upwards, the discounts may seem significantly higher even if you’re purchasing the same watch. So while the average price of a secondhand watch is increasing, these numbers don’t necessarily determine what watches are brandishing those higher prices. Quick searches on Chrono24 show me that a number of these popular models are still reasonably discounted, although perhaps not as much as previous years.

Overall, these numbers are cool. Last year’s figures were a lot more in-depth, and featured a section for Independent Brands, with upward and downward trends. Part of me wishes they stuck to that format so there were things to compare against this year. While some of these stats are par for the course, there were some surprises peppered in – and that’s always exciting.

As a final note: I think it’s encouraging to see that consumer interest in watches is still growing, and trends are still moving upwards (both in price and in numbers). In a world as confusing and beautiful as me having the ability to look at Rolex trends on my smartwatch, the internet has provided a useful tool for enthusiasts and collectors to share their passions and research their own purchases. Personally, I spend a significant amount of time and energy researching where I can get the most for my money. Statistics like those posted by Chrono24 aid in educating consumers as to what’s out there, what’s trending, and what they can expect – whether this is their first watch purchase or their 100th. While these aren’t sales numbers (which would have been really interesting to see), it does show that consumers are out there researching, and interested – and that’s encouraging. chrono24.com