Winning Time

The link between luxury watch brands and sports is not just a timely partnership; it’s an inevitability. 

When it comes to watches, Switzerland takes the lead in the creation of fine timepieces. This small nation produces only 2% of the global share of timepiece manufacturing; however, Switzerland commands more than 50% of the global watch industry in value, according to SWI Swissinfo, making a case for quality over quantity. 

As many luxury brands are trending towards a growth pattern in recent years, the global luxury sports watch market has been no different, growing steadily since 2021 with an  expected increase of 5% from now through 2030, which is nearly on par with similar growth predictions for luxury handbags, growing at an anticipated rate of 8% through 2030. 

This growth has seen an unprecedented increase in the category of luxury sports watches, for both men and women. We aren’t talking about just the Apple Watch – steel, luxury sports watches have seen exponential growth with a surge in popularity, an expansion of new market players, and increases in cost, as manufacturers see the potential for this market.

Recently, Esquire published an article about luxury steel sport watches, touting these accessories as “always a timeless choice.” Complete with a photo of George Clooney - the ultimate cool, charismatic, successful guy - driving a luxury sports car along the Italian Riviera.  

Recent years have seen these luxury sports watches become so popular, they are now as difficult to get your hands on as luxury bags - with many consumers waiting just as long to buy an Hermès bag as a Patek Philippe watch. Many parallels have been made between the two luxury markets, sharing similar attention to exquisite design, detail, craftsmanship, and a scarcity that leads to high demand and higher prices. 

So what makes these luxury sports timepieces so popular?

We may find answers by turning to Formula 1 racing, a sport that has seen an incredible uptick in interest in the past years, largely thanks to Netflix’s series, Formula 1: Drive to Survive. This recent interest in the F1 brand has led to increased viewership across the world, leading to record-shattering numbers of viewers during the 2023 events, and becoming a pop culture mainstay, inspiring media outlets like Forbes to tout F1 as “the most valuable sports empire in the world.” For more about F1’s rise in popularity, check out our December newsletter.

It’s a long tradition that F1 drivers sport luxury watches between races, sometimes even donning a timepiece during the race itself. Many of the top official sponsors of Formula 1 include top luxury watch brands such as Rolex as the official timekeeper, Richard Mille for Scuderia Ferrari and McLaren, Tag Heuer for Red Bull Racing, or IWC Schaffhausen for Mercedes. You can find all of the 2024 watch sponsors for Formula 1 here. 

They enhance the fan experience by providing added value to consumers through exclusive offerings for their luxury clientele, such as the Richard Mille F1 suite at the upcoming Miami Grand Prix on Sunday, May 5th, 2024. This exclusive suite hosts hundreds of guests adorned in Richard Mille watches trackside, providing them with an unparalleled view of luxury racing.

In 2017, Richard Mille signed a 10-year partnership with Mclaren, after being a longtime sponsor of Scuderia Ferrari. If you search “Richard Mille watches” on Google, the first result shows their home page, which states: “Richard Mille | A racing machine on the wrist.”  This branding is a clear push to link the reputation of motor racing – technical innovation, meticulous attention to detail, thoughtful design – with that of Richard Mille, who “share the same passion for modern technology, state-of-the-art design and precision engineering,” as stated on the McLaren website. According to Ferrari, “the Brand endeavors to apply the techniques and materials found in the most innovative sectors such as in the domains of F1 racing car development and the aerospace industry to watchmaking, with the goal of creating extreme timepieces, without gimmicks, and extend the field of horological knowledge and invention.”

This link between luxury watches and sports is not a new concept, as many of these original sports watches were made with sports functions in mind, not just as a statement accessory. Take Rolex for example, a large sponsor of golf, sailing, tennis, and motorsports, well-known for the Rolex Submariner, one of the most popular dive watches in the world and James Bond’s first watch, as worn by Sean Connery. Then there’s the Rolex Daytona, the brand’s iconic racing chronograph known throughout the world of motorsports. Similarly, the Omega Speedmaster was the watch that the crew of Apollo 11 took to the moon, and is a popular addition to the famous Omega Seamaster Diver 300m - another globally known diving watch as well as a part of the James Bond franchise, gracing the wrist of our “shaken, not stirred” hero ever since Pierce Brosnan wore it first in 1995’s GoldenEye.

Luxury sports partnerships are not just reserved for timepiece brands. We are seeing more and more luxury brands sponsoring sports. Perhaps this started long ago with streetwear superbrand Supreme’s meteoric rise to popularity with its collaboration with Louis Vuitton in 2017. Garnering considerable attention in the fashion industry and beyond, it had consumers scrambling to get their hands on their sold-out high-low pieces. 

Later this year, we will see what might be the biggest collab between luxury brands and sports, as LVMH sponsors the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Group’s Maisons will support various parts of this major sporting event, including Berluti to design Team France’s uniform for the Opening Ceremonies, Moët Hennessy to sponsor wines and spirits during the games, Sephora partnering with activations along the torch relay route, medals designed by artisans of the iconic Paris jeweler Chaumet, and medal and torch trunks custom-designed by Louis Vuitton.  

While traditional sports sponsorships remain popular, especially with the advent of more and more audiences tuning into niche luxury sports, watch brands may continue to explore collaborations with other industries, such as fashion, technology, or entertainment, to create unique and innovative products. Sports sponsorships could align with these collaborations, leveraging synergies between different brand identities and audience segments. One thing is clear, watches and sports have a synonymous past, and likely a very synergistic future. 

In the world of luxury watches, the Watches and Wonders Convention, taking place annually in Geneva, is one of the biggest platforms for brands to share new and innovative technologies, trends, and collaborations. This year’s convention has seen the line further blur between luxury segments of fashion, art, sports, beauty, entertainment and current events. Brands are continuing to explore and innovate within these worlds, and we can’t help but wonder, what industry-shaking collabs did you like best from this year’s convention?