Cartier: The Other Big Winner of 2024
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While Rolex continues to dominate global watchmaking, another house stood out with a remarkable rise in 2024. Cartier had an exceptional year, marked by a significant appreciation of its models on the secondary market and a notable surge in interest from collectors and watch enthusiasts. The Watchfinder Wrist Watch Report highlights a particularly favorable trend for Cartier. Unlike certain references from competing brands that recorded a notable decline, the Parisian house's flagship models saw their value rise. The Cartier Panthère emerged as the watch with the highest value increase on the secondary market, with a 16.38% rise in one year. The Cartier Tank, another of the brand's icons, also showed significant growth, with a 5.61% increase. These figures demonstrate Cartier's growing appeal on the pre-owned market, a key indicator of demand and desirability among buyers. While the post-pandemic price surge led to a general market correction, Cartier seems to have not only maintained its footing but actually gained value.
In addition to the rising value of its models, Cartier established itself in 2024 as one of the most coveted brands for watch enthusiasts. The Cartier Santos perfectly illustrates this dynamic. It recorded the second-highest growth in Google searches after the Rolex Datejust, with an impressive increase of 1,345,000 additional searches compared to 2023. This renewed interest reflects a shift in market preferences. Faced with the saturation of steel sports models, the attention of collectors and buyers is increasingly turning toward watches with character and timeless elegance. Cartier, with its iconic designs and heritage deeply rooted in watchmaking history, seems to be fully benefiting from this shift in trends.
Cartier's success today is primarily the result of a perfectly executed strategy. The Parisian watchmaker has successfully capitalized on its DNA by highlighting pieces with inseparable history and elegance. Unlike Rolex, which relies on orchestrated scarcity and endless waiting
lists, Cartier offers models that are immediately available, thereby avoiding buyer frustration. The house has also expanded the variations of its iconic models, broadening its audience without diluting its creations. The development of interchangeable bracelets, particularly on the Santos, further enhances practicality and versatility, making these watches highly attractive to a clientele that no longer wants to choose between a dress watch and an everyday watch. Cartier has also successfully established itself in the women's market, a segment often overlooked by major Swiss watchmakers.
Models like the Panthère and the Baignoire meet this demand with a distinctive design and a jewelry-first approach that appeals to an audience far beyond traditional collector circles.
While Rolex maintains its supremacy in the United States and the United Kingdom, the situation in France perfectly illustrates Cartier's rise. In this market, the Cartier Santos and the Cartier Tank lead the sales charts, a phenomenon that goes beyond a mere passing trend. This performance is driven by several factors. On one hand, Cartier benefits from deep historical roots in France, reinforced by its positioning at the crossroads of watchmaking and luxury. On the other hand, the French taste for shaped watches seems to be growing stronger, in a context where square and rectangular designs are enjoying renewed interest. The third-place position held by Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak in French sales also reflects this dynamic.
The year 2024 marks a period of stabilization for the watch market, following the price explosion observed between 2020 and 2022. Several iconic models from brands such as Patek Philippe, Rolex, and Vacheron Constantin saw their value decline, signaling a return to more sustainable levels. Prices for Rolex watches fell by around 10%, while Patek
Philippe recorded an average decline of 16%, and Vacheron Constantin a drop of 23%. The hardest-hit models include the Patek Philippe Nautilus, whose value plummeted by 42%, and the Rolex Day-Date, down by 24%. In this context, Cartier's performance is all the more remarkable. Contrary to the downward trend observed in the steel sports watch segment, Cartier models managed to preserve and even strengthen their appeal. The Panthère, Tank, and Santos are emerging as rising values, reflecting sustained demand for timepieces that are both timeless and elegant.
Cartier's rise in 2024 is not merely a passing phase but seems to be part of a broader shift. Buyers are gradually turning away from the overhyped and overpriced models of previous years to favor watches with more distinctive and timeless designs. Cartier, thanks to its unique positioning halfway between watchmaking and fine jewelry, seems particularly well-placed to capitalize on this evolving trend. At a time when the market is rebalancing, the Parisian house is establishing itself more than ever as a credible and desirable alternative to the historic giants of Swiss watchmaking. Only time will tell if this trend continues, but the signs are clear: Cartier is asserting itself as a major player on the global watch scene, driven by growing demand and rising values.
Feel free to download the full “Watchfinder Wrist Watch Report 2024” and read the complete analysis via the article by Passion Horlogère.