Coming in hot with more than 8 million Google searches.
It appears it’s hard to keep a legendary luxury watch from remaining one of the most sought-after timepieces on the planet. As fake Rolex watches flood the market and as Rolex debuts its own certified pre-owned program, two “Rollies” topped Google’s list of the most covetable watches of 2023.
The Rolex Submariner and Rolex Daytona racked up more than 16.2 million searches combined in 2023, according to Google Analytics data shared by luxury watch resale platform Watchfinder & Co.
The Omega Speedmaster (with about 5.5 million searches) and the Rolex Datejust followed those two watches in quick succession, while the Omega Seamaster (5,072,000 Google searches) rounded out the top five.
Two Cartier watches (the iconic Cartier Tank and the Cartier Santos) racked up more than 6 million combined searches, landing at the seventh and 9th slots respectively, while the Rolex DayDate clocked in with more than 2.3 million searches to close out the top 10.
The Patek Philippe Nautilus, meanwhile, ranked 8th with more than 2.9 million Google searches of the famed watch.
There are a number of watches, like the Rolex Daytona Panda, that help set watch market resale pricing, and it appears as if consumers are looking to the World Wide Web to shorten projected wait times for hard-to-find styles from the world’s top watchmakers.
“Most Americans can expect to wait 12 months for a new Rolex Submariner, up to 3 years for a Daytona, and 5 years for a new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak,” said Edouard Caumon, the US country manager for Watchfinder & Co.
In light of intense demand for high-end timepieces, Watchfinder & Co. points to unsung models like Tudor Black Bay GMT as possible alternatives for those looking for a luxury watch with more of a budget in mind.
For now, the fervor around some of the world’s most popular watches likely shows no signs of slowing down, so consider yourself fortunate if one of these timepieces already holds place of pride in your own collection.
If not? Well, you can always track one down via Google (good luck out there).
