10 Underrated Luxury Watch Brands that Americans Overlook

On most English-language watch forums and chatrooms, a handful of brands dominate the conversation: Rolex, Omega, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, Breitling, Cartier, Grand Seiko and A. Lange & Söhne all get plenty of attention and fawning online. But several brands that were once hot in the United States in particular have cooled off and stayed cold. That doesn’t mean they’re not popular elsewhere in the world, though. Here’s our list of 10 underrated watch brands that are well-established and respected, but often overlooked in America.

Underrated Haute Horology Watch Brand: Piaget

What they’re known for: Extremely thin movements, classy dress watches
Where they’re popular: China

Piaget makes some of the thinnest watches in the world, including some truly beautiful dress watches. They’re a genuinely historically significant watchmaker. Dress watches simply aren’t anywhere near as popular as sports watches in the US, though, and Piaget only offers one sports watch: the Polo.

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak-esque Piaget Polo is cool and all, but it’s not enough to keep Piaget at the top of most American collectors’ minds. America isn’t at the top of Piaget’s mind, either–they have 22 authorized dealers in the United States but over 70 in mainland China, plus 15 in Hong Kong alone. And their jewelry is as noteworthy as their watches.

Franck Muller: Journey from Red Hot to Underrated Watch Brand

What they’re known for: Tonneau cases, unusual complications (including the most complicated wristwatch in the world)
Where they’re popular: Asia

Franck Muller was a scorching hot watch brand in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. It was a simpler time, before internet watch forums were mainstream and people started worrying about unpolished cases and in-house movements. Founder Franck Muller was known as the “Master of Complications” for a reason, and nobody thought less of him for adding his complications to existing third-party ebauches. And people loved his designs–wild typefaces and bright colors were common in his work. Plus he basically made tonneau cases cool before Richard Mille did it.

Franck Muller’s design language has evolved only slightly over the years, for better or worse. As I mentioned in my Collector’s Guide to Franck Muller, the brand went through some scandals in 2003, and despite continuously making highly complicated mechanical watches, in the US they’re perhaps more associated with overpriced quartz watches. When I say Franck Muller is an underrated watch brand, I’m really talking about their mechanical watches. I don’t think the basic $8,000 quartz ladies’ watches in their lineup are doing their brand image any favors, but somebody must be buying them–just mostly outside the US.

In the US, Franck Muller has never again reached their early-2000’s heights and goes largely forgotten today. But in 2024 they opened brand new swanky boutiques in both Malaysia and Hong Kong, so they’re clearly doing better overseas.

Roger Dubuis

What they’re known for: Excalibur, skeletonized movements
Where they’re popular: Asia

Roger Dubuis is a name that feels natural to mention alongside Franck Muller. They’re both underrated watch brands with similar design language that peaked within a few years of each other. The sporty Roger Dubuis Excalibur line was launched in 2005, and that’s what they’re best known for in the US at this point. They were one of the first brands to use the term “hyperwatch,” and they make some highly complicated six-figure watches including some with double tourbillons. Although they made around 25,000 watches per year at their peak in 2008, nowadays that figure is closer to 5,000.

Roger Dubuis himself retired sometime around 2003 and died in 2017. The brand has been owned by Richemont, the conglomerate who owns Cartier, Panerai, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre and others, since 2016. They still have a large number of authorized dealers throughout Asia, including 14 in Japan–more than the United States. Mr. Dubuis originally got his start in the watch industry at Longines, and they’re worth a mention too.

Longines

What they’re known for: Relatively affordable classic Swiss watches
Where they’re popular: China

I think among American and European watch collectors, fairly or not, the perception of Longines is often “sub-luxury” or “almost-luxury.” The brand isn’t hated by any means, but it’s not one I typically see enthusiasts geek out about. In Asia, that perception seems to be a bit different. In China in particular, they’re viewed as legitimate entry-level luxury watches perfectly worthy of collecting. According to Daxue Consulting, Longines has over 400 authorized dealers in China alone, so they’re not exactly an “underrated watch brand” there.

I’ll admit I tend to overlook Longines myself at times, but they’ve been stepping up their game in recent years and adding features like quick-adjust clasps. The Longines Ultra-Chron, which has a high-beat movement (10 beats per second), was a solid release. The current Spirit Zulu Time is an attractive and sporty GMT at the $3,000 price point, but the aesthetic most people associate with Longines is probably that of a straightforward, classic Swiss dress watch. Out of all these underrated Swiss luxury watch brands, Longines probably has the highest chance of strong US sales growth in the short term.

Rado

What they’re known for: Innovative materials, minimalist dials
Where they’re popular: India, China

Rado watches, which mostly occupy the $600-$2,000 wheelhouse secondhand, are a bit more affordable than the ones we typically cover. But I thought it was interesting that India is now Rado’s biggest market, with China close behind. Rado doesn’t seem to get much love from American collectors, but they’ve made some important contributions to the world of watchmaking, including the first tungsten carbide case in 1962. Rado often uses unusual watch case shapes, like their most recognizable design, the Dia Star. Their True Square lineup isn’t bad, either, including a collaboration with the Indian artist duo of Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra (ref. R27070202).

Parmigiani Fleurier

What they’re known for: Outstanding dials, high-quality finishing, vertical integration
Where they’re popular: Switzerland, Italy

The elephant in the room about Parmigiani Fleurier watches is that they’re a dog at resale. They typically sell slowly, and for far less than MSRP. But they’re a fully integrated Swiss haute horlogerie brand and an important supplier of various parts to the luxury watch industry. Vaucher, for instance, which is mostly owned by Parmigiani Fleurier, has supplied base movements for Audemars Piguet, Richard Mille and countless other not-so-underrated watch brands.

Plus, Parmigiani Fleurier is known for their expertise in watch restoration and high-end dial manufacturing. If you buy a pre-owned Parmigiani Fleurier, you’re getting a high level of finishing for your dollar. Italy has about half the number of authorized Parmigiani Fleurier retailers (6) as the United States (13) but only 1/6th the population. Switzerland seems to have the most PF dealers per capita, with 4 to serve their population of less than 9 million. It says a lot that the brand is respected in their homeland.

Hublot

What they’re known for: Aggressive and polarizing designs, advanced materials
Where they’re popular: Middle East

The peak of Hublot’s popularity in the US was likely around 2011, when Jay-Z said “New watch alert: Hublots” in his song “Otis.” Hublot makes avant-garde, blocky, angular sports watches often with integrated bracelets, bright colors and advanced materials. It was refreshing and new…for a while. Eventually the internet started to turn on Hublot, often clowning on them for their wacky designs and for using mass-produced ETA movements in $10,000+ watches. That’s a fair criticism, but if you hold a Hublot in your hand, you’ll see the finishing and case shapes look pretty damn impressive. They’re cool-looking watches in real life. Plus, Hublot now has a fairly wide selection of respectable in-house movements.

At this point, unfairly I think, Hublot is a bit of a punching bag on watch forums. While I don’t recommend paying full retail price for a Hublot, there are some good deals to be had on some cool used Hublots. Nowadays Hublot regularly collaborates with popular modern artists like Takashi Murakami and Daniel Arsham, and they even make some very expensive sapphire case watches. I expect Hublot will be taken more seriously again in the US in due time. For now, they seem to be doing just fine in the Middle East. Their CEO has stated that their Dubai boutique is their best-performing store.

More on Hublot:
How Much is a Hublot Big Bang Watch?
LVMH Watch Week 2024: All The Hublot, TAG Heuer, Zenith, and Bulgari Watch Releases
$5 Million Hublot – Baselworld 2012’s Most Expensive Watch
How to Sell a Hublot Watch

Jaquet Droz

What they’re known for: Automata, enameling
Where they’re popular: China

Jaquet Droz was an 18th-century watchmaker who was also a world-class creator of automata, intricate mechanical devices that captivated audiences with their lifelike movements. Among his most famous creations are three humanoid automata known as The Writer, The Draughtsman, and The Musician. The modern-day Jaquet Droz brand has been owned by Swatch since 2000. They give a nod to their namesake with automata watches like the Bird Repeater, a minute repeater featuring birds that move as the time chimes. The mother bird feeds her baby as it emerges from its shell. High art from one of Switzerland’s many underrated watch brands.

Aside from their automata watches, Jaquet Droz today is best known for their enamel dials. Even their plain white enamel dials are striking, but the enamel paintings in their Les Ateliers d’Art collection are something else. Despite their amazing collection of dress watches, sports watches are generally what drive popularity among Western enthusiasts, and Jaquet Droz doesn’t have much to offer there. Their Sports Watch (“SW”) models resemble the Roger Dubuis Excalibur, and I never see them get much love. But they seem to be enjoying more attention in the East. Aside from their “headquarters” boutique in Switzerland, all three Jaquet Droz flagship boutiques are in Asia–two in China and one in Japan.

Corum

What they’re known for: Dollar Watch, Golden Bridge, 12-sided bezels
Where they’re popular: China, Hong Kong, Singapore

Corum is another high-quality underrated Swiss luxury watch brand with lackluster resale values and awkward product positioning. Although some may find Corum’s modern sports watches a bit tacky and Invicta-esque, you’ll rarely see criticism of their quality. Plus, Corum’s famous Dollar Watch has been worn by at least six US Presidents. Plus, they might have been the first brand to ever put meteorite dials on their watches.

Aside from that, Corum is best known for their Golden Bridge watches, in which the movement is arranged in a linear fashion. This unique construction allows the movement to “float” within the case, attached only at the 12 and 6 o’clock positions, offering an unobstructed view through the sapphire crystal.

When I think of Corum, though, I think of big expensive 12-sided watches–their Admiral’s Cup models. They don’t get a ton of attention in the English-speaking watch world, but Corum’s Global Brand Ambassador, leading Chinese model and actor Hu Bing, can be seen wearing one. They’re cool watches, but since they’re made by one of many underrated watch brands, you can expect to find them pre-owned for less than half of their original retail price.

Girard-Perregaux: One of the Most Underrated Watch Brands of All

What they’re known for: Tourbillon with Three Bridges, constant-force escapement
Where they’re popular: No particular region

Girard-Perregaux has made some interesting contributions to watchmaking, like being the first to make a true constant-force escapement, and the first to make quartz watches with the now-standard frequency of 32,768 Hz. In fact they’ve been a manufacture of Swiss luxury watches since the 19th century, and collectors generally respect them. Ask watch nerds to name underrated watch brands and you’ll probably hear Girard-Perregaux repeatedly. And yet collectors generally aren’t clamoring to buy their watches. For whatever reason (I think the name is a factor, frankly) the Girard-Perregaux brand simply hasn’t been able to spark much mainstream interest in their watches.

Girard-Perregaux’s Royal Oak competitor, the Laureato, is available in many attractive variants. The finish of GP watches compares favorably to just about anything else you could get secondhand for a comparable price (often under $10,000). They’re also known for their “Tourbillon with Three Bridges” design. As with Piaget, the quality is very high, but I just don’t know if they can rise above the other underrated watch brands without something new and fresh.

Their historical achievements and designs, impressive as they are, aren’t quite beloved enough to build a leading watch brand alone. I think that’s a trap lots of watch brands fall into–giving too much reverence to historical design cues that don’t actually excite many potential customers. I think some of these underrated watch brands just need one or two new hit watches to reach a higher tier of relevance in America, and I’m rooting for them. But it seems like many of them are doing just fine elsewhere in the world anyway.

More Guides from Grey Market:
Girard-Perregaux: An Overview of an Underrated Watch Brand
$10k Watch Collection Guide
Meteorite Dial Watches: A Collector’s Guide
Guide to Watch Certification Standards (COSC, METAS etc.)
A Guide to Entry-Level Panerai Models
Women’s Rolex Watch Guide