THE TIME IS NOW
Gen Z finds the time for luxury watches
Gen Z approaches luxury differently. They are looking for stylish items, yes, but also those that have a story behind them and cater to their sense of value. In an effort to capture this cohort, luxury watchmakers are employing the help of Snapchat and Bitcoin, believing younger buyers are a powerful driver of sales growth for top-end timepieces. And even in our digital age, 23% of Gen Z report wearing a traditional watch (as opposed to a smartwatch), and 33% say that owning a watch has become more important to them in the last few years. Clearly, younger buyers can be an important target for high-end watches, particularly as luxury spending among Gen Z and Generation Alpha is expected to grow three times faster than other generations through 2030. Let’s look at what’s keeping this timepiece trend ticking.
AMANDINE
In the year since it was created, Switzerland-based - and 11-year-old Amandine’s Instagram account watch_it_with_amandine has accumulated over 4.2k followers. Her posts, in French, are described as “a refreshing, uninhibited and wondering look at contemporary watchmaking, yet without taking herself too seriously.”Already making quite a name for herself within the industry, she has been interviewed by online sites like the Hong Kong-based Wristcheck and had one of her IG posts praised by industry watchdogs - Watchonista.
— George, 35, TX (Cassandra Collective)
DIMEPIECE.CO
The new wave of young female watch enthusiasts is a relatively new phenomenon. However, what started as an Instagram gallery of watch sightings in pop culture for Brynn Wallner, has now amassed nearly 43k followers and has since spurned the Dimepiece website with a focus on informative posts including “The Basics: Watch Parts,” “Four Iconic Watches to Know If You’re Considering Investing” and the First Dimers series, with Ms. Wallner interviewing “girls, gays and theys” about their first watches.
— Joshua, 18, (Cassandra Collective)
TIKTOKING WATCH COLLECTORS
Up until recently, second-hand watches and retailers have carried a certain stigma. However, with the pre-owned luxury watch segment expected to surge by 75% by the end of this decade, younger buyers are fueling the trend, thanks in part to brands such as Rolex and Cartier developing their own certified pre-owned and trade-in programs to cater to the younger generations buying habits, and the rise of TikTok dealers and collectors that are carving out a growing niche for horological content by becoming unlikely influencers who like @BuyingTime, (starring 22-year-old Tyler Mikorski), Nolan White, and Julia Azer shed light on the world in which these watches are bought and sold.