With a bricks-and-mortar base in Richmond, Surrey, plus a strong online presence, retailer Watch Pilot is a business with its finger firmly on the pulse of current trends.
In a recent analysis of TikTok, which is an ever-growing platform for style and shopping inspiration, Watch Pilot discovered that the hashtag #Watchtok has already had 954.5 million views – a number that is growing daily.
Co-founder of Watch Pilot, Tim Harrison, says that some of the findings from the company’s research was exactly as expected – with Rolex topping the searches for luxury watch brands. Others, however, surprised him, for example the fact that pocket watches featured prominently in the top styles that were being searched for.
“From green dials to classic Cartier models, the current and upcoming trends on TikTok can provide watch-lovers with endless inspiration for the next purchase,” he says. “It’s no surprise that Rolex comes out on top as the most popular luxury watch brand, as Rolex is possibly the most well-known watch brand of all time.
“Perhaps most surprising was the appearance of pocket watches in the top five most popular styles. TikTok is where viral trends are born, so are we witnessing the era of the pocket watch?
In terms of key influencers on TikTok, Mr Harrison and his colleagues note two accounts that are leading the pack. “There is @vookum, a watch reseller who negotiates prices for both brand-new and vintage watches, whilst providing viewers with tips and tricks on how to make a luxury watch purchase,” he says.
“And for those interested in seeing how much their favourite celebrities’ watch is worth, @nicovanderhorst regularly posts videos reacting to the very expensive price tags of watches owned by celebrities such as Drake, Mark Wahlberg and Kevin Hart.”
Below, Mr Harrison shares his findings on 2023’s most popular watch fashions according to TikTok users and shares some of his ideas for timepieces that nail the top trends:
The top 5 most popular watch trends
- Gold watch – #goldwatch – 30.3 million TikTok views
- Blue watch – #bluewatch – 11.9 million TikTok views
- Classic watch – #classicwatch – 7.9 million TikTok views
- Retro watch – #retrowatch – 5.2 million TikTok views
- Green dial watch – #greendialwatch – 2.4 million TikTok views
The top 5 most popular watch styles
- Smart watch – #smartwatch – 3.1 billion TikTok views
- Luxury watch – #luxurywatch – 524 million TikTok views
- Pocket watch – #pocketwatch – 40.9 million TikTok views
- Fashion watch – #fashionwatch – 32.5 million TikTok views
- Military watch – #militarywatch – 9 million TokTok views
The top 5 most popular luxury watch brands
- Rolex – #rolexwatch – 545.6 million TikTok views
- Omega – #omegawatch – 213.4 million TikTok views
- Cartier – #cartierwatch – 74.9 million TikTok views
- Hamilton – #hamiltonwatch – 59.4 million TikTok views
- Patek Philippe – #patekphilippewatch – 4.2 million TikTok views
The top 5 most popular affordable watch brands
- Casio – #casiowatch – 128.6 million TikTok views
- G-Shock – # gshockwatch – 99 million TikTok views
- Fossil – #fossilwatch – 23 million TikTok views
- Movado – #movadowatch – 24 million TikTok views
- Citizen – #citizenwatch – 13.6 million views
The top 5 most popular watch influencers
- Tyler Mikorski – @vookum
1.7 million TikTok followers - Nico Leonard van der Horst – @nicovanderhorst
954.9 thousand TikTok followers - Anthony Farrer – @thetimepiecegentleman
378.9 thousand TikTok followers - Wrist Aficionado – @wristaficionado –
375.8 thousand TikTok followers - Mike Noveau – @mikenoveau –
291 thousand TikTok followers
Tim Harrison’s top picks:
Gold trend
Retro trend
Casio Vintage Men’s Gold Watch, £59.89.
Blue dials
Pocket watch trend
Casio watches
I guess my biggest question is over lag or lead? Are the big tick tockers driving tastes or merely reflecting them?