Sell Watches Boca Raton

COSC, more formally known as Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres, is the official certification company of Switzerland.  There job is to test watch movements in different positions and different temperatures over a period of 16 days.  The movement must perform within a certain margin for error otherwise the watch will not be considered a certified chronometer.  As you can imagine, Rolex is the number one producer of certified chronometers year after year.  But recently another company has been gaining ground.  Which companies are the top chronometer producing brands?  Find out here.  Sell Watches Boca Raton.

In 2010 Rolex was the top producing brand with 607,512 certified chronometers produced.  In a distant second was Omega with 187,558.  Rolex had well over 3x as many certified chronometers produced as Omega.  However, in the years since, Omega has really stepped up their game.  By 2012 they were producing 526,046 which is almost as many as Rolex did in 2010.  But Rolex also produced more in 2012 totaling 795,395.  Rolex is still at the top, but the gap has certainly grown smaller.  Rolex only produced approximately 1.5x as many certified chronometers than Omega compared with 3x two years previous.

A consistent third place finisher is Breitling.  In 2010 they produced just over 100,000 chronometers and in 2012 that number grew by 50% to just over 150k.  Those big three, Rolex, Omega, and Breitling account for more certified chronometers produced than the rest of the list combined.  They absolutely overwhelm the market.

You might be surprised about the two other watch brands that round out the top five.  I bet you would guess TAG Heuer was in the top 5 but you’d be wrong.  In fact they are all the way down at #16 with only 2,605 certified chronometers produced.  The fourth company on this list is one you probably haven’t heard much about, Mido.  They have actually been around for almost 100 years in Switzerland making great timepieces but they don’t sell a lot in the US.  Their watches are on the lower end of the high end (if that makes any sense) and usually sell for around $1,000 or so.  They made a big leap from #7 in 2010 to #4 in 2012.

And fifth on the list is Tissot.  They fall in the same category as Mido as being on the lower end of the high end.  They make some amazing reliable and stylish watches but don’t fetch the same prices as the top three.

Some other brands in the top 20 include Panerai, Chopard, Invicta, Corum, TAG Heuer, and Rado.

Certified chronometers insure that the movement in your watch meets a strict set of tests and that it keeps accurate time during stressful conditions.  Not having a certified chronometer movement does not mean that your watch is sub-par.  Many high end watch companies have their own tests that they perform that are even more strict than the COSC.  For example you don’t see brands like Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, or Vacheron Constantine on this list.  Those are three of the most well respected watch brands on the planet.  Look for the words superlative chronometer officially certified on the dial of your Rolex next time you have a change.