Blancpain traces its history back to 1735, when Jehan-Jacques Blancpain registered as a watchmaker in Villeret, Switzerland. Often described as the world’s oldest surviving watch brand, Blancpain is especially famous for its mechanical complications, hand-finished movements, elegant Villeret watches, and the legendary Fifty Fathoms diving watch introduced in 1953. Today, the company remains firmly positioned at the high end of traditional Swiss watchmaking.

Daniel Roth established his independent watchmaking brand in 1989 after helping revive traditional complicated watchmaking at Breguet. The company quickly became famous for its unusual double-ellipse cases, hand-finished dials, tourbillons, retrograde displays, and extremely limited production. After years under Bulgari, Daniel Roth returned as a standalone high-watchmaking name in 2023 with support from La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton.

Franck Muller is a fairly young Swiss watchmaker, but it made a huge splash after launching in 1991. Founded by master watchmaker Franck Muller and businessman Vartan Sirmakes, the brand quickly became famous for curved cases, oversized Art Deco numerals and seriously complicated movements. Collections such as Cintrée Curvex, Crazy Hours and Vanguard helped make Franck Muller one of Switzerland’s most recognizable independent luxury watch brands.

Piaget began in 1874 when 19-year-old Georges-Édouard Piaget opened a watchmaking workshop on his family’s farm in La Côte-aux-Fées, Switzerland. Initially known for producing precision movements, Piaget later became famous for ultra-thin mechanical watches, elegant gold designs, colorful stone dials, and jewelry-inspired timepieces. Its best-known collections now include the Piaget Polo, Altiplano, Limelight Gala, Possession, and several distinctive vintage models.

Favre-Leuba is a historic Swiss watchmaker founded in 1737 by Abraham Favre. Known for adventurous tool watches, the brand introduced memorable models such as the Bivouac altimeter watch, Deep Blue dive watch, Bathy depth gauge watch, and Sea Sky chronograph. Today, Favre-Leuba blends those bold vintage designs with modern Swiss movements, updated dimensions, and contemporary materials.

Raymond Weil is a family-owned Swiss watchmaker founded in Geneva in 1976, during a challenging period for traditional mechanical watches. Founder Raymond Weil built the company around accessible Swiss luxury, refined design, and a strong connection to music and the arts. Still independently owned by the Weil-Bernheim family, the brand is best known for its Freelancer, Millesime, Maestro, Tango, Toccata, and music-inspired limited-edition watches.

Apple was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, initially focusing on personal computers. The company introduced the first Apple Watch in 2015, turning the traditional wristwatch into a health, fitness, communication, and notification device. Apple Watch has since grown into several families, including the mainstream Series models, affordable SE range, rugged Ultra collection, and premium Hermès editions.

Swatch changed Swiss watchmaking in 1983 by turning an everyday timepiece into a colorful, affordable fashion accessory. Known for playful designs, lightweight cases, artistic collaborations, and reliable Swiss quartz movements, the brand helped revive the Swiss watch industry during the quartz crisis. Today, Swatch offers everything from inexpensive Originals and ultra-thin SKIN watches to SISTEM51 automatics and highly popular collaborations with OMEGA and Blancpain.

Nixon started in Encinitas, California, in 1998, when Andy Laats and Chad DiNenna launched a small watch collection aimed at surf, skate, snowboard, and fashion shops. Instead of copying traditional watch brands, Nixon built its name around bold designs, oversized cases, action-sports culture, music collaborations, and casual everyday watches. Popular collections now include the Time Teller, Sentry, 51-30 Chrono, Regulus, and Siren.

Ralph Lauren started as a necktie business in New York in 1967 and grew into one of America’s best-known luxury lifestyle brands. The company entered serious Swiss watchmaking decades later, introducing its first major watch collections in 2008. Its watches mix Swiss movements with unmistakably Ralph Lauren themes, including polo, classic cars, equestrian style, the American West, and the famous Polo Bear.