Last year, the term “quiet luxury” firmly solidified its place in the cultural zeitgeist. Back in April 2023, searches for the term skyrocketed 373 percent —apparently in the wake of the premiere of Succession Season 4 and Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski trial in Utah, but we might more readily cite shifts in the sartorial zeitgeist globally. Such shifts are hard to account for, but they can be seen in data, such as the dropping prices on louder Rolex sports watches and the skyrocketing value of the dressier Rolex Day-Date 36 .
Whatever the reasons, quiet luxury is going off with a...
.well, a whisper, perhaps. For the uninitiated, this expensive trend takes a minimalist approach to style emphasizing high-quality materials and timeless elegance—think the opposite of the 80’s and 90’s when bold logos and branding were the way to flex your wealth and show you were in vogue.
The “quiet” approach to design is pervasive in all facets of the luxury world from legendary fashion brands like Giorgio Armani to the top watchmakers. Though the “stealth wealth” movement has undeniably gained traction in the past couple years, many luxury brands have been employing this philosophy in their designs for decades. In fact, some of the watch industry’s most prominent and popular makers have defined their ethos around the concept, from Laurent Ferrier with its Classic Moon and other time-only models to to Patek Philippe with its new, chilled-out Ellipse Below are the best 9 watches .