The Apple Watch has displaced Rolex on a list of luxury global brands, as measured by analytics firm NetBase, measuring social media mentions and consumer sentiment from more than 700 million posts between 2014 and 2015.
The Apple Watch took the no. 1 place in the list’s “watches” category — made all the more impressive by the fact that it was the only smartwatch featured. Other watchmakers it outranked included Tag Heuer, Richemont, Curren and Patek Phillippe.
Overall, Apple made a strong showing on NetBase’s list, which awarded the overall top spot of best luxury brand to Chanel. Apple as a company came in at #4, while the iPhone was ranked #11, and the Apple Watch came in at #13. The iPad, meanwhile, dropped off the list completely compared to previous years.
Apple’s placement on a list of luxury brands is no surprise, given that this is a direction the company is seemingly embracing more than ever. Jony Ive may deny it, but when you’ve got Apple teaming up with high-end French designers to create collaborations like the Apple Watch Hermès, or the company’s retail stores are run by the former CEO of Burberry, it gives off a certain vibe.
Recently, trendy lifestyle magazine Wallpaper* named the Apple Watch Hermès as 2015’s “Life Enhancer of the Year” in its annual design awards.
You can check out the rest of NetBase’s list here.
