 | |
 Watches of Switzerland store inBrompton Road, London | |
| Company type | Public limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Watches and jewellery |
| Founded | 1924 |
| Headquarters | Braunstone, England, UK |
Key people | Ian Carter, (Chairman) Brian Duffy, (CEO) |
| Revenue |  £1,651.5 million (2025)[1] |
 £113.9 million (2025)[1] | |
| £53.8 million (2025)[1] | |
| Website | www |
Watches of Switzerland is a British retailer of watches. The company headquarters is inBraunstone, England.[2] It is listed on theLondon Stock Exchange and is a constituent of theFTSE 250 Index.[3]
Watches of Switzerland was founded inLudgate Hill in 1924.[4] During the late 1970sTheo Paphitis, the entrepreneur, worked as a sales assistant at theBond Street Watches of Switzerland store in London.[5]
The business was acquired byRatners in 1988[6] and then sold on toAsprey in 1992.[7][8] In December 1998,Mappin & Webb managing director, Judith Pilkington, acquired Watches of Switzerland from Asprey, together with Mappin & Webb.[9][10][11][12] Both companies were acquired byBaugur Group in November 2005.[11] Baugur grouped both companies with fellow British jewellerGoldsmiths under the Aurum Group.[13][14]
Baugur becameinsolvent and went into administration in early 2009 and the group was under the control ofLandsbanki before coming under the control ofApollo Global Management in 2013.[4] The group was briefly known as Aurum Holdings before re-branding itself as Watches of Switzerland Group in advance of aninitial public offering on theLondon Stock Exchange in May 2019.[4]
The company operates 221 stores in the UK, US and Europe,[15] spread across the Watches of Switzerland,Mappin & Webb,Goldsmiths,Mayors and Betteridge brands. This includes 96 dedicated mono-brand boutiques in partnership withRolex,Omega,TAG Heuer,Breitling, Tudor,Audemars Piguet,Seiko,Bulgari and Fope.[16]
Watches of Switzerland secured its firstFair Tax Mark certification from the Fair Tax Foundation in 2022.[17]