Chrono24 is one of the largest and popular online watch retail platforms in the world, selling everything from the latest hype MoonSwatch to the most prestigious of Patek Philippes. Now, cementing their position as a premier sales website, one of the Premier League’s hall of famers has become a shareholder. We’re of course talking about Cristiano Ronaldo, the latest Chrono24 investor.
Ronaldo is a constant presence in the watch industry these days. Whether it’s creating collaboration timepieces like the Flight of CR7 or attending store openings, it’s clear that he’s passionate about watches. To be honest it was only a matter of time before he took the plunge to either invest in a brand or build his own. It’s a small surprise that he opted to invest in a retailer rather than a watchmaker but it’s by no means crazy.
We often talk about watch investments but investing in the brand that sells the watches is taking things to another level. Although it’s certainly a shrewd investment considering the huge growth of the watch industry and second-hand market in the past few years. Chrono24 itself has grown in value by close to £100M since 2021 through a Series C round (a form of rapid investment growth in a short time span) and today sits at roughly £773M. That puts it above the $1B mark and earns it Unicorn status, a term used to describe a start-up business now worth over a billion dollars.
A strong watch industry is always a good thing and hopefully Cristiano Ronaldo’s investment in Chrono24 will contribute to that. Although I imagine the most visible change that will come from this, at least from an outsider perspective, is seeing Ronaldo with even more watches on his wrist. Considering that he’ll have an even closer eye on what passes through Chrono24.
More details at Chrono24.
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