Cuervo Y Sobrinos & The Rise of Latin American Luxury

Latin America’s affluence and appetite for luxury have been steadily rising, and in today’s global climate, the region is attracting growing attention from watchmakers. With US consumers facing tariffs on Swiss goods and China’s luxury market still in sharp decline, brands are increasingly looking to Latin America as a resilient and promising market.

Based on several recent studies, the region’s luxury sector was estimated at over US $31 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow around 5% annually. Mexico stands out, importing more than US $550 million in watches last year and ranking among the fastest-growing markets for Swiss timepieces.

This enthusiasm extends beyond watches: Mexico’s beauty market alone surged nearly 17% to €7 billion in 2023, signaling a broader appetite for premium experiences. The energy of the region is showcased at marquee events such as the Salón Internacional Alta Relojería (SIAR) and the EXPO JOYA series in Mexico, and Brazil’s influential FENINJER, where Latin American buyers and brands converge to trade, network, and set trends for the wider luxury market.

Although Latin America is not traditionally seen as a hub for haute horlogerie, it has cultivated a number of domestic brands that reflect the region’s creativity and ambition. In Brazil, Technos, originally Swiss but now fully Brazilian-owned, produces roughly a million watches annually and remains a household name.

Condor targets younger, style-conscious buyers with affordable and versatile designs, while newer entrants like ACTO Watches aim to bring luxury-inspired aesthetics to accessible price points. Microbrands such as Terranova draw on national culture for inspiration, exemplified by its Copacabana model, which evokes Rio’s iconic beachfront.

These brands demonstrate the spectrum of Latin American watchmaking, from mass-market to boutique, and suggest the region’s potential to expand its presence on the global horology stage.

Among these, Cuervo y Sobrinos stands as Latin America’s most storied luxury watch brand. Founded in Havana in 1882 by Spanish migrant Ramón Fernández Cuervo and later joined by his “nephews”—giving rise to the “y Sobrinos” name—the brand thrived during Cuba’s glamorous mid-20th century. Its boutique became a cultural salon for luminaries including Ernest Hemingway, Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, and Enrico Caruso.

From the outset, Cuervo y Sobrinos combined Swiss precision, produced in its La Chaux-de-Fonds workshops, with the warmth and elegance of Cuban design. The brand also opened offices in France and Germany that took charge of purchasing precious stones and jewelry.

The Cuban Revolution brought an abrupt halt to this golden era, with the company ceasing operations in 1965. After lying dormant for more than three decades, Cuervo y Sobrinos was revived in 1997 by Luca Musumeci and Marzio Villa, who relocated production to Switzerland while retaining its Havana heritage as a central design philosophy.

Since its revival, the brand has expanded its offerings with collections such as the Historiador, Prominente, and Robusto, all of which draw on Cuban culture, Art Deco influences, and historical references. Limited editions pay tribute to icons from literature, politics, diving, and motorsport, while the flagship boutique-museum in Havana preserves the brand’s origin story.

In recent years, the manufacturer has expanded into in-house movement making competencies and points of sale around the globe, and was acquired this year by new owners Marco Longhi and Mario Girardi.

Today, Cuervo y Sobrinos exemplifies a rare blend in watchmaking: authentic Latin American roots, Swiss craftsmanship, and an unapologetically flamboyant aesthetic. Together with Brazil’s established brands and emerging independents, it underscores that Latin America’s contribution to horology is both commercially promising and culturally rich.

Its latest release, the Espléndidos Heritage, celebrates Havana’s vibrant legacy and pays homage to the Cohiba Espléndido, widely considered one of the best cigars in the world. The watch features a curved, four-sided rectangular case inspired by 1930s designs and is also used on the brand’s Prominente models.

The case houses two versions: a black lacquer dial (regular production) and a light-cream dial with rose-gold accents, limited to 82 pieces. A screwed-in central ring—silver on the black version, rose gold on the cream—frames the dial, which features radial brushing and Clou de Paris guilloché beneath dauphine hands. Powering the watch is the La Joux-Perret G120 automatic movement, offering a 68-hour power reserve and a fan-style rotor with a 3N gold-colored CyS emblem.

The Espléndidos Heritage embodies the brand’s signature combination of Cuban elegance and Swiss precision, reinforcing why Cuervo y Sobrinos continues to be a standout example of Latin America’s growing influence in the world of luxury watches.