52 Luxury Brand Names You’re Mispronouncing

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Brands dominate the car, watch, luxury, and fashion industry, however, sometimes in conversation when they come up, people are not sure how to pronounce them, and you hear all kinds of variations. Often the reason is that the country’s origin is not the country you’re from and so it all gets tangled up.

Should You Pronounce Something The Original Way Or Adapt To Your Local Surroundings?

The reality is no matter how you say it, people will judge you for it. Some may think of you as arrogant if you pronounce Cartier the French way, while other consider you to be a peasant if you say it the American way.

So often really, the choice of what to say is yours, and it may even depend on the situation you’re in, but it never hurts to know the proper pronunciation of a brand name.

Make sure to watch the video and don’t just scroll through the article as pronunciation is much easier to learn by listening rather than reading.

French Sounding Brands

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph Watch [Image Credit: Thong Patek]

1. Audemars Piguet (OH-duh-MAHR PEA-GAY)

Audemars Piguet is a watch brand, and it has a soft G.

Paul Mercier and William Baume [Image Credit: Wikipedia]

2. Baume & Mercier (bohm AY mer-SEE-AY)

The ampersand is A because it’s French and it’s very soft; it’s a mid-range watch brand.

3. Balenciaga (Balen-see-iaga)

It used to be Spanish BalenTHiaga with a TH, but today, it’s French-owned, and they prefer to say BalenCiaga.

Breguet Chronograph 3230 [Image Credit: Monochrome Watches]

4. Breguet (breh-gay)

It’s not breg-wet, it’s breh-gay.

5. Chopard (Show-Par)

Chopard is without the d at the end.

Cartier Tank MC [Image Credit: Bexsonn]

6. Cartier (kɑːtjɛ)

When you say Cartier, the R comes from the back of your throat which is typical French.

7. Chanel (shu-nel)

Next up is Chanel. It’s C-H-A-N-E-L. Yes, it sounds simple but when you go to China, you’ll see a lot of shirts saying channel number five with a double N, in my opinion, there are not many things as embarrassing as wearing fake brand-name shirts that are spelled incorrectly.

8. Christian Dior

Again, that soft R in the end, not the American R.

9. Comme Des Garçons (Comb-day gar-Son)

This means as much as like boys, and it has that little hook at the bottom of the C.

Dom Pérignon 2002

10. Dom Pérignon

If you want to learn whether a Dom Perignon champagne is worth it or not, please check out this video.

11. Façonnable (fa-so-Nah-bluh)

It’s pronounced fa-so-Nah-bluh.

An exquisite Goyard wardrobe trunk is perfect for the most discerning aristocrat who doesn’t carry his own bags [Image Credit: Pinterest]

12. Goyard (go-yah)

Goyard is pronounced go-yah without the D at the end.

13. Gianfranco Ferré (Italian Brand)

It’s Italian and the R here are pronounced at the front of your tongue so it’s jon-fran-ko fer-ra.

14. Givenchy

It’s pronounced jzhiv-on-shee.

Sven Raphael’s Hermes pocket square

15. Hermès (Air-mez)

Probably one of the most well-known luxury brands is Hermes. It has an H in the beginning but in French, usually that’s silent, so it’s not H-ermes, it’s Air-mez. The name originally stems from Greek mythology but today, it’s more synonymous with this French luxury brand.

Hublot Big Bang Soccer Bang [Image Credit: WatchTime]

16. Hublot (ooh-blow)

It’s not hub-lot. It is with a silent H.

17. Lanvin (lahn-vahn)

A brand with great French tailoring tradition is Lanvin.

l’occitane verbena soap

18. L’Occitane (lock-si-tahn)

A brand that produces really great soaps is L’Occitane. It’s very confusing because you have two C’s in a row which is not something you typically see in English language.

Longines Comet Automatic 9Image Credit: Chrono24]

19. Longines (long-gene)

It’s not long-Gean or lon-jeans, it is long-gene.

20. Longchamp (Long-shaw)

A very similar brand is Longchamp. You call it Long-shaw.

21. Louis Vuitton (Loo-ee Vwee-tahn)

Probably one of the most popular brands out there, it’s Louis Vuitton.

Dom Pérignon statue at Moët & Chandon [Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons]

22. Moet Et Chandon

The next brand is the most famous Champagne house in the world, and it consists of two words. It’s a mo-we without the T and shon-don, however, when you pronounce them in a row, it’s called mo-weT shon-don, you say the T because it is a Dutch name.

23. Moncler (MON-kler)

The next brand is known for winter gear, and it’s often mispronounced as Mon-clay, however, the correct pronunciation is MON-kler.

24. Miu Miu

The next brand is a subsidiary of Prada which is Italian, but it’s more spelled French, its mew-mew.

Piaget – Polo Green Dial [Image Credit: Time & Watches]

25. Piaget (pee-uh-zhey)

If you’re into watches, you’ve likely heard of Piaget. You don’t hear the T.

26. Stella Artois (Stella-ar-twa)

A relatively popular lager beer from Belgium is Stella Artois.

Vacheron Constantin Tour De L’Ile [mage Credit: Luxatic]

27. Vacheron Constantin (VASH-er-on CON-stan-Tan)

Another famous luxury watch brand is Vacheron Constantin.

28. Vilebrequin (vil-bra-ken)

This brand is famous for their swim gear, and it’s called vil-bra-ken.

29. Yves Saint Laurent (Eve-Sant-Lau-ron)

He’s probably one of the most famous designers in the world and his name is Eve-Sant-Lau-ron sometimes it’s also abbreviated to YSL which is a lot easier.

German Sounding Brands

I’m originally from Germany and most Americans pronounce all these brand names wrong all the time so here is how to pronounce them originally.

A Lange & Sohne Lange 1 Moon Phase [Image Credit: Pnterest]

30. A. Lange & Sohne (Ah-lahn-guh-oond-zo-nuh)

First up is the famous German luxury watch brand A. Lange & Sohne. They assume it’s a French name, but it is German.

Cuffed Salmon Colored, Slim Pants with Adidas Sneakers

31. Adidas

It’s not ah-Di-das, it also doesn’t mean all day, I dream about sports. Instead, it’s a brand that was founded by Adolph Dassler, and his nickname was Adi. Adi Dassler became Adidas. As a side note, the brand was founded in the small Bavarian town of Herzogenaurach. His brother Rudolf Dassler founded another sportswear brand which is called Puma, Poo-ma. I it’s just ironic that two iconic sportswear brands or iconic shoe brands come from the same podunk German town, Herzogenaurach.

Breitling Superocean Heritage [Image Credit:; Pinterest]

32. Breitling (brEYE-tling)

Another famous mid-market watch brand is Breit-ling. The Germans similar to the French have the R that comes from the back.

33. Bayer (BAY-Uh)

This brand is most well known for aspirin, and most people in the US call it Bay-er, however, it’s called BAY-Uh simply by which in German has another meaning which is a Bavarian.

1957 Porsche 356 A Speedster [Image Credit: Best Car Magazine]

34. Porsche (Poor-she)

The next brand is one of the most commonly mispronounced one in the US, and it always hurts my ears. It’s called Poor-she. Ferdinand Porsche was the founder.

35. Hugo Boss (hoo-go Boss)

The brand is actually German and was founded by its namesake, Hugo Boss. The company became really big when they manufactured World War two uniforms for the German military.

Mercedes Benz 500 K Roadster from 1935 [Image Credit: Super Cars]

36. Mercedes-Benz

One of the most famous German car companies is Mercedes-Benz. So how did the German car company come up with this name? The company originally consisted of Daimler Benz, as well as their chief engineer, Maybach. Emil Jellinek is a successful businessman and had heard about the company. He visited them, he bought a car he liked, and he kept ordering more and decided to become a car dealer, however, he wasn’t happy with the performance and wanted to tune the cars and race them, and so he did and very successfully. His daughter’s name was Mercedes, and so he named his cars Mercedes. It’s a bit similar to AMG which is kind of a tuner for Mercedes cars, and by the way, AMG in German is called A-em-gi. So Jellinek was very demanding, and Daimler was annoyed by him, but Maybach thought he had good ideas, and so they worked together on performance cars and so they had a thirty-five horsepower performance car in 1903 that won all the races it started in. Jellinek trademarked the name Mercedes in 1902. Later on, it became Mercedez-Benz (with a hyphen), and it has remained so until today.

37. Miele (me-leh)

This is a German high-end brand for vacuum cleaners and kitchen appliances.

38. Schwarzkopf (sch-warzkopf)

If you’re into hair products, you might have heard of Schwarzkopf which means as much as black head. It’s a famous German brand for hair products.

TAG Heuer 4000 Automatic [Image Credit: Ebay]

39. Tag Heuer (Tag Hoy-a)

Another watch brand with a German sounding name.

40. Volkswagen

It means as much as people’s wagon and the company was founded on May 28th in 1937 in the newly found town of Wolfsburg which was just built to build cars
of the brand. Their first and likely most famous car is Kafer which means as much as the beetle. Now the beetle was designed by Porsche who you know is the other famous German car brand which is more focused on race cars the Volkswagen was supposed to be the people wagon that was affordable and reliable.

Wusthof Chefs Knife from Germany

41. Wüsthof & Zwilling J.A. Henckels

If you’re into cooking and good knives, you’ve probably come across these two brands; one it’s called Wus-thof, and the next brand is called tsviling-yot-ah-Henck-els.

Others

1967 Alfa Romeo Spider Duetto [Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons]

42. Alfa Romeo (Alfa-ro-mayo)

It’s Alfa-ro-mayo. It’s an Italian name so use the R in the front.

43. Cerruti (che-roo-ti)

A famous cloth producer is Cerruti.

44. Ermenegildo Zegna (er-me-ne-geel-do zen-ya)

Originally a cloth weaver but today, they also produce men’s clothing. It’s a soft G, and you don’t say the Z very hard.

Ferrari 250 GTO [Image Credit: SG Car Mart]

45. Ferrari (f-er-AH-ree)

This one seems easy, and most people in the US use the American R. In Italy, they use that R in the front rolled with your tongue.

Lamborghini Huracan [Image Credit: Power Service Exclusive Luxury]

46. Lamborghini (læm-b aw r-GEE-n ee)

From roughly the same area around Bologna is Lamborghini.

Loro Piana Fabric

47. Loro Piana

Another cloth weaver that is now very well known for their cashmere is Loro Piana.

1956 Maserati 200 SI race car [Image Credit: Bless This Stuff]

48. Maserati (m-ah-z-uh-r-r-ah-t-ee)

A luxury car called m-ah-z-uh-r-r-ah-t-ee.

49. Moschino (moss-kino)

An Italian fashion brand.

50. Prada (prah-duh)

The next one seems likewise simple. Again, rolled R on your tongue.

Ralph Lauren Purple Label

51. Ralph Lauren

This one has been a subject of discussion for a while. Some call it Ralph LAUren, others call it Ralph lauREN. The company says the proper way to pronounce it is Ralph LAUren. Ironically, the founder is only known as Ralph Lauren, however, his real name was Ralph Lifshitz which I gave it to him, he’s not very marketable and he did well by choosing a different, more American sounding name.

Vitale Barberis Canonico Fabric ready to be made into garments

52. Vitale Barberis Canonico

Another Italian cloth weaver by the name of Vitale Barberis Canonico often, abbreviated to BBC, it’s simply easier to say.

Outfit Rundown

I am wearing a combination of a single breasted jacket in a green fabric which is part of a suit and I’m pairing it with a houndstooth pair of pants in black and white. I combined with a white French cuff shirt and double cuffs. I have a Cri De La Soie knit tie in rust orange and the cufflinks which are round tiger’s eye with Vermeil sterling silver. My ring matches the cufflinks with the same tiger’s eye stone and the same gold color.

A single-breasted green suit jacket paired with houndstooth pants that are best suited for warm weather.

Fort Belvedere

Knit Tie in Solid Rust Orange Silk

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Fort Belvedere

Eagle Claw Cufflinks with Tiger’s Eye Balls – 925 Sterling Silver Gold Plated

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Fort Belvedere

Shadow Stripe Ribbed Socks Charcoal and Orange Fil d’Ecosse Cotton

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My socks are charcoal and orange shadow striped socks, which contrast the pants as well as the shoes. But they’re quite harmonious with brown loafers and they are tied all together with the orange tie which becomes the theme of the outfit. The penny loafers have more of an Italian last, they’re a little longer which I quite like especially for summer weather. The pocket square is no name. It’s printed silk, it has tones of blue and red and it picks up those orange tones of the tie as well as the socks.