text: Release and commercial performance To generate interest in the album, Warner organised a private album launch reception at the Serpentine Gallery within Hyde Park and the Westbury Hotel in London, one week prior to its release. Watermark was released on 19 September 1988 in the United Kingdom; its release in the United States followed on 10 January 1989 by Geffen Records The album was a success on the charts, entering the UK Albums Chart at number 46 for the week of 15 October 1988 before a three-week climb to its peak of number five. In its initial run the album spent 54 weeks on the chart, returning each year from 1989 to 1995 for a total 99 weeks. In the United States, it debuted the Billboard 200 chart at number 100, the week of 4 February 1989. The album had a steady climb, and reached its peak at 25 on the week ending 22 April 1989. It was present on the chart for a total of 39 weeks. On the Billboard New Age Albums chart, the album reached its peak position of number two during its 286-week stay. Elsewhere, the album went to number one in New Zealand and Switzerland.
  By January 1989, Watermark had sold over 20,000 copies in Ireland and 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom. Five years later, the album was certified quadruple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipment of 1.2 million copies. In the United States, Watermark sold 500,000 copies in its first four months of release. After 7 years, the album was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of four million copies. It sold one million copies in the country between March 1995 and March 1996. In November 2008, Billboard reported the album had sold 3,877,571 copies in the United States according to figures tracked by Nielsen SoundScan since 1991. By 1994, the album spent 165 weeks on spanish charts and sold 300,000 copies in Spain. Worldwide, the album has sold an estimated 8 million copies.