As every year, the Geneva Watch Week has allowed us to discover some very beautiful watches. Whether it’s in the aisles of Time to Watches, those of Watches & Wonders or in the private lounges of the Beau Rivage Hotel. But beyond the visual pleasure, this Geneva Watch Week is also the ideal place to decipher the new watch trends.
Among the hundreds of watches we were able to admire by the shores of Lake Geneva, here are the 5 main trends that seem to be emerging.
The Gold Rush
If bronze was omnipresent in 2023, watchmaking becomes more precious in 2024. This year, it’s gold that adorns many prestigious timepieces. And even yellow gold!
Bling-bling? Ostentatious? A little, it’s true. But this golden wave that began to show its nose a few months ago, has turned into a real tidal wave at Watches & Wonders. And not just in the women’s department. Next to the sublime Reflection of Cartier, for example, the Piaget Polo 79 does not hesitate to play the full gold card.
At Rolex, we almost have the right to a grand slam, with new 18-carat gold versions of the Oyster Perpetual Sky-Dweller, the Day-Date or (our favorite) the Deepsea.
Always more colors
In all styles and all price ranges, it’s a fireworks of colors that burst in front of our eyes in Geneva! Both on the dials and the straps… and sometimes both at the same time!
Acid green at H. Moser & Cie, darker green at Oris, lighter at Vulcain, orange at Alpina, yellow at Doxa, midnight blue at Yema and even “chameleon” at ArtyA: there really is something for every taste… sometimes too much, perhaps, but this touch of madness is welcome!
And for those who would prefer to bet on more sobriety, the white dial is also in the spotlight in many brands this year (evidence with the Omega Speedmaster!).
Stone, mother-of-pearl and meteorite
Instead of being simply white, the dial of some timepieces will tend to take on iridescent reflections this year. Mother-of-pearl, more precisely, since the use of this natural material is becoming more widespread, from Frédérique Constant to Rolex, including Chopard, Oris or TAG Heuer.
More broadly, brands are increasingly turning to geology with a multitude of natural stone dials (aventurine, lapis lazuli…), but also with meteorite fragments, like at BA111OD, Nivada or Corum.
XXS Watches or Genderless
It seems like a long time ago when it was “necessary” to sport a 42, 43, or even 45mm wristwatch to assert one’s style! For several months now, we have observed that many men’s models have undergone a slimming cure, first moving to 40mm in diameter and then even to 38, 36… or even less!
This enthusiasm for “small watches” was confirmed in Geneva and seems to also reflect a rather new blend of genres in watchmaking: watches are no longer necessarily for men or women, but increasingly unisex or mixed. The Oris Aquis Date mentioned above with its mother-of-pearl dial is part of it, but it’s not the only one.
The Alpina Extreme Quartz from Alpina is now available in a new 34 mm case with soft and elegant colors, while the new Cut poetically combines the circle and round at Hermès in a 36 mm case.
Particularly faithful reissues
The iconic models from past decades are making a comeback. This is not really new, but the trend seems to have grown even stronger this year… often in very different styles!
From the Amida Digitrend to the F77 from Nivada, to the Cricket by Vulcain or the Polo by Piaget (again), the most iconic models from the 1970s (or before) are being reissued in countless editions. And while some are slightly redesigned to adapt to contemporary standards, others opt for imitation of the original version. This is particularly true at Zenith, with the Defy Revival A3648 which replicates nearly identically the first DEFY diving watch from 1969!
