Watches and Wonders Geneva Showcased the Evergreen Attraction of Gold

Watches inform us concerning the current or the previous; the longer term is usually out of attain, besides at a good just like the lately concluded Watches and Wonders Geneva. You might need caught a few of our favourites and highlights during the last week, and possibly caught up on all of the information wherever you get your horological repair. So, what does all of it say concerning the 12 months of watchmaking that’s to come back? In 2024, the reply is easy: high-value valuable metallic fashions.

Gold is king at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2024 and right here we’ll danger repeating ourselves as a result of Rolex and Patek Philippe distinguished themselves with a major majority of novelties within the valuable stuff. If one provides platinum into the combination, then valuable metals dominate. The dominant market drive and essentially the most distinguished status participant have however one new stainless-steel mannequin between them. We might by no means have imagined typing that sentence earlier than the honest began and it nonetheless feels unbelievable. And but it’s merely a reality. Make no mistake although, it’s nonetheless the period of sports activities class however maybe we will name this sports activities class elevated (SEE).

This isn’t solely concerning the crimson gold TAG Heuer Skipper, the complete gold Tudor Black Bay 58 and the Bell & Ross BR 05 Chrono Gray Metal and Gold but in addition the all-gold Parmigiani Fleurier Toric the place dials and calibres are additionally in gold. We might go on and listing extra, and we’ll. Each of the novelties at A. Lange & Sohne are in valuable metals and so is the only Ulysse Nardin Freak S Nomad, clearly. At IWC, the whole new Portogieser Horizon Blue variant is simply in white gold whereas the brand new Duometre watches at Jaeger-LeCoultre are completely in gold, besides the stainless-steel Quatieme Lunaire. Evidently, the Piaget Polo 79 is an enormous previous gold brick, whereas nearly all of Cartier’s 66 novelties this 12 months are in valuable metals, and that goes as much as 100% at Van Cleef & Arpels.   

In case your first thought in listening to all that is that issues are going to get costly, you’re after all appropriate. It’s not a response to growing wealth on the planet. You might need seen from current information experiences on Swiss watchmaking exports that issues are hardly trying up. Fairly the other. It might be although that demand for the costliest kinds of watches is extra resilient (as historical past demonstrates), so the attraction for watchmakers is obvious. As well as, margins are higher within the valuable metals recreation (although not essentially in problems however that’s one other matter) and firms resembling Rolex and Patek Philippe wish to reward their retail companions. A number of that we spoke with agreed.

To make certain, that is one interpretation of the novelties of 2024 however we really feel assured that it’s a very apparent one. Additionally it is of apparent concern for collectors and fanatics, who’ve been primarily interested by metal watches – it’s downright ominous for followers of bronze and different novelty supplies. Rolex didn’t even introduce extra fashions in titanium however possibly it can dedicate a complete 12 months for this, simply because it did with valuable metals in 2024.

For extra on the posh watch reads and the newest in Watches and Wonders Geneva 2024, click on right here.