Which trends have the experts at Qlekta.com identified this year?
Big shows are a great excuse to identify the trends that will determine the direction of development for haute horlogerie in the coming years and beyond. In this sense, the major international watch and jewelry trade show Watches & Wonders is a mirror to these trends which is worth examining very closely.
Broadly speaking, the global trends that took shape in the early 2000s haven't changed. They've largely been predetermined by watchmaking's eternal quest. This quest is the unrelenting search for a perfect watchmaking material.
Watchmakers want a material that will give movements optimal isochronism and finally solve the eternal problem of constant force. This material should also negate the need for lubrication, the effects of gravity and magnetic fields completely.
They want a material for watch cases that will look magnificent, provide reliable protection for the movement, not cause any allergic reactions, and live up to their environmental commitments — a point which has grown very pertinent in the last couple of years.
This unrelenting search is precisely what brings us more and more new alloys each year. These materials are notable for being extremely lightweight, giving precious metal an especially lavish tone, or producing dials and straps in an unusual texture or color.
The pursuit of exclusivity can also be considered a global trend. The desire to possess a unique watch can make some people overspend, shelling out eye-watering sums of money, while others will spend decades amassing amazing collections — another expensive hobby.
This trend is fueled by the never-ending demand for models released by major maisons in strictly limited series, as well as watches by microbrands who simply lack the manpower to manufacture more than a couple of dozen models per year. And now let's turn our attention to the trends which have begun to look more prominent specifically in 2024.
1. Neo-Vintage Three-Handers
What do we mean by the term "neo-vintage"? Watches with a design that you're already all too familiar with. This is a classic in the broadest sense — from pieces in a purist retro style to high-tech skeletons. The main thing they have in common is that they offer a minimalistic set of functions.
It's as if manufacturers are scrambling to make it easier for watch buyers to fulfill their main goal by bringing a watch's primary function (telling the hours, minutes, and seconds) to the fore.
Take a look at Parmigiani's Toric Petite Seconde, Moser's Pioneer Center Seconds Citrus Green or the 1908 by Rolex, and you'll instantly get the picture.
2. Bezel-less (Glassbox)
Watch media outlets heralded the growing pertinence of watches without a bezel last year with the arrival of the first TAG Heuer 'Glassbox' models, where the case is equipped with domed sapphire crystal instead of a bezel.
More and more models offer an outstanding panoramic view of the dial, which opens up thanks to their bezel-less construction. After Watches & Wonders, it became clear that the IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Bernhard Lederer and others want in on the trend.
We can also add that manufacturing cases out of synthetic sapphire has become significantly cheaper — gone are the days when prices for models encased in sapphire crystal started at EUR 1 million.
3. Genderless
Watches are continuing to shrink in size. And of course, this is no new trend. But ten years ago, the trend would have been explained by the burning desire among Swiss brands to break into the Chinese market as fast as possible.
And that time potential buyers tend to have more slender wrists, but now the trend is also being spurred by societal gender-related aspects of modern life. Overall, you can't help but notice that wristwatches are becoming more and more universal and unisex.
If you take a look at the latest collections by Cartier and Bulgari, or the anniversary watches by Patek Philippe and Hublot, you wouldn't immediately be able to say whether they were created for men or women.
4. Sculpted Cases
The growing trend for relief and sculpted dials is now more than a trend — it's a must-have. Alongside this trend, a growing number of watches are housed in real mini-sculpture cases.
This is another natural progression: as technologies become more advanced, cutting-edge materials are allowing new shapes to be explored, and all of these tweaks are making timepieces exponentially more exclusive.
5. Gold
Gold is taking center stage again. It goes without saying that the most traditional precious metal has never gone out of fashion, but in the 2010s for example, it ceded some market territory to innovative rival materials, which were incredibly popular during that period.
Now respectable, straightforward and universally desirable gold is making a comeback in fashionable lines by several major players at the same time. And we're not just talking about bracelets or bezels — it's fully dominating the outward appearance of new releases.
New watches dripping in gold include the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Deepsea 136668LB, Czapek's Mount Erebus Deep Blue, Patek Philippe's Golden Ellipse Ref. 5738/1R-001, and Сhopard's Alpine Eagle XL Chrono to name just a few.