The busiest week in the watch world, Watches and Wonders 2024, leaves a flurry of extraordinary new timepieces in its wake. Over 50 watchmakers exhibited their latest innovations in Geneva, which meant hundreds of novel pieces to discover. Our watch and jewellery editor Kim Parker spent the week marvelling at this year’s finest wristwatches; here she shares the top timepiece trends you need to know for 2024.
High times were had by all at Watches and Wonders 2024. The week-long luxury watch show is the industry’s biggest and most prestigious moment, with the haute horologie world descending on Geneva to marvel at and celebrate the finest watchmaking in the world. While the first four days are for press and industry only, the fine watch salon then opens its doors to the general public, this year seeing 49,000 visitors come through the doors.
From record-breaking firsts (Bulgari’s new 1.7mm Octofinissimo, the thinnest watch ever made), to priceless musical automatons that surprise and delight as well as keep time (seen at Van Cleef & Arpels and Chanel), there was plenty to take in. Here, Kim Parker highlights the five key watch trends she discovered at Watches and Wonders 2024.
The Glossary Edit
Watches and Wonders 2024
Going for Gold
Many makers sought fresh inspiration by looking to their own archives. Patek Philippe and Piaget, in particular, evoked the heady glamour of the 1960s and 1970s with their beautiful new gold timepieces, complete with tactile bracelets that would look as brilliant on the dancefloor as they would at your desk.
Rolex, meanwhile, gently updated its signature Day Date (available in a 40mm and 36mm sizes) with fresh new colours, materials and details. Smartest of the set is its new Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 36, which now comes in a shimmering 18k Everose gold (the maker’s proprietary pink gold alloy), with a striking blue-green dial, plus a bezel set with 60 trapeze-cut diamonds.
Patek Philippe
Ref. 5738-1R Golden Ellipse
POA
Rolex
Oyster Perpetual Day-Date
POA
Piaget
Polo 79
POA
Monochrome Magic
Trust Chanel to render its founder’s favourite colour, black, into the chicest ever capsule collection. Inspired by Coco Chanel’s couture work, the watches were a nod to the sewing tools and mannequins that were found at her atelier, including a fabulous timepiece that transformed her humble measuring tape into a stunning wraparound watch strap.
Chopard, meanwhile, chose to highlight the dazzling beauty of its white diamonds with an all-black background for its new Happy Sport watch, creating its own horological version of the ‘little black dress’. And Bulgari went back to the thrusting 1980s with its architecturally inspired Bulgari Bulgari watch in yellow gold, with a deep black dial and leather strap.
Chanel
Première Ruban Couture Watch
POA
Chopard
Happy Sport 30mm and 36mm watch
POA
Bulgari
Bulgari 26mm and 38mm watch
POA
Mini Me
After years of supersizing their watches, makers are finally getting the memo from consumers and shrinking their dials back down to much more manageable and wearable sizes. Cartier’s beautiful Panthère watches now come in size S, as does Hublot’s signature Classic Fusion timepiece which, at 29mm in diameter, is the smallest size they have ever made. Tudor, too, is hopping on the tiny trend, with its iconic Clair de Rose stainless steel watch now available in just 26mm, 30mm or 34mm sizes, all with an elegant new ‘Tudor Blue’ dial.
Tudor
Clair de Rose watch
POA
Hublot
Classic Fusion Original
POA
Cartier
Panthère de Cartier in yellow gold
POA
Think Pink
“Think pink! Think pink and the world is rosey-red!” sang Kay Thompson in the 1957 film Funny Face – and her optimistic tune feels as relevant today as it did back then. With the world in flux, makers are perhaps trying to give us a portable pop of cheer with their latest watches in all shades of pink – from palest peachy rose to brightest bubblegum.
Gucci led the way with its ultra-bright 25h Skeleton Tourbillon with pink hands and dial details, plus a bracelet that would make Barbie proud. Over at Tag Heuer, a warm, coppery dial gave the brand’s classic Carrera Date a stylish update while Alpina chose a light, powder pink dial to soften the look of its outdoorsy Alpiner Extreme Quartz watch – a shade that nods to the morning glow of the Alps.
Tag Heuer
Carrera Date
£4,350
Gucci
25h Skeleton Tourbillon
POA
Alpina
Alpiner Extreme Quartz
POA
Total Titanium
Lightweight yet resilient, comfortable yet still luxurious – it’s easy to see why several endurance watch makers introduced titanium to their latest offerings this year. Montblanc’s Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 is named after a depth of 4810m below the sea – the exact height of the actual Mont Blanc mountain were it to plunge beneath the waves. Its hardy 43mm titanium case is therefore designed to withstand even the most extreme conditions, but still looks sleek and sporty above sea-level.
Zenith has also chosen to craft its latest dive watch, the Defy Extreme Diver, in titanium as the material resists ice, water, must and salt erosion, making it a comprehensive deep-water companion. Meanwhile, at aeronautics-inspired Bell & Ross, the lightness of titanium (it weighs a third less than steel) gives its new BR-X5 instrument watch ultimate wearability, as well as an understated dark grey hue reminiscent of a stealth bomber.
Bell & Ross
BR-X5 Black Titanium
from £7,700
Zenith
Defy Extreme Diver
POA
Montblanc
Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810
POA
