GENEVA — In an edition that was all about the subtleties of watchmaking, one had to keep their eyes peeled to get all the subtleties of what the exhibitors at Watches and Wonders packed into 40-something-millimeter formats.
Here are five trends and a handful of details that caught the eye of WWD editors at the fair.
Textures
Bringing a new depth has always started with the dials, richly decorated or on the contrary subtly detailed through a host of crafts, from engraving and enamel to gem-setting and guilloché. This year, the decor spilled onto bracelets and clasps, creating new preciousness.
As seen on: Piaget Polo 79 Gadroon with the sodalite dial, tied with Bulgari Serpenti Tubogas Studs.
Piaget Polo 79 Gadroon
Agostino Osio/Courtesy of Piaget
Green
It’s easy being green — when you’re a high-end watch. For those partial to verdant hues, brands offered a smorgasbord from malachite, bloodstone and natural aventurine, to enamel and ceramic in a gradient from tenderest tones to ready-to-rumble khaki. Also worth noting, the color was often paired with yellow gold.
As seen on: Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 in “Jubilee Gold” with green aventurine dial, tied with Hublot Big Bang Reloaded Dark Green.
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 in “Jubilee Gold”
Courtesy of Rolex
Decades of Design
Vintage was at the forefront, as watchmakers doubled down on their archives to find starting points for their new timepieces. And that’s not to say there wasn’t innovation: that was packed in the cases, whether you could see it or not.
As seen on: Cartier Roadster, tied with Patek Philippe Calatrava 5227G-015.
Cartier Roadster
Courtesy of Cartier
The New Space Age
Artemis II may not have landed on the moon, but inspirations from the cosmos landed in the hands of watchmakers. From materials and complications to new projects, such as Bremont’s integration of its Supernova watch on the chassis of Astrolab’s FLIP rover headed to the moon, everyone had their head in the stars.
As seen on: IWC Schaffhausen Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive, tied with Van Cleef & Arpels Midnight Jour Nuit Phase de Lune.
IWC Schaffhausen Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive.
Courtesy of IWC Schaffhausen
Complications
Skeletonized movements took the lead but all-time classics such as the perpetual calendars and chronographs were also well represented throughout the fair.
As seen on: Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Chronomètre.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Chronomètre Perpetual Calendar
Courtesy of Jaeger-LeCoultre
Details Worth a Double-take
Metal: Tantalum
H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Perpetual Calendar
It doesn’t get more sober and sleeker than this timepiece with no indices to distract. Notoriously hard to work not least due to its 3,000-degree Celsius melting point, the hyper-dense and corrosion-resistant metal was left untreated. Save for the dial’s starburst finish, tantalum is the one doing the talking here.
H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Perpetual Calendar
Courtesy of H. Moser & Cie.
Honorable mention: Behrens x Vianney Halter KWH Tantalum
Micro-adjustments
Zenith Chronomaster Sport Skeleton
There is the openwork chronograph side, with the El Primero 3600 SK movement and its 10th of a second precision — plus a light smoked effect given at the periphery of the sapphire to enhance legibility. But it’s the other end of the bracelet that earned the brand two patents: a new folding clasp that allows for on-the-fly micro-adjustments in five 2-millimeter increments.
Zenith Chronomaster Sport Skeleton
Courtesy of Zenith
Honorable mention: Chopard Alpine Eagle 41 XPS Lucent Steel Champagne Dial
Hard stone dials
Piaget Swinging Pebble
With its organic shapes and long braided chains, this sautoir-style timekeeper embodied the watchmaker-turned-jeweler side of the Swiss brand. Cut from pietersite, tiger’s eye or verdite, it has a distinctive sculptural talisman side that makes it singular.
Piaget Swinging Pebble
Courtesy of Piaget
Honorable mention: Audemars Piguet Les Établisseurs Galets
Skeleton
Cartier Privé Les Opus, Crash Squelette
For the 10th annual capsule, the Richemont-owned house revisited the Crash — along with the Tortue Chronographe Monopoussoir and the Tank Normale — in platinum. Here, the challenge was reshaping the manual-winding calibre 1967 MC to fit the elongated “melting” asymmetric outline. Bridges double as numerals and the space between 2 and 4 o’clock are decorated with a hand-hammered finish, while the crown has been moved to a position in the dip of the shape for an even more off-kilter — and complex result.
Cartier Privé Les Opus, Crash Squelette
Courtesy of Cartier
Honorable mention: Hermès H08 Squelette
Under the Loupe
Chanel “tweed” diamond setting, on the Gabrielle Long Necklace — price on request.
Chanel is no stranger to gem-set pieces, but this time it brought its watch and jewelry studio closer together than together for this specially created setting, which mimics the French fashion house’s signature material. It glitters at first sight but fascinates when viewed up close.
Chanel Sautoir Gabrielle
Les Ateliers/Courtesy of Chanel
Honorable mention: Tag Heuer Monaco Evergraph.
