Watches are a window into the past and present. The future, however, is out of reach except for a fair such as the Watches and Wonders Geneva that just concluded. You may have seen some of the highlights and favourites over the past week and you’ve probably been keeping up with all the news, wherever you go to get your horological fix. What can we learn from all of this about the watchmaking year to come? The answer to the question “What will 2024 bring?” is a simple one: models made of precious metals.
Watches and Wonders Geneva, 2024 will be dominated by gold. Here we repeat ourselves as Rolex and Patek Philipe have a large number of innovations in this precious metal. Platinum is a great addition to the precious metal mix. There is only one stainless steel product between the dominant market force and most prominent prestige player. This sentence was something we never would have thought of before the fair and still seems unbelievable. It is just a simple fact. It is not a mistake that we are still in the age of sports elegance, but maybe this can be called sports elegance elevated.
This is not only about the red gold TAG Heuer Skipper, the full gold Tudor Black Bay 58 and the Bell & Ross BR 05 Chrono Grey Steel and Gold but also the all-gold Parmigiani Fleurier Toric where dials and calibres are also in gold. We will continue to list other watches. Both of the novelties at A. Lange & Sohne are in precious metals and so is the sole Ulysse Nardin Freak S Nomad, obviously. IWC has only white gold for the Portogieser Horizon Blue, while Jaeger-LeCoultre’s new Duometres are gold except for the stainless steel Quatieme. Needless to say, the Piaget Polo 79 is a big old gold brick, while the majority of Cartier’s 66 novelties this year are in precious metals, and that goes up to 100 percent at Van Cleef & Arpels.
You are correct if your first reaction to hearing this is that the prices will go up. It’s not because the world is getting richer. Recent news reports about Swiss watchmaking exports may have shown that things are not looking good. In fact, the situation is quite the opposite. As history shows, the market for expensive watches has remained strong. This is why watchmakers find it appealing. The margins in precious metals are higher (although not necessarily for complications, but that’s another issue) and Rolex and Patek Phillipe want to reward the retail partners. Some of the people we spoke to agreed.
It is true that this is just one interpretation of what the new novelties will be in 2024, but it is one we believe is very clear. It is also of obvious concern for collectors and enthusiasts, who have been primarily interested in steel watches – it is downright ominous for fans of bronze and other novelty materials. Rolex didn’t even introduce any new models in titanium, but perhaps it will devote an entire year to it just as they did in 2024 with precious metals.
For more on the luxury watch reads and the latest in Watches and Wonders Geneva 2024, click here.