The watch world sets out to dazzle each year at the Watches & Wonders trade fair in Geneva, and last month’s event was no exception. The leading names in watchmaking gathered for their annual presentations, showcasing the latest in innovation and precision craftsmanship.
Despite a volatile geopolitical backdrop and tariff uncertainties, it proved a bumper year, with Audemars Piguet returning to the salon after a long absence, as well as a roster of celebrities, including Roger Federer, George Russell and Usher, joining thousands to take in the finest in horology.
Technical innovation remained front and centre. IWC Schaffhausen unveiled its Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive, designed for space habitation and destined for the commercial space station Haven-1, while Bremont’s Supernova Chronograph is set for a one-way trip to the moon later this year, embedded in Astrolab’s Flip Rover.
Alongside these headline-grabbing feats came a slew of new Worldtimers and Jumping Hour complications. Yet, as ever, technical ambition was matched by aesthetic indulgence, with brands leaning into a distinctly maximalist mood, especially for women’s watches.
Many watchmakers have deep roots in jewellery – among them Chopard, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Chanel and Piaget – and aesthetics remain as crucial as the complications within. As such, gold, diamonds and metiers d’art craftsmanship were deployed with abandon.
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso featured hand-painted enamel scenes inspired by nature in Japan and Hawaii, while Vacheron Constantin’s Egerie Moon Phase Spring Blossom paired a pleated mother-of-pearl marquetry dial with hand-painted calfskin straps.
Piaget delivered perhaps the purest expression of maximalism: a statement-sized gold cuff watch engraved with its signature Decor Palace motif, set with diamonds and centred on an opal dial – a clear nod to the house’s 1960s mastery of hard stone dials.
More restrained, though no less intricate, the Limelight Gala featured orange enamel over a snakeskin-engraved dial, framed by cognac diamonds.
Chanel leaned into its couture heritage with the Noeud de Camelia secret watch cuffs, offered with either diamond-set or embroidered bugle-beaded bow straps, both in limited editions.
A secret ring watch concealed beneath a diamond echoed a similar high jewellery gesture at Piaget, where a cabochon stone hides the dial.
Under the direction of Arnaud Chastaingt, Chanel also introduced a charm bracelet with a Premiere watch attachment, though the focus remains on the J12, reimagined this year with playful Coco Game motifs, including charms of Mademoiselle Chanel herself.
Elsewhere, Cartier – always a watchmaker with a jeweller’s eye – doubled down on gold and diamonds in its Baignoire collection, introduced in 1958. This year’s iteration incorporated the Clou de Paris motif, rooted in the 1920s and central to the Clash de Cartier line.
The sculptural Myst de Cartier stood out for its interplay of spiralling diamonds and black lacquer, as well as its innovative clasp-free bracelet, which uses concealed springs to slip seamlessly over the wrist.
Gem-setting took centre stage at Bvlgari, Van Cleef & Arpels and Chopard in their cocktail watch offerings. Van Cleef revisited its Ludo model with the Ludo Secret, updating the 1949 interpretation of the original 1934 design. A gold briquette bracelet with sapphire pavé crescents opens at the touch to reveal a mother-of-pearl dial – a discreet flourish designed to delight.
Bvlgari brought its signature exuberance to the Serpenti Aeterna, set with a mix of vibrant gemstones requiring 60 hours of meticulous setting. Moving away from the familiar Tubogas coil, the new Serpenti adopts a sleek hinged bracelet, with diamond-fringed versions offering a more restrained take.
Chopard’s L’Heure du Diamant continued this balance between opulence and restraint, pairing a matte black onyx dial with a bezel set with 4.40 carats of diamonds – a study in contrast.
For all the decorative flourish, there remained a strong appetite for minimalism. Parmigiani Fleurier’s Tonda PF line exemplified this with clean, subtly coloured dials concealing complex mechanics.
The Tonda PF Chronograph Mysterieux features a mono-pusher chronograph with two additional hands, while new pink-toned dials – Alta Rosa and Arctic Rose – proved among the salon’s quiet successes.
H Moser & Cie continued to refine its Streamliner collection, introducing smaller 28mm and 34mm models in steel, with either a frosted silver dial or a burgundy fumé finish, all powered by self-winding movements.
At Bovet, a design team with an average age in the early thirties was tasked with creating a Gen Z proposition to mark the 10th anniversary of the 19Thirty line. The result is a sleek, unisex 42mm stainless steel watch with an off-centre dial and pared-back indices, offered in matte blue, green or sparkling black.
Gucci, meanwhile, offered a playful counterpoint with the Gucci Play – a quartz bangle watch reviving a 1980s design. Its six interchangeable ceramic bezels allow the wearer to shift colour and mood with ease, tapping into fashion’s current nostalgia for the decade.
Finally, Audemars Piguet revisited its history with the Neo Frame Jumping Hour, a minimalist black-and-gold rectangular design that departs from the complexity of the Royal Oak. Jumping hours were a speciality of the maison between 1924 and 1951, and a 1929 model provided the inspiration for this contemporary interpretation, which pairs vintage cues with a thoroughly modern movement.
From maximalist jewellery statements to pared-back technical elegance, this year’s Watches & Wonders offered something for every sensibility, and was a reminder that in watchmaking, innovation and expression continue to evolve in tandem.
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