Watches and Wonders 2023

It was enlightening - in more ways than one - to attend Watches & Wonders, in Geneva last month. Focused on high end luxury watchmaking, this trade show has been running for over 3 decades, although originally in a much-smaller format with a different name (it was called SIHH until 2020). This year it hosted 48 Maisons, and attracted not only the industry press, influencers and the odd star brand ambassadors (Julia Roberts, David Beckham, Roger Federer to name a few) but also enough CEOs from rival world-renowned luxury brands to warrant a CEO-only restaurant inside. I don’t fall into any of these categories but for my next project, I'm researching the history of watchmaking, and for the industry today, this is the one event they all seem to care about. I wanted to understand why so when the opportunity to attend arose, I jumped at it...

Situated in what feels like an enormous car park from the outside (nestled between the airport, a motorway and an Ibis hotel), the Palexpo exhibition centre gives far from a glam first impression. And yet for one week, this giant space has been transformed to evoke a sense of calm luxury from the moment you step inside: smiling beige-suited staff in bright white trainers on hand to help with any enquiry, champagne on tap, and lots and lots of luxury watches.

From an industrial-feeling entrance to Hollywood glamor in 60 seconds (well almost) as Julia Roberts draws the crowds.

As you’d expect, there’s high security. The electronic entry gate displays your pre-registered ID photo on a screen (so no borrowing someone else’s pass!) but once through the airport-style x-ray machines, it suddenly feels other-worldly. It’s almost like I’m wearing a VR headset and experiencing one of those virtual villages where brands are spending big bucks for best placement in the Metaverse. To the left is a large Rolex custom-built ‘building,’ at the end is the familiar Chanel logo, Van Cleef is all exotic jungle-themed, Hermes has made the bold call not to display watches in its windows, and at Cartier you’re greeted with a bridge luring you towards this year’s Collection Privee release, a platinum-braceleted Tank Normale (fun to compare it with the original 1920s version on the wrist of one collector at the fair).

Flying sculptures at Hermes, Cartier’s new Tank Normale, and crowds at Chanel

Throughout the fair, wide camel-carpeted lanes are punctuated with bars and tables where you can order three courses efficiently served in glass bowls on a single tray (all free), and armchairs when you can sit and chat or just catch up on work. There’s also a bookstore selling glossy watch books, a photo booth where you can queue to have your photo taken in front of a W&W logo and a large auditorium. I went to a few of the talks: keynotes by major brands about new launches, sometimes with added star attraction (Julia Roberts drew large crowds when she appeared on the panel at Chopard while Ryan Gosling featured in a short film trailer at Tag Heuer).

Insta-ready at the entrance, and Tag Heuer’s snazzy re-launch of the Carrera

There was a session on sustainability in the watch/jewellery industry with senior representation from Cartier (Cyrille Vigneron), Chanel (Frédéric Grangié) and Kering (Marie-Claire Daveu) and the Watch and Jewelry Initiative 2023 (Iris Van der Veken); and an inauguration talk where Jean Frédéric Dufour (W&W Foundation/Rolex) and state council president, Mauro Poggia shared insights with the impressively bilingual Belle Donati on the challenges facing the industry today, before being joined by the various brand CEOs to formally open the event.

A lack of diversity at the top? CEOs on stage for the inauguration session

It was a fascinating few days – plenty of takeaways, but here’s three themes I noted:

1)    Inclusivity vs. exclusivity: For what is essentially a high-end B2B/media marketing ‘salon’, it was interesting to see the different brand approaches to their stands – a sort of architectural embodiment of brand values. Some welcomed you in (at Jaeger Le Coultre, it was possible to wander in, enjoy a watch-inspired cake at the cafe, have a chat to the CEO Catherine Rénier, check out the history behind the older Reversos, and see the modern watch specialists at work today) while others wouldn’t let you over the threshold without an appointment (“But you can look at our watches from the windows outside,” I was told by one Maison.). Needless to say, I preferred the more inclusive approach – also came out feeling I understood the ethos and craftsmanship behind the brand - but then again maybe those with the VIP appointments liked being in a more exclusive club. Either way, it’s a decision the brands took that I found interesting.

Learning about how watches are tested under pressure at IWC, an other-worldly feel at Hublot, and watching the hand-enamelling process at Jaeger Le Coultre

2)    Heritage vs. innovation: the common refrain I heard from almost every brand was that their new products were simultaneously deeply rooted in heritage while also being incredibly innovative, and somehow more so than ever before. There wasn’t much room for understatement never heard any acknowledgement about the possible conflict between these two aspects. On the innovation side, I would have liked to hear more about sustainability in terms of actual concrete targets (a topic I felt deserved more air time in today’s world).

3) Industry challenges: For an industry that still appears to be booming (brands making the call to spend a couple of million just to be present at W&W), there seemed to be an undercurrent of concern that it risks becoming irrelevant in an age where millennials check their screens for the time.  The message from the W&W chairman was that the brands need to stick together, and to keep talking about new products/savoir faire at events like this, to avoid ‘losing traction.” Watches he noted, are “an instrument for dreaming” and that dream needs to be maintained or people will spend their money elsewhere.

Old and new: a couple of Cartier ovals/baignoires made 50 years apart, a 1949 JLC Reverso depicting King Rama, and the Tag Heuer Carrera then and now

All in all, a worthwhile week, and fun too – after all, it’s also an event for those with a common interest to come together and catch up and it was lovely to see a few friends and meet others in the flesh for the first time (beats social media messaging). With my interest in the history, I also enjoyed seeing the older pieces that some brands chose to display alongside their new models - and fun to compare a 50-yr-old London oval watch made under my grandfather, Jean-Jacques Cartier, with Cartier’s newest oval/baignoire on a gold bracelet (above).

Sharing stories with collectors and influencers in Geneva, the city of watches.

For a trade show that has been called “easily the single most un-democratic event the watch industry hosts” (Jack Forster, Hodinkee), I thought it was great that this year, the ‘salon’ opened to the public for the final couple of days, and also that W&W spread into Geneva, with various talks and tours on in the city throughout the week. It made it feel more inclusive. After all, as you wander around Geneva, you realise it really is a city made from watches: so many of the brand names on the buildings each side of the lake are those of old watchmakers, many now owned by their large conglomerate heirs, but still going strong, still working every day to keep that dream alive...

Following in my great-grandfather’s footsteps on the hunt for pearls in Bahrain

Next up, I’ll be writing up my recent trip to the Middle East in search of pearls - little taster photo below. And I’m also planning the next webinar for June to coincide with the upcoming Arabic launch of my book - watch this space!