What Watches and Wonders 2025 tells us about the state of the industry
Russell SheldrakeIt has taken a little while to recover from this year’s Watches and Wonders, and in part thanks to being on the road the week after with Baltic as we ripped through France following the Tour Auto. But now we are back to normality, and as sleep schedules are returning to normal, it’s always a good idea to take stock of what we’ve just seen and figure out what it may or may not mean for the industry as a whole.
Big brands are back
Last year, I left Palexpo feeling pretty flat, there were no super-exciting releases that fuelled me with any sense of excitement and positivity for the industry, but this year we seem to have been spoilt for choice. Of course, the biggest headline was the Rolex Land-Dweller, and while a new product line entering the Rolex catalogue is always big news, the fact that they have done so with a new, innovative movement shows that, as always, Rolex is building for the future and has taken a big step towards it this year. The new calibre 7135 and its newly designed escapement has been lauded as the next great leap forward in industrial watchmaking, and with Rolex producing well over a million watches a year, it is impressive to see them committing to a complex, high-frequency movement (5Hz) that will likely act as a base for more calibres in the future.
But saying that Rolex committing financially to something is impressive is perhaps a slight overstatement. They remain the dominant force in the industry, with an unprecedented market share of approximately 30%, depending on who you ask. It’s when we step outside of the crown’s domain and look at the other big box brands that have been making moves this year which really left an impression on me. The next biggest headline came from Vacheron Constantin with its new Solaria, the most complicated wristwatch in the world. It’s possible to look at this release as a fairly logical one following on from the brand’s release last year of the most complicated pocket watch in the world, but it still felt impressive. With just one on the stand, and nearly impossible to get out of its case, some believed it to be a unique piece. In fact, it was just a unique configuration, which suggests VC intend to make more of these wonderfully overcomplicated watches.
The fact that a brand like Vacheron has the confidence to pursue a costly project like the Solaria, with others clearly not shying away from high cost projects, signalled to me that there was a sense of confidence back in the industry. Take Grand Seiko for example. While collectors have applauded the late appearance of micro adjustment in their clasps, it was the new U.F.A movements that caused me to take pause. I will let Zach give more detail on the new Ice Forest SLGB001 and SLGB003 in his dedicated article, but these new advancements prove that the brand is still committed to advancing Spring Drive technology.
An underlying current
Even before the US tariffs became the topic of the fair, there was still a healthy amount of caution around most of the brands as we come off what has been a rough 12 months. The sentiment felt similar to the one I voiced after Geneva Watch Days last year at the exec level, with many quietly voicing concern whilst backing that up with confidence in their brand and product. Of course, every brand has their strategies to navigate times like this, but the mere presence of these strategies gives me concern.
And then the tariffs hit, and that was seemingly all people could talk about after they asked each other what they thought of the Land-Dweller. While the situation was uncertain then, we seem to be getting a slightly clearer picture now of how it will shake out as it continues to develop. But after speaking with people at big and small brands alike, there is a surprising amount of inconsistency with how brands plan to handle any tariff being added to their products being sold in the biggest watch market in the world. Some have come out and made the smart PR move by stating they will absorb any and all costs, while others have kept very quiet and seem to be waiting it out. This is a great opportunity for brands to generate good will in a massively important market, and while Americans do love to travel and shop while they do, the purchases they make at home are far more important to the Swiss watch industry. And after the collapse of the Chinese market, the industry would seriously struggle if the US took a significant hit too.
Gold is going nowhere
I had a feeling that coming into this fair I may see a lack of gold in the novelties thanks to the recent price increases, with brands rather opting for steel models to keep costs down and allow them to keep prices of their catalogue steady in the current climate. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of precious metal on display, whether it was the full gold bracelet watches from A. Lange & Söhne, Rolex, and Jaeger-LeCoultre, or fine examples of dress watches from Patek Philippe, Chopard, and Cartier.
There was no lack of precious metal this year, and we were seeing it across a wide range of price categories too. Whether its the new Rolex 1908 on a full gold bracelet for €35,000 or Lange with its Honeygold Odysseus at €120,000, there was a wide variety, even going up to the Patek ref. 5308 with its white gold case that clocks in at over a million. I enjoy seeing brands continue to work in gold and precious metals, while it will often lead to watches way out of most people’s budgets, it shows that there is always an aspirational side to the market that builds on tradition and the creativity of goldsmithing.
Too thin?
A story that seemingly passed by many on the floor of Palexpo was that Bulgari had taken its 10th thinnest record with the new Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon. Now that they’ve reached double figures, perhaps people have moved on? While the technological feat is undoubtedly impressive, there seemed to be little mention of it among the rest of the press. It could be that there was a certain level of expectation when it came to this announcement, but I certainly wasn’t having many conversations about it.
To me, this also speaks to a wider trend that I have been noticing across the industry of late. Innovations and world-firsts are only really celebrated when they are seen to make a real impact on the end consumer. Take the new Dynapulse movement – this is a significant leap forward in industrial movement manufacturing, while the ability to shave fractions of a millimetre off a tourbillon continues to excite a smaller and smaller circle. There will continue to be a part of me that loves to see a competitive spirit between watch brands, and this feels like one of the few battle grounds on which they will continue to openly compete.
Rising numbers
It’s always interesting to see the wrap up email from the organising body after every year. With a never-ending rise in numbers of attendees, it’s great to see the continued growth in interest in watches. When we are coming off a tough year globally, this hopefully marks a positive sign of things to come. However, there have been talks that there are too many people in attendance, or at least the numbers of people there is not being managed as well as it could be. There were reports of meetings being overcrowded during the weekdays when it should be just industry and press, blocking those who are there to do a job.
This year saw over 55,000 people walk into Palexpo, and, rather encouragingly, 23,000 of them were members of the public who paid for tickets over the weekend to see the 60 exhibiting brands. With just 1,600 journalists in attendance, it makes me question where the other 30,000 people are coming from. This week is the biggest of the year for us watch journalists, and it can be hard enough to book all the appointments you want when you want them. Whether there is better delineation in booking appointments or the days on which people can come next year, I’m not sure, but it would be great to see a better system come 2026.
On that note, it would also be wonderful to have some consistency in the times of embargos lifting a the start of the week. Having Rolex decide to go at midnight caused some chaos among our team, as we had everything planned for the standard morning time lift. This seemed to be in response to other brands lifting their embargos at midnight, but that is probably more of a personal gripe than a comment on the state of the industry.