From the most complicated watch ever made to the thinnest, brands are outdoing themselves at Watches and Wonders in Geneva. We asked some exhibiting maisons about the timepieces that set them apart.
ADVERTISEMENTOne of the blockbuster releases at this year’s Watches and Wonders trade show is a pocket watch weighing 980 grams with nearly 3000 components.
The Berkley Grand Complication took 11 years to develop by three master watchmakers at Vacheron Constantin, a titan in the industry. With 63 complications, it broke the brand’s previously-held record for the “world’s most complicated watch.” (Complication is a technical term given to any function of a watch that goes beyond keeping time.)
The pocket watch goes where no watchmaker has gone before, building on Vacheron Constantin’s long history of haute horlogerie, which dates back to 1755.
While it’s impressive, you’re unlikely to ever meet anyone who has the need, desire or, frankly, deep enough pockets (both literally and figuratively) to lug around a Berkley Grand Complication. With only one in existence, the timepiece is made-to-order.
The Berkley Grand Complication sits on the far end of the spectrum of watches found at Watches and Wonders Geneva – one of the “wonders,” if you will.
But each of the 54 watchmakers at the trade show this year are chasing this same wow factor in their own way, trying to woo collectors and set themselves apart as the dust settles on the pandemic-fuelled watch frenzy.
Pushing the limits of mechanics
Mechanical watch fanatics had plenty to get excited about at Watches and Wonders, with a host of complex movements on show across different brands, from giants like Patek Philippe to independents like Louis Moinet.
Schaffhausen-based IWC released its most complex calendar watch yet – the “Portugieser Eternal Calendar,” its first secular perpetual calendar watch.
The rules of the secular calendar are irregular – there’s a leap year every four years and every 400 years, but no leap year every 100 years in between. That means the year 2000 and 2400 are leap years, but 2100, 2200 and 2300 are not.
Unlike perpetual calendar watches, which have to be adjusted every 400 years to account for this, the Portugieser Eternal Watch will accurately calculate every leap year from now until at least the year 3999. And it might work even past then, “as it has not yet been officially decided whether the year 4000 will be a leap year or not.”
The moon phase is even more precise – it will only deviate by one day after 45 million years, a new record that IWC has submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Chief Design Officer at IWC Schaffhausen Christian Knoop told Euronews Culture the challenge was finding a design that would be able to contain the complex mechanics, while staying true to IWC’s minimalist design.
“If you have a movement that has such incredible capabilities and such fascinating technical solutions that really stretches and bends the human understanding of what is technically possible, then you obviously have to find an aesthetic expression for it,” he said.
“Part of our work was to really create something that respects the design signature of the Portugieser, being a very pure, very precise, but very reduced instrument watch. And then something like this, which is so enormous when it comes to technical components.”
The astounding timepiece also serves as a centrepiece for IWC’s larger new collection, which also includes smaller and simpler watches that are easier to sell and wear.
Rise of the indies
Design and mechanics go hand in hand for many watchmakers, including the recently independent Ulysse Nardin. At this year’s Watches and Wonders, the brand released a new iteration of its seminal “Freak” watch – the Freak S Nomad.
With no dial, no hands and no crown, the original Freak led a small revolution in contemporary watchmaking when it was released in 2001; last year the Freak One was given the Iconic Watch Prize at the prestigious Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie de Genève.
For Ulysse Nardin’s CEO Patrick Pruniaux, “technical innovation with a purpose” is the key to staying relevant with watch lovers.
ADVERTISEMENT“Modern design is not about drawing an object, it's about thinking, what do you want to do with it? What do you want to produce?” he told Euronews Culture.
“And in a very holistic view, it starts from, what would the watch aficionado expect? What is the innovation I want to bring in? And then how do I combine everything into a single object and take it to another level?”
Pruniaux, who bought Ulysse Nardin from the Kering group in 2022, says there’s a “strong appetite” for independent brands at the moment, which is reflected in the record number of brands exhibiting at this edition of Watches and Wonders.
Before, indie brands were sidelined at big industry events, when they were invited at all. But collectors’ growing interest in smaller watchmakers has created a more inclusive ecosystem, according to the head of Ressence, an independent Belgian brand.
“When I started Ressence in 2010, Baselworld was still operating and they put us independents in a tent outside the venue,” CEO Benoît Mintiens told Euronews Culture. “We were physically outside of the system, which was a strong statement. Today, we’re part of this ecosystem.”
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Mintiens describes something akin to a symbiotic relationship – indie brands need industry giants because they keep the industry's gears turning, so to speak. And big brands need indies because they are more willing to take risks when it comes to their timepieces.
“Oftentimes independent brands set themselves apart by coming up with new ideas, innovations and concepts that are very different,” he said. “But an indie brand is rarely a collector’s first watch.”
Ressence has won fans around the world for its trompe l’oeil design, consisting of flat rotating discs, which many initially mistake for a digital watch face. At this year’s Watches and Wonders, the brand presented a multi-coloured version of its signature Type 1°.
Engaging a growing community
One of the lasting effects of the pandemic is a thriving online community of mechanical watch-lovers, a group of people that’s more diverse and vocal than ever before.
This group has succeeded in influencing the industry in more ways than one – from getting indie watchmakers a seat at the table to inspiring the development of unique timepieces.
ADVERTISEMENTAn example is Swiss watchmaker Zenith’s new DEFY Skyline Chronograph, which the Swiss brand released to complete its DEFY Skyline collection. But the decision to make a chronograph also came as a response to Zenith’s community, according to CEO Benoît de Clerck.
“When we launched that same watch two years ago, but not as a chronograph, we got a lot of strong suggestions saying ‘Hey guys, you need chronographs!’” De Clerck told Euronews Culture. “So we made it to complete the collection, but it was also based on the feedback that we got from the markets.”
The DEFY Skyline Chronograph features Zenith’s highly-praised El Primero automatic chronograph movement, which is precise down to 1/10 of a second.
"So far the response is very positive," De Clerck said. "The feedback from the collectors is that it's a beautiful watch and that it's a lot of watch for the money."
"I love to hear that. It's very encouraging."
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Perhaps more than any other watchmaker, Italian maison Panerai has felt the power of the watch loving community.
Fans of the brand’s historic models have created their own movement, calling themselves the “Paneristi”. The group, which was created independently of Panerai, has some 30,000 official members across 25 countries.
“There’s not a single person working at Panerai who knows Panerai better than the Paneristi,” said CEO Jean-Marc Pontroué.
Pontroué attends the annual Paneristi meeting every year, alongside some 250 Paneristi. He takes the time to personally sign every member’s Panerai Passport, a booklet where Panerai clients can track which stores they’ve been to through personalised stamps.
“There’s a sort of religious devotion, a true admiration for the brand,” Pontroué said. “It’s always very emotional for those of us who work here 10 hours a day to see people who know our brand better than we do.”
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Panerai nurtures its relationship with its different segments of fans, Pontroué said, and has even created new ones through its unique interactive experiences.
Every year since 2019, the brand has released several “Experience Edition” watches, limited-edition timepieces that are sold with a singular experience – from a training session with Navy Seals to a North Pole expedition to a private tour of Rome’s most exclusive venues.
“We’ve created a new community of collectors, those who have participated in an Experience,” Pontroué said. “We have three clients who purchase every experience we do, even before we announce them."
The latest Experiences watch released at Watches and Wonders offers collectors an immersion with the Luna Rossa sailing team as they prepare for the America’s Cup in Barcelona – for a cool €195,000.
For Pontroué, it's a way to honour the brand's history while opening up a new dialogue with its high-end clientele.
ADVERTISEMENT“Panerai watches were made a long time ago as tools for Italian Marines,” Pontroué explained. “In a way, we thought this could bring Panerai back to its roots, which is not in an office.”
Watches and Wonders 2024 takes place in Geneva through 15 April. It’s open to the public from 13-15 April.
