Quality Time
Only time will tell – five themes forecasted by luxury watch brands at SIHH
The timepieces trends to watch out for in 2019
With the US government in shutdown mode, Brexit uncertainties and hints at another global recession, who knows what 2019 holds. However it turns out, we should be the very best versions of ourselves, living the very best lives we possibly can relative to our circumstances, as if each day was our last. This sentiment appears to be shared by the watch industry, if this year’s releases so far are anything to go by.
VINTAGE IS ADVANTAGE
“Vintage” is an even more prominent theme, not only through homage editions, but due to the boom in the secondary market and because the big luxury brands are entering the fray with certified pre-owned channels. Richemont acquired UK-based Watch Finder last year, showing just how serious they are about controlling the market.
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE INNOVATION
There have been huge changes in retail and, with the growth of online luxury-product sales through group and brand-owned sites, some traditional partner retailers might start feeling they are being muscled out as brands like Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille take back control of their customers for a one-on-one experience.
COLOUR IDENTITY
“Identity” in all its guises has to be the main theme of “now” as individuals, communities and nations try to establish who they are and where they fit in. From gender to national identity, whether you’re with them or not, everyone is proudly revealing their true colours. Living Coral 16-1546 is Pantone’s colour for 2019, alongside Millennial Pink, which appears to be here to stay. The watch industry’s answer is salmon pink or pink-gold dials, normally the reserve of the super luxe or limited editions in the past, but looking like it might become a more familiar face this year.
The A.Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon, in white gold with pink-gold dial, is one of the most elegant watches so far this year and Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin is one of the most covetable. The Montblanc Heritage Spirit Pulsograph also features a beautifully executed update on a vintage Minerva chronograph salmon dial.
A big surprise this year, and maybe one of the more controversial, is the new collection from Audemars Piguet, called Code 11.59, of which the Perpetual Calendar is offered with a red-gold case and Aventurine green dial and matching leather strap.
Anyone who has listened to the nurturing “This is Love” podcasts from the creators of “Criminal” will know the episode on the colour blue and how much people love blue. This stylish colour remains the most prominent on dials.
PERPETUAL CALENDARS
The Perpetual Calendar is the complication to watch this year. Even “accessible luxe” brand Baume & Mercier added one to its Clifton Baumatic collection combining the calibre BM13 with an extra module. It’s perhaps overpriced ($24,500) for this segment but it is in rose gold and will definitely work as an excellent brand-building tool to win over aficionados and young fans of B&M. A perpetual calendar requires the exceptional skill of master architects to create the highly efficient and accurate movements that not only display date, day, month and moon phases, but which automatically take account of the various lengths of the months and leap years.
MORE PLAY
Although watchmakers take their trade very seriously, there is no reason they can’t be playful. In times of uncertainty, I hope to see more from the likes of Richard Mille, whose Bonbon Collection put a smile on my dial.
In the words of their artistic director Cécile Guenat: “Bonbon – just saying the word is enough to make you smile. It manages to convey a combination of pleasure, good cheer and sharing all at once.”