A Return to Time: Notes from Watches and Wonders Geneva
There are few places where time feels as tangible as at Watches and Wonders Geneva. For one day, everything revolves around it, interpreted through craftsmanship, design, and an almost obsessive attention to detail.
This year, the fair revealed more than technical innovation. It signaled a shift in mood, subtle, but unmistakable.
Patek Philippe New Models 2026
BVLGARI celebrates old-school glamour with its newest Serpenti watches.
There is a clear return to old-school glamour and with it, a strong retro influence. Not nostalgia in its simplest form, but a deliberate reinterpretation of the past. Vintage codes are everywhere: softened silhouettes, intricate bracelets, and, most notably, the reappearance of the secret watch.
These pieces conceal their dials beneath decorative covers, blurring the line between jewelry and timekeeping. They are intimate, almost private objects, designed to be discovered rather than displayed. It is a language that echoes the elegance of earlier decades, yet feels entirely contemporary in its execution.
At the same time, craftsmanship is moving back to the center of the conversation. Not just as a technical necessity, but as a form of artistic expression. The level of detail, the patience, and the human touch behind these pieces feels more important than ever.
One example that stayed with me came from CHANEL. A chess set, already sold and therefore no longer on display in its final form, was presented through prototypes. Each figure was meticulously crafted, with the Gabrielle Chanel silhouette wearing a tweed jacket, entirely set with diamonds, that emphasized the effect of the material. It was less an object and more a demonstration of what true craftsmanship can achieve: intricate, precise, and deeply intentional.
Audemars Piguet Etablisseurs Galets
At the same time, a structural shift within the industry is becoming increasingly visible. The market is stretching apart.
Van Cleef & Arpels is expanding its Jour Nuit collection with a new timepiece in honor of the Moon. Within the Midnight case, the watch features two overlapping complications: the first one animates the Jour/Nuit display, while the second one illustrates the actual Moon phase.
BVLGARI
On one end, brands are leaning heavily into haute horlogerie, producing exceptional, highly complicated, and often extremely limited pieces. These watches are not simply products; they are statements of craftsmanship, created for collectors who value rarity as much as technical mastery. Prices reflect this shift, reaching levels that position these timepieces firmly within the realm of art and investment.
Celebrating 100 years of the Rolex Oyster with this beautiful and affordable Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36 «Jubilee Edition».
On the other end, the more accessible segment remains present, but quieter, almost overshadowed by the spectacle of high-end innovation. The middle ground is thinning, and the contrast between the two extremes is becoming more pronounced.
A Testament to Métiers d’Art: Van Cleef & Arpels, with its latest Perlée Extraordinaire Fruits Enchantés collection, is capturing the ruby-red intensity of perfectly ripened raspberries.
Yet within this high-end focus, creativity is flourishing. Freed from the need to appeal to a broad audience, brands are allowing themselves to be more expressive, more daring, and more niche. Watchmaking, in this sense, is becoming increasingly cultural. These are no longer just instruments or even luxury goods, they are narratives, identities, and statements.
Collectors today are not simply buying watches; they are engaging with meaning.
Walking through the fair, it quickly becomes clear that the experience goes far beyond the watches themselves. Some booths are consistently extraordinary, fully immersive environments that tell their own story. Officine Panerai, known for its diving heritage, brought that world to life with a stand that felt like stepping into the depths.
Van Cleef & Arpels created something entirely different, a poetic garden, complete with a swing, where time seemed to slow down.
And Audemars Piguet offered a more introspective atmosphere, with a library-like setting that invited you to pause, reflect, and look closer.
I leaned into the spirit of the fair with a Moschino look, complete with a watch-shaped bag and a hat featuring a clock detail. A subtle nod to the theme of time, and one that, quite unexpectedly, drew a lot of attention throughout the day. I was frequently stopped, photographed, and even interviewed, an unusual but fitting part of the experience.
Yves Piaget with me (click here for a previous post from 2012).
Amidst all of this, it is often the quieter, more personal moments that stay the longest. Seeing Yves Piaget again was one of them. Having been for many years an ambassador for Piaget, it made the encounter feel all the more meaningful.
Relaunch of the Piaget cocktail ring collection, for which I hosted an private garden party in my house in 2013.
There was something genuinely special in being recognized, in that brief moment of familiarity within such a fast-moving environment. A small exchange, a shared memory, and somehow, it stays. I still have the Piaget rose.
Ulysse Nardin
And perhaps that is what defines the fair as much as the watches themselves. It is not just an industry event, it is a cultural moment, where craftsmanship meets storytelling, and where timepieces become part of a larger narrative.
I predict a huge success for the BVLGARI Octo Finissimo Watch in satin-polished 18 kt yellow gold case.
What remains after a full day is not simply a memory of products, but a clear impression:
The future of watchmaking may well lie in its past.
In craftsmanship over scale.
In rarity over ubiquity.
In intimacy over display.And in the enduring desire to make time feel, once again, timeless.
Trying on Cartier‘s latest Bagnoire collection, that I am completely obsessed about.
Some of the most remarkable pieces deserve a closer look, and I’ll be returning to a few of them in more detail over the coming weeks.
LoL, Sandra
Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
DISCLOSURE: We may also earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.
