Growing up, sport was everything to me. And that intoxicating mix of nerves and excited energy before a big match is exactly how I'm feeling right now as I’m writing this. The butterflies are real! Not because I will be making big hits, but because next week, commencing Tuesday 9th April, the world’s watch media and collectors will descend upon Geneva.
Over the years, watch fairs have evolved considerably, moving from most brands at Baselworld to a decentralised situation where brands were doing their own thing. But in the last two or three years we found ourselves back in the positive position of having almost everybody in town, in the same week. As well as the main event at the Palexpo, where we will have 54 brands, big and small, there will also be satellite shows in Geneva that will showcase the world of independent watchmaking and the new releases from larger brands like Bulgari. At the show itself we have Rolex and Patek Philippe leading the charge, as well as the likes of Chopard, Tag Heuer, Zenith and the Richemont brands like IWC, Cartier, Panerai, Vacheron Constantin et al.
While there's a fair sense of concern in the air about global sales, I feel this is only because we've had such a blockbuster few years and we are in fact reaching some normality in the market. There is a sense, speaking to colleagues out there, that this year might be flat when it comes to new watches, but I feel optimistic. My wife often says I see the world through rose-tinted glasses – which may be true. But I do genuinely believe that there's a lot of excitement in the air with a number of anniversaries for models, including Vacheron celebrating the anniversary of its classic dress watch The Patrimony as well as Lange’s Lange 1 and Piaget’s 150th anniversary as a brand. The brands that we will not be seeing this week include Audemars Piguet, Breitling and the whole Swatch group, which comprises Omega.
The show is an opportunity to see old friends, gather insight into the industry and of course get our hands on watches as soon as they are released. The most interesting point is that often you see these watches at the show but then you never really see them in the wild, so it really is a rare opportunity that is not lost on me each and every year I get the chance to go.
When it comes to predictions, no doubt you've seen a lot of them out there online ahead of the show – particularly for the likes of Rolex and Patek. To my mind, we're going to see a new Milgauss and we are likely going to see something like the celebration OP from last year or the Jigsaw Day Date, which will inevitably steal the show. Rolex just shared a teaser film on its Instagram which showed a guilloche dial and some diamond markers – let’s see. In years gone by we have been able to anticipate what Rolex is going to produce, but they seem to be having more fun than ever. So the only thing we can be assured of is that we have no idea.
When it comes to Patek, I personally am most excited about seeing its rare handcrafts. We saw a wood marquetry dial launched just last week with a surfer on the dial, which blew my mind. But there is rumour out there that we might see an entirely new model family launched. More to come soon!
Ultimately, I couldn't be more excited about next week. Please come along for the journey with me: I will be reporting live on the ground from the Palexpo shooting video content every day and we will be sure to share the highlights from each of our favourite brands. Stay tuned!
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