Watches & Wonders 2024: It’s a wrap

While clocking over 9km per day between brand meetings and interviews, attitudes were upbeat but the pace was less frenetic. Everyone appears to be engaging with time differently, tapping into a cosmic flow and through many novelties, revisiting the origins of timekeeping and the magic in 'rediscovering' the world around us through fresh eyes.

In this moment, calendars in varying degrees of complexity highlight innovative technical prowess but also our fascination with the universe. Green dials are definitely here to stay - this year with added intensity like the citrus green dial at H Moser. But sandy tones appear to be a popular choice for many brands, which might well be a fresh take on champagne or salmon but their nomenclatures - KingSand, Dune - hint at the sands of time, hour glasses and even if coincidentally, the popularity of Dune the movie and the novel. Time will tell.

Downsizing continues, especially for brands less known for discretion heading to lower 40s. And 39mm seems to hit a sweet spot for a nonbinary world. Transparency is noted, not just in terms of sustainability but in the sapphire dials and even larger case back windows, for a welcome return to celebrating the heartbeat and soul of watchmaking. The last day of Watches and Wonders 2024 revealed enchanting wonders and fine watchmaking.

Novel disruptor

Featuring and innovative "fluid modulé" inspired by ancient water clocks, HYT watches were among the early disrupters of the mostly conservative Swiss watch industry. First revealed in 2012, their GPHG prize-winning H1 Titanium Black DLC combined fine watchmaking and fluid mechanics. Over the last decade, each model has been equally audacious, boldly celebrating their machines in full view, making this year’s release something of a surprise. The new T1 Series 5N novelties are the first to feature ‘conventional’ dials, hiding their unique hybrid systems behind radiant sun brushed discs for the exclusive pleasure of each new owner. A single central hand reads the minutes while the outer ring of fluid flows with the passing hours. Available in titanium and gold, lighter and downsized 45mm, there is also a spectacular array of easily interchangeable new colourful straps to choose from.

Poetry in motion

Van Cleef & Arpels never fail to enchant us every year. The Lady Arpels Brise d’Été is poetry in motion, celebrating all that as Van Cleef, from their gifted métiers d’art to the fine craft and ingenuity of their haute horlogerie team. On demand, this marvel transports you into an enchanted garden where flowers sway in a light breeze while two butterflies float by before settling on ‘real time’.

Finest watchmaking

Revealing more of the wonder we came for, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s new Duometer Heliotourbillon Perpetual highlights the manufacture’s expertise in tourbillons and the finest of watchmaking. The ‘watchmaker of watchmakers’ combines the exceptional accuracy of its Duometer system with a three-axis tourbillon and a grand date perpetual calendar in a highly sophisticated package.

Splendid tribute

The TAG Heuer Monaco is an instantly recognisable icon, its unique square case and square sundials receiving numerous celebratory makeovers over the five decades since it was launched in 1969. Yet, the new titanium Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph with its contemporary case design update, open-works dial and big-screen open case back makes this the most splendid tribute of the lot.

The first watch

Hautlence is as old as Wanted having produced the first of its boundary-pushing TV-screen-shaped timepieces, the HL, in 2004, which over two decades set out to capture our imagination with bold alternatives to conventional forms and ways of displaying time. The new HLXX commemorates this innovative approach, acknowledging the very first watch in a smaller titanium case design (45x37mm), jumping hours and retrograde minutes and skeletonised dial.