The wonders never cease

Last year, I was in Switzerland for five minutes. We had landed in the French sector of Geneva Airport and walked out on the Swiss end, straight onto a shuttle that went back into France on the way to Tignes, before I could catch my breath. This year’s Watches and Wonders Geneva was thus my first time at the fair, as well as in the city itself, and my week at the now-pre-eminent gathering of the horological universe left me over-stimulated, exhausted, inspired, and awestruck.

Luxury: Taking stock 

It may be a slightly hyperbolic statement, but it’s always a good time for luxury. According to a recent study, the US luxury goods market is set to bring in sales totalling US$116.6-billion this year. In 2021, the global luxury goods market had a value of U$S262.66-billion and is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 5.63% between now and 2028.

Back in Switzerland, watch exports hit an all-time high in 2022. Morgan Stanley reports the figure at CHF 23.7-billion — 11.6% up on the previous year. These figures surpass pre-Covid performances, all while supply has decreased steadily over the years. A total of 13.8-million timepieces were sold in 2022. At the beginning of this millennium, 30-million watches were exported from Switzerland. Rolex, Richard Mille, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet remain the big four, with a collective 41.7% market share.

Chinese borders have re-opened and — anecdotally, from the media and retailers I spoke to — appetites are voracious once more. Data supports this, with Bain & Company forecasting a resumption of growth this year for a country that is the world’s second-largest luxury market. By 2030, it expects the number of middle- and high-income consumers to have doubled. This posture was carried palpably by the strong Asian contingent, not just from Hong Kong and the mainland but also from South Korea, Japan, and elsewhere, at the Palexpo International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The event

In another life, I (partly) planned events. Intimate do's put together by small teams or, sometimes, just a team of one. When I look at the scale of planning and execution that goes into Watches and Wonders Geneva, if what I did was eventing, then this was extreme eventing. Since Baselworld fair folded in 2021, Watches and Wonders has grown in stature, attracting influential maisons. It plays out over a 66 000m2 exhibition space, and the visitor tally thrown about after the event was 43 000 — over double the number of visitors last year — and this is not considering the two days when the general public was allowed in.

The crowds, chic as they were, were staggering, with multiple-year veterans stunned by how busy it was, somewhat easing my anxiety at the assault of it all. Managing the timetable of keynotes, panels, presentations, and touch-and-feel sessions was, frankly, a nightmare for this novice, but from what I could tell at the lunch tables, I was in good company. Scheduling issues aside, the mood was effervescent and order books full.

The brands 

The number of brands on display was just shy of 50, with the usual suspects well represented, along with an ever-growing list of innovative independents. To visit each stand was to unfurl unique stories, told with well-crafted products and a bit of drama. IWC, which went big on the reimagined Gérald Genta-designed Ingenieur, constructed a 1970s engineering lab to mark the era in which it was first created.

Engineering artefacts lined the room, including Dieter Rams FS80 TVs and various sound systems. Most memorable was automobile designer Bruno Sacco’s extraordinary retro-futuristic Mercedes C111 prototype, which never saw the light of day, taking centre stage.

At Ulysse Nardin, the main attraction was a Freak One installation with a giant mirror above it, causing a simple but highly resonant visual effect. My surprising highlight from the Rolex touch-and-feel session was the unexpected playfulness of the colourful new Emoji Oyster Perpetual Day-Date, with emojis (31 in total) and inspirational words (you know, “love”, “peace”, “hope”, and the like) replacing day and date functions. Other colourful entries were from Patek Philippe, Oris with its green Kermit hit, and the entire Van Cleef & Arpels stand.

Sustainability 

The move to more sustainable practices that has gained traction over the years — and that has stepped up in 2023 — seems irreversibly intertwined with the survival of the entire industry. The use of sustainable materials, the focus on transparency, and the shift towards circular-manufacturing processes should really be non-negotiable, and more brands are joining Cartier and Kering in the Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030, launched in 2021, to give oxygen to this ideal. The organisers of the fair lent their weight to the cause by running on 100% renewable energy, banning single-use plastics, and transporting all guests on Swiss public transport.

Sustainability, of course, speaks to the planet and its people, and the people glaringly, overwhelmingly, missing from the throngs were those who looked like me. If this is to be an annual fixture on my calendar, I look forward to mingling with many more people from the African continent and the diaspora — poised to be the youngest, largest, and most lucrative demographic in the years to come.

• From the May edition of Wanted, 2023.