The 2024 edition of the Watches & Wonders Salon ended on Monday 15 April, after a week of strong visitor attendance and social media engagement that exceeded the expectations of the organizers and the attendance levels achieved in 2023.
Fifty-four brands exhibited at Watches & Wonders this year, at the Palexpo in Geneva. Six more than last year. They presented their innovations, their ingenuity, and their métiers d'arts amidst large hallways with grand, at times extravagant, choreographies.
The Salon is a trend-setting event for the watchmaking industry. This year too, it has confirmed some existing trends and revealed a few interesting novelties. For example, several brands launched new timepieces which combined beautiful dark blue dials with charming moon phase complications. Others presented entire collections that featured exotic or pastel colorations. The chronograph continues to be a market favorite due to its practicality, simplicity, and appealing design. Technical materials such as titanium and ceramic also continue to be favored for the construction of cases and bracelets, and for their lightness and resistance to scratches. Finally, several brands engaged in the creation of innovative or pluri-complicated timepieces, including the tourbillon - the queen of complications - as well as timepieces with complex artistic compositions.
Choosing ten favorites amongst the novelties presented at the Salon is a reflection of personal taste. And it is limiting. The list that follows is only the tip of the iceberg. The choice of ten was based on the emotional reaction these timepieces have sparked in the author.
The Classic Moon Blue presented by Laurent Ferrier can be singled out as the timepiece with the most elegance and harmony. It features a beautiful combination of dimensions, lines and shapes, and savoir faire, all dressed in a vibrant dark blue. The Tangent 38 Date Sportbunt, by Nomos Glashutte, is one of a collection with clean and organized dials presented in 31 different attractive coloring schemes. Angelus and Gronefeld presented the Instrument de Vitesse and the 1941 Grönograaf Stainless Steel, respectively, which captivate the attention of the wearer with their ingenious technical solutions in well designed timepieces, with good legibility and wearability. The Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon by Piaget, the Streamliner Tourbillon Skeleton, by H. Moser & Cie, and the Purity Stairway To Heaven Steel by ArtyA Watches are simply mesmerizing. They are awesome for their simplicity, elegance, and level of craftsmanship.
The timepieces presented by Raymond Weil, the Millesime Automatic Moon Phase Midnight Blue, by Hermes, the Hermès Cut, and by Zenith, the Defy Skyline Chronograph strike the observer as having a timeless design owing to an intelligent choice of of colors, lines and shapes, and dimensions.
My top ten picks
Laurent Ferrier
Classic Moon Blue
This timepiece presents a harmonious blend of refinement and innovation: an elegant annual calendar, complemented by the horological marvel of the moon phase complication, presented on a gray-blue opaline dial. The case is in steel with a diameter of 40mm and a thickness of 12.90mm. The movement is a manual mechanical Manufacture movement.
Source: Watches & Wonders 2024
Nomos Glashutte
Tangent 38 Dates Sportbunt
With this special edition, Nomos Glashutte offers the possibility of personalizing the dial of the Tangente 38 Date with a palette of 31 different colors and shades. Each of the 31 timepieces is limited to 175 pieces. The Tangente is the best-known German wristwatch and is famous for its clarity and elegance. The watch has a height of only 6.8mm and is powered by an in-house movement.
Source: Watches & Wonders 2024
Raymond Weil
Millesime Automatic Moon Phase Midnight Blue
Based on the 2023 GPHG "Challenge Prize" winning timepiece, the Millesime Automatic Moon Phase Midnight Blue combines a sectorial and highly graphic dial with an innovatively designed moon phase, combining vintage charm and sophistication. The W-shaped oscillating weight visible through the caseback and the sapphire crystal glass embrace traditional watchmaking codes and add a neo-vintage aesthetic. Two versions are available with 39.5mm and 35mm cases.
Source: Watches & Wonders 2024
Angelus
Instrument de Vitesse
The Instrument de Vitesse revives the golden age of timed car racing. It is equipped with a single timing hand - the seconds hand in the center - and can time a maximum of one minute. Housed in a 39mm steel case, the 4.20mm hand-wound Manufacture caliber guarantees a thickness of less than 10mm. The Instrument de Vitesse is available with an ivory white or ebony black dial in two limited series of 25 each.
Source: Watches & Wonders 2024
Gronefeld
1941 Grönograaf Stainless Steel
The Grönograaf 1941 is a classic chronograph that incorporates several ingenious details. These include a 'soft reset' mechanism that slows down the reset function by reducing the depletion of the stop, start and reset components and ensuring the longevity of the watch. The Manufacture movement is made up of 408 parts. It features a classic configuration, with a column wheel and lateral split-seconds, and is housed in a 40mm case with a thickness of 11.3mm.
Source: Watches & Wonders 2024
Piaget
Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon
150 years after the Maison was founded, Piaget is once again pushing the boundaries of watchmaking ingenuity. The Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon is a very elegant timepiece boasting a thickness of only 2mm, the same as its predecessor, but with a diameter of 41.5mm. It seems to possess all the features of an everyday watch, but conceals the beating heart of a flying tourbillon.
Source: Watches & Wonders 2024
H. Moser & Cie
Streamliner Tourbillon Skeleton
The Streamliner Tourbillon Skeleton features minimalist aesthetics and perfect symmetry. One of the most striking features of this model is its transparency. The heart of the watch, entirely skeletonised, is a one-minute flying tourbillon with a double spiral that seems to float weightlessly. This is a creation endowed with elegance and spectacular aesthetics, in a Streamliner case with a diameter of 40mm.
Source: Watches & Wonders 2024
ArtyA Watches
Purity Stairway to Heaven Steel
It is all about levels, reliefs, plays of light with shadows and reflections. Every detail counts in this new Manufacture caliber. A double barrel in parallel ensures a constant power, optimal precision, and a comfortable autonomy. The minimalist dial is positioned at 3 o'clock for a better view of the enchanting 'Stairway To Heaven' architecture, which houses the balance spring.
Source: Watches & Wonders 2024
Hermes
Hermès Cut
A circle. A round shape. Hermès Cut plays with the vocabulary of geometry dear to Hermès. Powered by a Manufacture Hermès H1912 movement, the watch comes in all steel or in a two-tone combination of steel and rose gold, with or without gem setting. Equipped with a clever interchangeability system, the watch features a supple metal bracelet and a rubber strap available in a range of eight colors.
Source: Watches & Wonders 2024
Zenith
Defy Skyline Chronograph
The DEFY Skyline Chronograph is a modern take on DEFY’s earliest octagonal case with a multi sided bezel. With the same robustness and durability as its predecessors, this iteration has an edgier, more contemporary aesthetic. The new, 42mm DEFY Skyline Chronograph features stop-second precision and the 1/10th of a second El Primero 3600 caliber, to live life at a higher frequency.
Source: Watches & Wonders 2024