Feature: These 4 watch trends TRANSFORMED the industry!
Since the launch of Watchfinder back in 2002 we’ve witnessed some interesting fashion ‘moments’, to say the least. That very year saw David Beckham attempt to kickstart a trend for braided hair while armies of impressionable young men all over the world clamoured to dress like Eminem and Justin Timberlake.
Since then, things have hardly improved. We’ve had to deal with the rise of the Crocs sandal, ripped spray-on jeans, plus the highly questionable sliders-and-white-socks combo du jour that makes you look like an injured athlete on day release from the hospital.
Twenty years from now, will the people who wore these things reflect on their sartorial choices with pride? Does the pope defecate in the woods?
Thankfully watch trends during this time have been far less objectionable. A new generation of exciting young designers and brands, plus a few old ones, have brought fresh ideas to an industry that had, at the turn of the millennium, reached an aesthetic plateau. Better still, we now get to see all the latest releases immediately thanks to the wonders of Instagram and YouTube.
Social media has been a monumental influence on the luxury watch sector in the last twenty years, but what about the watches themselves?
Here are the four biggest trends since Watchfinder emerged, twenty years ago, into a brave new horological world…
Kingsize Cases
Remember the early 2000s when men’s tie knots expanded to the size of a small planet? Well, the same period saw an increase in the average watch case size, rising from around 40mm to a positively engorged 44mm.
We’ll leave the semiotics of that for another article, but during the mid-2000s ‘the bigger the better’ seemed to be the prevailing mindset, with some watches reaching an almost unwearable 48mm in diameter. Brands like Audemars Piguet and Panerai, both of whom were already making large watches, saw a significant increase in demand, especially for the latter’s Luminor and Radiomir models.
Oversized watches like this 47mm Panerai Luminor have been popular in the past two decades
These hunks of metal are still around in abundance, but lately we’ve seen a welcome resurgence in small watches.
Once deemed too feminine, they’re challenging the supersize watch trend, aided by a new generation of celebrities such as Harry Styles, Kanye West and Tyler, the Creator, all of whom wear daintier pieces. And if that doesn’t convince you that smaller watches are cool again, consider that boxing heavyweight legend Muhammad Ali used to wear a tiny Cartier Tank.
Rise Of The Independents
Vintage Rolex collecting kicked off during the late 1980s to early 1990s, decades after the launch of the iconic Datejust. Even up until the mid 2010s Rolex was relatively affordable and even old Daytonas and GMT-Masters could be purchased at auction for a few thousand pounds. Older models, such as the so-called ‘bubblebacks’ from the 1930s, could even be purchased for a few hundred pounds.
In more recent years however it has become much harder to obtain these watches. Therefore serious collectors are increasingly turning to independent brands such as Philippe Dufour, Kari Voutilainen and F.P. Journe. For these collectors the attraction is about being able to purchase future classics from an actual figurehead watchmaker.
Watches by independents like F.P. Journe are now as collectible as rare vintage pieces
Bear in mind, though, that collectors are about five years ahead of the wider world in terms of what watches they buy, meaning these independent brands have now become considerably more expensive as they become mainstream.
If their prices turn you off, though, you could always take a look at affordable independent micro brands such as France-based Baltic and Scottish company, AnOrdain.
Small and affordable non-Swiss independent brands have also sprung up in recent years
Watches And Sport
In the early 2000s, watch brands embraced sport like never before. Louis Vuitton used the Louis Vuitton Cup in Auckland as a way to get a vital foothold in the luxury watch market, Audemars Piguet created the Royal Oak City of Sails for Alinghi, and Omega dedicated a Seamaster model to the America’s Cup and one to Team New Zealand.
Meanwhile Hublot did what luxury watch brands had hitherto refused to do—it jumped into bed with football. It is now the official time-keeper for the world’s major football tournaments, including the World Cup, and is endorsed by superstars of the game such as Kylian Mbappe.
Rafael Nadal wears Richard Mille's RM027, the equivalent in weight of four paperclips
Over on the tennis court, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer bagged endorsement deals with Richard Mille and Rolex, respectively, and several brands continue to champion various motorsports.
As for the stainless-steel sports watch genre itself, it’s in robust health—as proven by the insatiable demand for high-end pieces like the Royal Oak and Nautilus—and will almost certainly be a trend for decades to come. So don’t go swapping all your old dive watches for new ceramic models just yet!
Watches And Pop Culture
An A-list ambassador from the world of music or cinema has become, in the last twenty years, de rigueur for luxury Swiss watch brands. Rolex print adverts have featured eminent Hollywood directors such as Martin Scorsese, while sister brand Tudor has posted its ‘Born To Dare’ campaign—starring David Beckham and Lady Gaga—on billboards from LA to Lisbon.
Breitling signed up the stellar trio of Brad Pitt, Charlize Theron and Adam Driver, while Oscar-nominated thespian Benedict Cumberbatch got snapped up by Jaeger-LeCoultre in 2018, followed a few years later by rising star, Anya Taylor-Joy.
Actress Anya Taylor-Joy sports a Reverso as JLC's latest celebrity brand ambassador
It seems you’re a nobody in the world of entertainment unless you have a luxury watch brand endorsement. Watches are even gaining more prominence in TV series and films. From Mad Men to Succession, viewers sometimes pay more attention to what’s on the characters’ wrists than the actual plot. The ‘pause’ button has never been used so much!
