Watches & Wonders 2025: what to expect from the Geneva watch fair

(Image credit: Watches & Wonders)

After a post-pandemic high, last year was a quieter one for the watch industry, with drops in exports and sales signalling an end to the record-breaking highs of the last few years. What to expect, then, from this year’s Watches and Wonders? With 60 brands preparing to unveil their watch releases, many assume the biggest event in the horological calendar will be a quieter one this year, with less of an emphasis on brand new collections, and more of a focus on reworked classics.

Amongst the doom of falling sales and, consequently, prices, there are signs the market could go in interesting new directions. Advancements in women’s watches are responding to a new generation of female consumers who expect larger dimensions and mechanical movements in their watches, while plays on colour and material elsewhere show that innovation and a pushing of the technical boundaries is still key for many.

The focus is firmly on a younger audience this year at the salon itself. Last year, a quarter of attendees were under 35, something the salon has built on this year with a programme dedicated to a horological education. The LAB space, a hub of new technologies, will also include members from schools, start-ups and apprentices. In Geneva itself, there will be an emphasis on watchmaking training courses, workshops and activities for children. ‘The Lab will bring new initiatives and I’m very much looking forward to discovering the student projects,’ says CEO Matthieu Humair, Watches and Wonders Geneva. ‘I’m also looking forward to the Longitude 0 exhibition, with its aesthetic staging, that will take visitors for a journey along the famous Greenwich meridian.’

Visitor experience, too, will be tweaked, with both the press and now the public able to register for product presentations and tours in advance. ‘Watches and Wonders Geneva allows the visitors to experience the world of watchmaking in many different ways, whatever your level of knowledge,’ Humair adds. ‘This year, we have designed an exciting and tailor-made program to make each visit unique while offering the same level of services that made the success of the Salon. Watches and Wonders Geneva is an immersive watchmaking experience.’

Watches and Wonders runs from 1 - 7 April 2025 at Palexpo Geneva, and is open to the public from 5 - 7 April

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Hannah Silver is a writer and editor with over 20 years of experience in journalism, spanning national newspapers and independent magazines. Currently Art, Culture, Watches & Jewellery Editor of Wallpaper*, she has overseen offbeat art trends and conducted in-depth profiles for print and digital, as well as writing and commissioning extensively across the worlds of culture and luxury since joining in 2019.