At Watches & Wonders 2025 in Geneva, the fine watchmaking industry focuses on engaging young collectors. Brands showcase innovation in design, materials, and marketing to attract the next generation of enthusiasts.
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00:00I don't like watches. I love watches.
00:04What I like is the know-how, the different trades.
00:08It's craftsmanship. It's heritage.
00:10You can buy one and give it to your son or daughter,
00:14and your daughter is going to give it to her son as well.
00:17Trends come and go, but watches and a lot of its design are here to stay.
00:23Watchmaking is infinite, especially the watchmaking technique.
00:26We always have to learn.
00:31Hello and welcome to Watches & Wonders,
00:34the big watchmaker's show in Geneva.
00:37This year, it's for young people.
00:39Let's see how the brands speak to the new fans of mechanical watches
00:43and the collectors of tomorrow.
00:4660 watchmakers have set a new record
00:49in their new collection during the 2025 edition.
00:52Among the trends are colors and innovation in materials.
00:56Ulysse Nardin, founded in 1846,
00:59unveils his new watch,
01:01presented as the world's lightest mechanical diving watch.
01:04There are a lot of new watch trends, regardless of the age group.
01:07It's what's super interesting.
01:09We see a growing number of people that get educated on watches,
01:12and they want to know more. They want to know what's inside.
01:14For instance, on the Diver watch I'm wearing,
01:16they're very interested in the material and innovation we're using,
01:19whether it's carbon recycled from the boat racing industry
01:23or whether it's titanium, which is 90% recycled.
01:26All of this is very innovative.
01:28After years of strong growth,
01:30a return to normal is observed on the markets.
01:33In a sector governed by secular complications
01:36and designs anchored in time,
01:38Hublot stands out for the 20 years of its Big Bang collection,
01:42with bright colors like this limited series in shiny red ceramic.
01:46Its price? About 30,000 euros.
01:48The watch industry has survived complicated periods in history.
01:52We can think of wars, economic crises,
01:54we can think of the quartz revolution in the 1970s,
01:58more recently the arrival of connected watches,
02:00but there's always a passion and a love for mechanical watches.
02:04Today, the level of knowledge is much higher than in the past.
02:08Thanks to the Internet, of course, social media, etc.
02:11People know.
02:13It's a way to keep the interest of the younger generation
02:15for mechanical watches, to show them that,
02:17yes, there's a long history of the industry,
02:19but we continue to be creative,
02:21we constantly come up with new ideas,
02:23and I think Hublot plays this role perfectly well.
02:25In a completely different style,
02:27the manufacture, among geniuses, flourished,
02:29also seducing more and more watchmakers,
02:32with a discreet luxury concept,
02:35like this perpetual clock,
02:37a particularly neat mechanical calendar.
02:41When the market becomes bigger and bigger,
02:43it becomes more mainstream,
02:45so more people are buying the same thing.
02:47This already happened to cars in the 50s and the 60s, no?
02:50And this originates a counter-trend,
02:52where people want to separate themselves from an average customer.
02:55I always say that there are people that are wearing their watches,
02:59and there are people that are worn by their watches,
03:01to different clients.
03:03Another asset of the brands, the stars and the athletes.
03:06The Olympic champion of freestyle ski, Eileen Gu,
03:09unveils the new IWC engineer.
03:12The former NBA star, Derrick Rose,
03:14wears the new Gégère Lecoutre Reverso.
03:17During a stop at the Tudor stand,
03:19she can even change a Formula 1 wheel.
03:21The little sister of Rolex, who has invested a lot in sport,
03:24from David Beckham to All Blacks,
03:26through a cycling team,
03:28offers more affordable watches for the public.
03:32We manufacture a sports watch,
03:34a robust watch.
03:36At Tudor, we are very proud of our product,
03:38and we are very sure of its qualities.
03:40What we are trying to achieve,
03:42with our ambassadors and partners,
03:44is that this quality,
03:46this product, is known by more people.
03:48Not only watchmakers,
03:50but also people who buy watches
03:53only once in their life,
03:55and who do not necessarily know Tudor,
03:57since they are not specialists in the watchmaking world.
04:00The show is also an exchange space
04:02for the watchmaking ecosystem.
04:04In this lab, tech startups present their solutions
04:07to, for example, make their own custom watch,
04:10or improve the traceability of luxury objects
04:13thanks to blockchain technology.
04:15We have created a program
04:17specifically for this young generation,
04:19who are looking for experience,
04:21for emotion, when they enter
04:23an event like WatchSonders.
04:25Of course, they want to discover new things,
04:27new products, but also,
04:29they need to be informed,
04:31and we also present the watchmaking professions.
04:34Our mission is to make watchmaking shine in the world,
04:37and we really want to highlight
04:39the know-how and watchmaking craftsmanship.
04:42And to train the watchmakers of tomorrow,
04:44workshops took place during the last three days of the show,
04:47which were, once again, open to the public.
04:50That's it for this edition of Watches & Wonders 2025.
04:53See you next year, same place, same time.