Watches & Wonders 2025: how the industry is adapting to growing demand from young collectors

euronews (in English)

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.

Transcript

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.

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