If you’re in the market for a new watch, when faced with a multitude of styles across the price bands, how do you decide? One trend forecaster says it’s got a lot to do with personality.
The Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, together with trend forecasting agency NellyRodi, have released a report that delves into the tastes and preferences, dreams and ambitions that influence the choice of which watch to buy and wear.
They split the analysis into four different profiles, and this is a brief summary.
Connoisseur
Who You Are
You are refined, cultivated, discerning, poised. You appreciate the value of an investment piece that can be passed down through generations.
Values
You love items that are rare, precious, indispensable and lasting; the luxury of iconic designs, savoir faire and craftsmanship, heritage, precision and excellence, status symbols, stories.
Trends
Connoisseurs will choose a watch that represents history, tradition, storytelling and noteworthy design.
Performer
Who You Are
You are visionary, uncompromising, nomadic, connected. You want a watch that explores digital technology to the max, and helps you stay connected.
Values
Sustainability and innovation are key. You’ll want practical watches incorporating game-changing technology and materials that don’t deplete natural resources.
Trends
Creators are pushing the boundaries of possibility. Innovators are developing futuristic machines featuring superior legibility and highly resistant materials, among others.
Idealist
Who You Are
You are sensitive, optimistic, sociable and green. You’ll be doing something to help somebody instead of wallowing in the conviction that the “planet is heading for disaster”.
Values
You set an example, defend causes, buy local, upcycle, and favour transparency around sourcing of raw materials. Luxury is okay if it is “authentic, sincere, emotionally charged, and discreet”.
Trends
“A taste for excellence can go hand in hand with a desire for simplicity. (For this audience), watchmakers craft timepieces whose simple appearance can hide the makings of a revolution.”
Extrovert
Who You Are
You are extravagant, festive, passionate, and uninhibited. You’re all for indulging your penchant for creativity and self-expression, especially on social media.
Values
“Nothing can ever be too much, too showy, too opulent, too baroque.” You live life to the full, are impulsive, enjoy the weird and wonderful, and items with unlimited use.
Trends
Go glam, adopt pop culture or favour optical illusion. There are a myriad of options to demonstrate your sense of self as well as fashion.
Look and Feel
Some experts predict a trend towards smaller dials for ladies’ watches in 2020. The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Lady-Datejust, waterproof to 100m, is a case in point.
A perennial classic, with dial, bracelet and bezel combinations to suit different personalities, the first women’s version of this date chronometer appeared in 1957, in the same 28mm size.
Browsing in a watch boutique recently, I opted to try the Rolex Yachtmaster 35mm with platinum on the dial and bezel fitted with an oystersteel bracelet.
That was the perfect size for my wrist, I was told, until I tried the incredibly light Omega Constellation 29mm automatic self-winding watch on a stainless-steel bracelet.
All these pieces are smaller than the Frederique Constant Ladies Automatic with the FC-310 Heart Beat automatic movement at 12 o’clock that I’m used to wearing. With its 36mm case diameter, what’s a few millimetres here or there? In watchmaking terms, it’s huge!
“Although I prefer large watches, there is definitely a return to smaller timepieces,” says Jennifer Moss of Picot and Moss. “Your watch must offer you something special, whether it is in the colour (blue for 2020 is on trend) or the ground-breaking complication.”
Words by Debbie Hathway
