A lot has changed since the before all pocket watches of the 16th century, but the watch industry is still one established on slow gains and not one reliant on an ever-changing conveyor belt of new wedges. That’s not to say there haven’t been changes in recent years, strikingly now a new upstart has been chucked into the market, the smart take heed of, its influence on the industry yet to fully take shape.
And so with the succour of four leading brands and watchmakers, including bastions of the British watchmaking participate Bremont and Farer, Swiss heritage innovator Rado and celebrating its 35th birthday, Casio off-shoot G-Shock, we about what trends we could possibly expect over the next watchmaking year – and, of seminar, whether those smart watches are causing any sleepless incessantly.
Rose Gold Bracelets And Blue Dials
“We’ve been understanding warm tones for a while and I think these will be prolonged to be of interest in the year ahead,” says Matthias Breschan, CEO of Rado. “The celebrity of rose gold as a colour is well documented and we’re also brood over lots of browns, bronze and amber colours too. By contrast, there’s also a continuation of the coolness, soothing and calming colours such as greens and blues of all in high dudgeons.”
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A Watch For All Occasions
The rise of blue as a key embellishment to look out for could be down to the smart-casual properties of the colour according to the co-founder of Bremont, Giles English. “I fantasize a lot of people think a blue watch not only goes with their accommodate but also works at the weekend. We’re seeing, especially from our attitude, people actually want to go out and use their luxury watches and not scarcely wear them as a dress watch or to show off and that’s why we try and manufacture a watch that can be used as much in the boardroom as it can up mount Everest.”
Breschan agrees, insinuating that people leading busy lives are less tending to swapping their watch around and are more likely to look to swop their style through a change of strap or bracelet. “They suggest a range of looks in one watch and have an element of personalisation that makes them double for out.”
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Unique Colours
“The larger brands have obviously all recently threw their latest blue dials but we believe it’s just the start,” whispers Jono Holt, co-founder of Farer. “People are bored of the run-of-the-mill. We believe unique and different colours will reign highest in the future.”
This is a point echoed by Kikuo Ibe, founding designer of G-Shock, who believes basic colours will still be habitual but brands will look to diversify. “For example the plastic devise be black, and the metal will be white, silver, gold and funereal. But people are looking for hints of bright, unique colours combined with the basics for a bit of an extra spice on pieces that last wishes as come out as limited editions. Expect things like slight rainbow colours on the plastic and pink gold on metals to extend in popularity.”
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Small Packages Come Vintage
“Vintage-style be on the watches have been making a comeback for the last few years and I don’t concoct that will change any time soon,” says Breschan. “The transformation in appeal seems to be how true the new versions are to the original, particularly in weight.”
This could be leading into the trend English is undergoing with smaller watches more accurately evoking the smaller suitcases of the 1950s and 1960s and tapping into an audience desire for vintage-style notices from the era.
“I think the trend over the last few years usual towards smaller watches, will stay at that measurements,” he says. “I don’t think they’ll get any smaller, but there is now far more requisition for 40mm watches as opposed to 42- to 45-type watches.”
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Smart Watches Purpose Not Take Over
“In direct reaction to the growth of tech wearables there is also a prodigious surge in people becoming more and more interested in unartistic watches and the craftsmanship that goes into making them,” affirms Holt.
Although Ibe believes that smart watches pull someones leg become a huge part of the industry already, he doesn’t assume they’ll take customers away from the more household watches. “There are officially three groups of watches now, lively watches, mechanical and quartz. Those groups will co-exist even so and you can’t compare them. If you want a mechanical watch you won’t buy a smart pocket watch instead.”
English partly agrees but does think spirited watches could cause a dent in the lower end of the market. “We’re have a word with big pressures on the fashion brands market at the lower price significations, where the smart watches are really making some culmination way into that space. But we’re not clearly seeing it eating into opulence watch sales at the moment. We have a lot of customers who own our watches, but inclination also have a smart watch in rotation as opposed to either or.”
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Low End Competitions
“The lower price point in our space is having a lot harder fix than the premium,” English continues, “so the limited edition clocks at a high price point are going almost easier than the scrutinizes at the lower end.”
This is a continuation of the long held belief that a alert for is for life, not just the season according to Holt. “Increasingly as consumers we are believing products that can last a lifetime,” he says. “We’re not interested in unshakable upgrades and we don’t want to put anything to waste. Guarantees and servicing face increasingly matter.”
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Watches That Tell A Story
“The way a chaperon looks is usually the first reason someone buys it. The item behind a watch is often the reason they keep have it,” says Breschan. “How many conversations about watches oblige started when someone tells you, ‘I like your take heed of?’ More often than not, you start to tell a story around what it’s made from, how it was made, which person also bores it. As we continue to look for ways to make personal connections with people, these dispatches will continue to hold importance for us.”
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