Although most people now use their phones to check the time, watches are still a highly sought after accessory. Whether you prefer 14k white gold or titanium cases, mechanical or digital movements, there are so many different styles of watches to choose from. To stay on top of the trends, I interviewed Michael Thompson, editor-in-chief of iW, International Watch Magazine, about the new 2015 watch collections and trends.
iW is a monthly watch publication for both the trade and watch collectors. Many of the brands featured in the magazine are priced at a luxury level, from $10,000 and higher. But often, watch fashions start at this higher end and are soon seen among more moderately priced brands. Let’s take a look at the high-end trends and styles to see what’s hot for 2015.
The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, or SIHH, a watch show in Geneva, Switzerland debuted smaller, yet influential high-end watch collections this January. Later this month the major watch show, Baselworld (also in Switzerland), will debut their newest watch models with the best-known watch and jewelry brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, TAG Heuer, Seiko and Citizen.
Baselworld is the most important marketplace and trendsetting show for the world’s watch and jewelry industry. Thompson is lucky enough to attend both events to preview fine watchmaking and to get the inside scoop on upcoming fashion trends.
From early sneak-peak debuts and SIHH, Thompson is seeing a lot of old and new trends occurring this year. Many designers are reproducing vintage looks of the 1950s and 1960s, which feature smaller and thinner cases. Rather than all 45mm (the diameter of a watch) for men, there are more 40mm and 39mm models, emphasizing the reduction in size. Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Hermés and Cartier continue to craft ultra-thin cases from 3mm to about 8mm in thickness. For ladies, watches seem to be larger in recent years with 34mm, 37mm and 38mm models. Some brands refer to this as the ‘boyfriend’ style.
Ralph Lauren, Vacheron Constantin, Piaget, Cartier, and Roger Dubuis are designing more skeleton watches, where the movement’s plates are cut away to expose the heart of the watch’s inner timekeeping mechanism, says Thompson. This year’s collections also boast of watches with moon phase indicators by designers like Montblanc, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Arnold & Son.
Rose gold cases and black dials continue to dominate from previous years. But Thompson also notices a lot of pieces with blue dials this year. Blue is one of the hot new colors this season for watches and other leather goods like handbags and wallets.
Another important trend Thompson points out is that U.S.-based watch companies, after years of pioneering work in Pennsylvania by watchmakers at RGM and Kobold, are making a greater impact today than they have in many decades. Detroit-based Shinola, with its moderately priced quartz collections, has brought watch assembly back to the United States. And of course, U.S.-based Apple is leading the way with its just-debuted Apple Watch.
So, here’s an overview of the 2015 watch trends:
Vintage is always in
Smaller sizes for men (40mm or 39mm); larger for ladies (34mm, 37mm or 38mm)
Skeleton/see-thru watches are very fashion-forward this year
Blue is emerging to be the top color trend for watches in 2015
Shop local! Buy from U.S.-based companies
If you can’t afford a watch that costs as much as a car, you’re in luck because brands like Michael Kors, Fossil, Skagen, Kenneth Cole, Swatch, Seiko, and Citizen all carry affordable watches that follow these trends.
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