What to expect from the watch industry in 2021
What to expect from the watch industry in 2021 | India Today Insight
From psychedelic gem-settings to sustainability targets and unusual collaborations, here s what to expect this year
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Jaeger-LeCoultre is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer founded by Antoine LeCoultre in 1833 Normally, at this time of the year, the watch industry s annual Watches & Wonders show in Geneva would be in full swing and the new trends for the year would be protruding like the buds of the first snowdrops. This year, obviously, predictions are a little more challenging to make, but over the last few months, some interesting trends have started to emerge.
Breilting
A squircle is a real shape. Who knew? Different from an elilipse, an ellipsoid, a squround or an asrtoid (not an
asterorid, as in “a small planet” – it’s a mathematical curve), a squircle, as you might have guessed, is the intermediate shape between a square and a circle. It’s the shape of Apple’s apps in iOS. Or Instagram’s logo, where the outline of the camera is. a squircle.
The squircle is a feature of Breitling’s new racing themed sports watch, used for the two central chronograph counters. With its silver dial and yellow and orange details, the Top Time Deus Limited Edition is an idiosyncratic take on its Top Time chronograph, originally from the 1960s and relaunched after 55 years in a spruced-up version last March. That watch entered into pop culture lore when it became the model Q kitted out Sean Connery’s James Bond with in 1965’s
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2020 was quite a year in all respects and that’s true regarding timepieces. Here were some of my favorite watches over the past 12 months.
I recently penned an article on the vintage Japanese watches that entered my collection during 2020. That was a seriously fun article to write, but what about new watches Japanese or not? Well, I am here to say that this year, of all years, was one of my favorites when it came to new releases. Perhaps I focused more on them than in the recent past, but I don’t think so. With so many approachable luxury releases (and many in my favorite dive genre), I really enjoyed myself. Oh, and then there were the bracelets! Seriously, for such a wild year, watch companies made good in an area where they had been making a lot of bad. Let’s get on to my favorite watches of 2020.
When Sally Rooney’s second novel
Normal People was published back in 2018, the angst -ridden, coming-of-age love story quickly hit bestseller lists and seemed ideal fodder for the middle class, millennial dinner party set. So far, so Man Booker prize nominee. Yet when the miniseries aired on the BBC, a population in enforced lockdown for the previous four weeks, 5 days and 12 hours was searching – nay, yearning – for escape. And along came Connell.
The enigmatic and emotionally distant heartbreaker, played by newcomer Paul Mescal, suddenly became the focus of the nation’s pent-up lust in a series of too-tight school uniform shirts, short shorts and, well, not much else, in Marianne’s bedroom, in the shower, in her friend’s swimming pool, in her kitchen… you get the drift. More extraordinary still was Connell’s humble little necklace – dismissed as Argos chic’ by one of Marianne’s friends – and worn by Mescal in every episode. An ordinary, unassuming piec
Patek Philippe
It s been a weird year for watches (well, it s been a weird year full stop). Trade shows were cancelled, releases were bumped to 2021, and the idea of what s luxury really means changed shape as we were all trapped inside. But despite the headwinds, it was still a banner year for horology. The best brands tackled those challenges head on, embracing change and exploring new ways to to speak to their customers. Which meant a glut of innovative, beautifully designed new watches, and less of the by-numbers chaff that makes it so hard to find the good stuff. These, then, are our 12 favourite watches of 2021, in no particular order