After its inaugural run in Dubai in 2020, LVMH Watch Week took on a phygital format thanks to pandemic restrictions. This year, the event returns in physical form — and it’s taking place on our very shores. From Jan 10 to 13, LVMH’s four fine watch brands — Hublot, Bulgari, Zenith and Tag Heuer — will kick off the horological calendar with a blast as they showcase their latest offerings to journalists from all over the world.

Expect a slew of stunners such as the Serpenti Misteriosi High Jewellery (pictured), which was unveiled at last year’s LVMH Watch Week.

From March 27 to April 2, watch fair Watches & Wonders returns to Geneva, with several changes this year. As announced last October, the world’s biggest watch fair — following the unfortunate end of Baselworld — will see 49 participating brands unveiling their key novelties.

This includes Rolex and Patek Philippe, which have, along with the Richemont Group, also formed a new foundation called the Watches and Wonders Geneva Foundation, with the mission of promoting watchmaking through exhibitions. While the first five days of Watches & Wonders will continue to be open to only the media, retailers and brands’ VIP clients, the last two days of the event will now be open to the public, at a ticket price of 70 Swiss francs (about S$100).

Great designs stand the test of time, which is what makes milestone anniversaries especially special. This year, Blancpain starts birthday festivities early by unveiling a special-edition Fifty Fathoms that celebrates the 70th anniversary of the iconic diving watch. The first of more anniversary releases to come, the Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 1 (pictured) is produced in three series of 70 watches, with each batch made for one of three regions — Asia-Pacific, EMEA and the Americas. The steel-cased timepiece measures 42.3mm, a sweet spot between the 45mm size of standard Fifty Fathoms and 40mm anniversary models.

Pace yourself — other watches celebrating milestone anniversaries this year include the Rolex Submariner (70 years), the Tag Heuer Carrera (60 years) and the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore (30 years).

Related: Watches & Wonders 2022 — Technical highlights from Patek Philippe, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantin

In the past couple of years, secondary-market prices for sought-after timepieces, particularly popular steel sports watches, skyrocketed to multiples of their retail price. In recent months, however, prices for those timepieces have fallen to saner levels, although they are still trading at well above their retail prices — a testament to the resilience of the luxury-watch market.

Make no mistake, despite the current correction in resale prices on some timepieces, the luxury-watch secondary market is on a steady path of growth. According to Deloitte’s Swiss Watch Industry Study 2022, 48 per cent of millennial respondents and 37 per cent of Gen Z’s said they were likely to purchase a pre-owned timepiece. Some of the latest developments on the resale front include Rolex’s announcement last December that it was launching the Rolex Certified Pre-Owned Program, which would enable its retailers to sell second-hand models that it has certified as authentic and that will come with a two-year guarantee.

Also, after relinquishing her long-held position as the CEO of the major watch fair SIHH (Salon Internationale de la Haute Horlogerie), Fabienne Lupo’s latest venture is ReLuxury (pictured). Held last November in Geneva, the three-day event, which focuses on pre-owned luxury goods, brought together various major resale players as well as brands such as eBay, WatchBox, Richard Mille and Zenith.

While it was not too long ago that certain luxury watch brands were still priding themselves on being made for men, that seems to have been left in the dust as female consumers become increasingly important. These days, it is more common to see brands take a unisex approach to selling timepieces with more versatile case sizes — think below 40mm.

When Tudor launched the 39mm Pelagos last year, its press materials included images of the dive watch worn not just by male models, but also on female models in dresses (pictured). It’s a reflection of the way many female watch collectors we know like to wear their timepieces in real life. This unisex approach makes sense considering the number of male watch consumers out there who also find such smaller sizes more suitable for their wrists.

Despite the shift towards genderless watches, however, we also expect to see an increase in the breadth of offerings specifically made for women. As reported in the 2022 Deloitte Swiss Watch Industry survey, among female respondents in regions such as UAE, China and France, more than half still favour female-specific designs. Also, as Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele mused during an interview with The Peak last November, “some (women) definitely refuse to have a specially made version. Others want one.”

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