Three Top Watch Trends From Baselworld 2018

With Baselworld 2018 now behind us, we can take the time to reflect on the top watch trends unveiled at the show that will be making their way to wrists this year. Watch brands have worked long and hard in the research and development stages to create the perfect timepieces – watches they feel address the needs of today’s consumers. These newest timepieces will be making their way to retail throughout the coming months and will set the trends and influence buying for the coming year.

While not everyone needs or wants the newest timepiece to market, reviewing these trends is a great way to keep one’s finger on the pulse. As such, we bring you three top watch trends from Baselworld 2018.

Color/ Interchangeability

Easily one of the most important trends in timepieces across all price points this year revolves around the value of color and versatility. Watch brands are finally recognizing that people want choice when it comes to accessorizing. No longer is it ok to just offer a black strapped/white dialed watch. Especially today, color infuses our lives as a way to make a statement, to lift one’s mood, to be a bit daring. Thankfully, savvy watch brands answer the demand, with colorful watches lighting the path this year.

Blue is the stalwart leader in colors for both men’s and women’s watches, with dials in shades ranging from sky to marine blue making a strong impact. Red is a close runner up to blue this year, with a particular appearance in women’s watches. In fact, because red, moss green and bright yellow are important color statements on the runways in women’s fashion this summer, we are seeing a great pop of those hues in ladies’ timepieces. For men, blue is followed by a special limelight focus on dark green, chocolate brown and slate gray – all tones that offer an elegant attitude with a modern twist – perfect to accompany any young man to work, after-dinner drinks and weekend fun. In all instances, these rich dial colors are paired with color-coordinated straps, or — in the case of the men’s blue or gray dial watches — with contrasting brown straps for stronger impact.

Interchangeability is also an important focus this year, as watch brands recognize that a single watch, a single strap does not cut it with today’s generation of customers who like choice and versatility. As such, many brands are unveiling quick-change strap systems that enable the wearer to change the strap of the watch with a flick of a button (or slide). Sometimes the brands are selling the straps separately, and sometimes they add on an extra strap or two in the sale.

The key message here: Don’t be afraid to don color on the wrist, to make a statement with a bold strap, and even to mix things up a bit. You may turn some heads with your individual style.

Vintage Appeal/Smaller Sizes

Another important trend that has been on going for several years now, and that bodes well for people who love a great retro watch, is the tendency to vintage inspirations. An important by-product of this return to our roots concept is the emergence of smaller watch case sizes and more classic designs.

As watch brands comb their archives to deliver watches inspired by the past (most often mid-20th century) with a twist of modern added in, we are witnessing the trend in timepieces to Mid-Century Modern. In some instances, watch brands are issuing revivals of key icons of the past with almost exacting precision (most often to honor anniversaries of collections), and in other instances they are inspired by design elements of the past — bringing them forward in new pieces.

Key vintage inspirations include size and shape changes such as smaller case sizes (45mm refines to 42mm, 42mm refines to 40mm, 40mm to 39mm, and so on and so forth); slimmer cases for a watch that fits nicely under a shirt or suit jacket, or that complements a feminine wrist; a return to square and rectangular cases of yesteryear. Other design elements revolve around vintage-inspired typeface fonts for numerals and logos, and retro dial colors such as parchment, silver, salmon, lacquered white for classic looks and in brown or black — often with tan or taupe Super-LumiNova markers – for sportier looks.

The key message in vintage and smaller sizes: Once again, versatility. You don’t have to don a big watch to make a statement. Smaller, thinner, cleaner looks exude a sophisticated air on the wrist – no matter your age. Additionally, the vintage looks suggest two things: an interest in the past made modern again; an insider’s knowledge of something special. Again, we can’t stress enough that what makes this category so wonderful is the fact that there are so many great vintage timepieces on the market that are suddenly incredibly relevant again. Imagine a Cartier Tank watch, a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso from a few decades ago; a smaller sized mini Omega. The list goes on and on.

Useful Functions

While there will always be an emphasis on high complications in watchmaking — let’s face it – this is the benchmark of the craft – today’s brands are once again answering today’s customers and their needs. As our fast-paced lives have us constantly checking the time, running in and out of meetings, traversing the globe and conducting business around the world while staying put, we need useful features that help ease the day.

Those features and functions that are starting to infiltrate the ranks in bigger numbers include annual and perpetual calendars that help track day, date, and more; world-timer watches that display the time in multiple time-zones around the globe; GMT and dual time zone watches that typically indicate time in one or two other zones, complete with day/night displays.

Another useful function is the alarm watch. Granted, alarm watches are a very small category of timepiece due to the complexity inherent in their making, but they can help keep the busy individual on track for important meetings. Often, they even feature a vibrate mode instead of an all-out ring tone. For the active lifestyle that involves trips to the gym, swimming laps, running and more, a good chronograph watch – that measures intervals of time much like a stopwatch – could be your calling.

Many of today’s watches with useful functions take their cue from yesteryear, as well, but are updated in style or mechanics. In the past, great calendar watches were unveiled by brands like IWC and Patek Philippe, while GMT watches that are a benchmark standard include brands like Rolex. Alarm watches often recall the greats of the 1960’s like Vulcain and Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox, and chronographs of the past that are still in demand today include TAG Heuer, Omega and more.

Key message here: Look for a watch that fits your lifestyle. There are clean, simple watches on the market, as well as watches that address your individual needs on a day-to-day or weekend basis.