Welcome to 2026 – an exciting year! Despite all the gloom and doom in the news I am seeing positive signs, meaningful events, and fantastic timepieces that will help make the watch industry great again. Here are seven reasons why I believe that 2026 could be a marvelous year for the watch industry.
1. Holiday season shopping went up. In the US, Worldtempus’s second most important country, spending rose with 3.9 %. As ABC News put it, consumers opened their wallets “with gusto, though consumers appeared to favor low-cost options and discounts.” Interestingly, this seems to coincide with Swiss watch industry statistics, where the 400–1,000 CHF retail price segment was the only segment that grew in November.
2. The watch calendar starts strong. With the seventh LVMH watch week, held in the cultural and collecting hub of Milan, you will see many timepieces from Bvlgari, TAG Heuer and the other seven brands in the group that embody the creativity, know-how, and resilience of the Swiss watchmaking industry. During the LVMH week we will also introduce our new contributor, Simon de Burton. Stay tuned.
3. The Olympics. With the world’s most important sporting event Omega takes its precision timekeeping and exciting ambassadorships to the next level. Will these Olympics – also held in Milan – be the sporting event that brings unity and timing to new heights? Another sporty brand in the Swatch group, Longines, kicks off the year with timing the Kitzbuhel ski races, which run in parallel with the LVMH watch week.
4. Economic upswing in consumption. The fears of an overall downturn due to trade shocks and geopolitical events have not come into fruition. Instead, we saw an overall modest global GDP growth of around 3% in 2025. We also saw a general easing of inflation.
5. Growing emerging markets. In fashion, emerging markets like India and South Korea are to a certain extent compensating for China’s drop. This can also be seen in watches: towards the end of 2025, India showed a 7.1 percent growth compared with 2024 (and 37.1 compared with 2023!). My prediction is that 2026 will see a continued growth from Indian retailers like Ethos, led by the Saboo family.
6. Love is in the air. In the words of Miya Lee of The New York Times, 2026 will be a year to “re-embrace the inherent risk of romance. In 2026, 'playing it cool' will be so passé.”
7. WorldTempus turns 25 in 2026. During this significant year for us, we promise that we will give you many reasons to celebrate your love of watches.
Happy New Year!
