To cover up, or to almost cover up, preferably in combination with jumping hours, is all the rage at the moment. This idea of a couple of small apertures for hours and minutes in a dial that is otherwise covered was first seen on wristwatches in the 1920s. But since then, this complication has been more or less a sleeping beauty. Cartier was early out of the starting blocks in revisiting its Tank à Guichets (French for openings) in 2025.
Because what to do with all that space if you are more or less covering up? Louis Vuitton also opted for guilloché on its Tambour Convergence, as did Czapek on its Time Jumper with half-hunter case. Bvlgari goes “more is more” with guilloché combined with antique coins on the Maglia Milanese Monete Secret Watch, whereas Audemars Piguet opts for a smoky, hazy, minimalistic PVD-treated black sapphire on its Neo Frame. Perhaps the most sublime modus operandi of them all is the use of shiny black jade, as seen at independent brand Andersen Genève on its Jumping Hours.
Seeing Red
In the winter we saw red on the Paris and New York fashion week catwalks. And we have already seen dials with hues ranging from Bordeaux to Coca-Cola-esque, Christmas-y strong reds from, for instance, H. Moser & Cie., Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Alpina, IWC, Montblanc and Chanel. To me, these watches are living proof that the watch industry has gone through a significant change ever since Nicolas Hayek Sr. (1928-2010) said “Everything happens in Switzerland – but 10 years later.” (Even though he was referring to why he wanted to die in Switzerland, this quote could absolutely be applied to an industry that in general used to be immune to rapid input from the fashion industry.)
Perhaps it is not strange that we are seeing red right now: the color red, which originally stemmed from red ochre, was one of the first natural pigments available to prehistoric humans. The use of this iron oxide-based pigment dates back 250,000 years, and in times of insecurity, it is only human to return to one’s roots – back to what we know best. In more recent times, the color red has traditionally been connected with contradictory, even paradoxical, emotions. Think love and war, think passion and anger, think vitality and danger; feelings that we are all experiencing. And if something can be said about the current times we live in, it is that one man’s love is often another man’s war.
So, keep an eye out for these trends at Watches and Wonders 2026 – we might even see them combined.
