Watch fairs always seem to improve, year after year and this is usually tied to expansive growth that feels inexorable. Unfortunately, it only feels that way. As we have seen, repeatedly, such growth is often fragile and prone to collapse. Sometimes, the comeback story sees watchmaking getting stronger and maybe that will be the case this time. This year’s LVMH Watch Week offers an interesting case study because more of the group’s brands are taking part and this means that brands without significant horological depth might end up developing it.

Needless to say, this is good because more choices are welcome but we do wonder if the emerging environment is the right stage. The much reported slowdown in Chinese demand might only be temporary but this market’s tastes might yet evolve and this no doubt worries groups like LVMH. Such worries, if indeed they exist, do not make themselves felt in the watches revealed at Bulgari, Hublot, Daniel Roth, Gerald Genta, L’Epée 1839, Louis Vuitton, TAG Heuer, Tiffany & Co and Zenith.

Read More: TAG Heuer’s Driving Ambition: Exploring Carrera and Formula 1 Watches

Of the brands introducing novelties to the world, perhaps none was more of a surprise than Tiffany & Co, although some of you might recall the brand’s various abortive and ill-fated attempts to establish watches as a vital part of its universe, as the brands like to say. We shall see what we can tell from the directions the watches exhibit. In a few words, things are looking up at Tiffany & Co. First, the question emerges of what exactly LVMH wants to do or accomplish with its travelling two-day extravaganza that bills itself as a “Week.” With Bulgari finally placing its bets on Watches and Wonders, all the major names of the group are represented at the world’s biggest and most important showcase of new watches and watchmaking culture. In a tightening business environment that exhibits signs of future challenges, big events are often the first to feel the effects.

MIND-BLOWING WATCHES

The answer, helpfully in the example of this fair, lies in the aforementioned new watches. LVMH has wisely opted to make this fair more about watches than the spectacle of the event. We are not entirely sure if this was planned, given that the original show was upended by the tragic fires in California. Honestly, only a few industry observers watch the activities of the show itself, with most paying attention to the new watches. Think of it this way: is it better to have a blowout of a show, or to have mind-blowing watches? Only one of those could change the fate of a brand and you can guess which it is.

A pervasive sense that events like the LVMH Watch Week hype up is that of a brighter future for the group’s relevance to customers (see our news on Zenith below). We observed a number of otherwise respected commentators picking up on this, including one who actually suggested that he sees more Aquaracers than Submariners on the wrists of tourists in New York City.

This is, of course, silly business, whether or not such observations are made in good faith or in pursuit of the goodwill of LVMH executives. It is also a dangerous practice that flies in the face of the established norm in our business where we do not make direct comparisons. How popular a watch is says nothing, otherwise we are thankful not to consider smartwatches as proper watches at all.

Looking directly at TAG Heuer then, do we see reason for optimism? Certainly but nothing that suggests the world’s most popular dive watch is in any danger – or rather, no sign that the Aquaracer is the collection TAG Heuer is counting on because there is not even one new Aquaracer model in the mix. At the same time, we might argue that Zenith has actually made the most interesting dive watch of the entire group in recent years and that if TAG Heuer wants a piece of the great Geneva giant, that piece must be Daytona-sized. Look no further than the news of Formula 1 going to LVMH and the words “We Are Back” plastered all over the TAG Heuer website and advertising assets for some evidence of the paramount importance of motorsports.

Read More: F1 Drivers and Their Watches

FINE TIMES

In line with this, TAG Heuer showcased a number of Calibre 16-powered chronographs in the rejuvenated Formula 1 family while deploying the more refined calibre TH20 (in various forms) in the Carrera collection (opposite). All told, these are commercially powerful watches that play into the strengths of the brand’s marketing drives. Expertise in chronographs and clever marketing plans in this area have paid off handsomely for TAG Heuer in the past, and have every chance of doing so now and in the future.

Staying with sports timing, we move over to Zenith, which has a very appealing watch in the new Chronomaster Sport Rainbow (above). This piece is more fine times in Las Vegas than fast times on the Speedway and speaks to the brand’s confidence in the rainbow trend holding up; we think Zenith is on the right track here, but priced at more than US$100,000 and limited to 50 pieces annually, the watch is likely reserved for the brand’s best customers.

You could actually count the Rainbow – not the first to bear this name from Zenith – as a special release from the brand to mark its 160th anniversary this year but we have it on good authority that there will be something very special for this celebration. In what might count as group news, it has been widely reported that Zenith will be increasing production of movements, which appears geared towards serving the needs of LVMH’s ambitious plans. For this early show though, Zenith had only one other piece and this brings us to a minor negative we have about a group-specific fair: too little to choose from.

CONVERGENT THINKING

All told, there must be only 20 or so watches – more than 20 and less than 30 – if you count only the new models and not all the iterations of those models. For some context, that is fewer than what some brands reveal at just one trade exhibition, especially when said brands only participate in one global fair. Zenith will definitely have many more watches at Watches and Wonders Geneva (WWG), and throughout the year, as will Bulgari, Hublot and TAG Heuer.

Read More: WOW Editors Speak About Timepieces at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2025

Turning back to the positive, a small fair allows some releases to shine and get some attention. This is the case with the Louis Vuitton Tambour Convergence (opposite), a watch with hours and minutes displayed via an aperture at 12 o’clock, as you can see. It might seem radical but this was once quite popular and watches in this form were called montres a guichet. Designed to be discreet, Louis Vuitton has timed (no pun intended) the release of the Convergence just right to get maximum visibility (pun slightly intended). If this is Louis Vuitton’s play to be seen as being beyond commercial concerns, it is quite clever.

The watch’s comfortable 37mm size might be on-trend but an Art Deco style piece with a small window to show the time benefits from reduced real estate. We are given to understand that the automatic calibre LFT MA01.01 is what will power a new generation of simple movements. The press release notes that the time changes are of the dragging sort rather than the instantaneous switch kind. This appears to have confused some observers but the visual makes it amply evident what it is. Not so evident is the branding, relegated as it is to a line engraved on the face plate. This is another boldly non-commercial decision and we salute the brand.

DEFT TOUCHES

Moving on to what looks and feels like a stellar offering, we have the Hublot Meca-10, which is hiding in presence of the Green Saxem piece and the new Magic Ceramic models. We have always been fans of the Meca series, with the exaggerated mechanical looks and Hublot has decided to reinvigorate the offering here. Yes, the watch and movement are smaller but if you sense something special bridge-side, that is hand-finished decoration. We will be catching up with Hublot CEO Julien Tornare in Singapore ahead of WWG and we will ask him why the brand felt the need to include such delicate touches in a watch like this. Or indeed in most Hublot watches because the brand is well known for its advances in material science and contemporary aesthetics, not traditional decorative arts. It remains one of the few manufactures with a fundamental research facility, after all.

Read More: Hublot Welcomes CEO Julien Tornare to Drive Innovation and Global Growth

For the moment, it is time to bring this short story to a close with quick takes on Bulgari, Tiffany & Co, Daniel Roth and Gerald Genta. Watchmaking groups do have an unfortunate habit of opting for custom spelling, hence Bvlgari rather than Bulgari and gerald genta rather than Gerald Genta, as we have it here. We persevered with the old spelling (or proper if you will) for Bulgari for some time but then we decided to alternate where relevant. As for Gerald Genta, we suppose that the spelling is intended as a way to distinguish between Genta the watchmaker and Gerald Genta the brand. Unlike the Bulgari example, this has potential for serious trouble, text-wise, so we eschew the brand’s convention.

Back to the watches, Bulgari has revealed the 34mm and 35mm Sedutorri Automatic, which packs a new automatic calibre, the BVS100 Solotempo (it is also in a host of Tubogas models, or will be). While it was developed by the brand in its own facilities, this is one of those destined for use in other LVMH brands so Zenith will be manufacturing it. In the first place, the first watches to benefit will be from Bulgari as the brand makes moves to increase its value proposition…and maybe finally make a run at a gender-neutral Serpenti? On the other hand, Gerald Genta is using a Zenith Elite calibre to power its 37mm Gentissima Oursin Fire Opal; both the Elite and BVS100 calibres have approximately 50 hours of power reserve, interestingly.

SURPRISE FACTOR

Another brand that could conceivably be interested in the either the Elite or BVS100 is Tiffany & Co, which dazzles this year with a host of extraordinary watches. We have just a sentence or two to spare for both this brand and L’Epee 1889. The latter cannot help but consider itself a major beneficiary of this fair because clockmakers often get lost in the hype scrum. For its first rodeo, L’Epee has gone with a transparent watch box with mechanical lift, which might be a symbolic of the recent uptick in the parent group’s fortunes. Of course, the last time Tiffany & Co had a significant year in watchmaking was before LVMH bought it, and some years before that too. For the moment, the new releases lean into the brand’s icons and design sensibilities, and that is as safe as houses.

With Daniel Roth, things are a little different, even if the watch is a time-only proposition. While this is not exactly a souscription watch as history would have it, the Extra Plat Souscription does give an indication of what the future holds for Daniel Roth. The manual- winding calibre DR002 is the second calibre to be made by La Fabriques du Temps for the revived Daniel Roth and it is beautifully finished, or so we believe because it is hidden behind a closed caseback. That is an extraordinarily bold move, obviously, but it matches the first C107 Daniel Roth watch, which had a closed caseback. All expectations are that LVMH intends to go with another run of the Extra Plat Souscription, after this run of 20 pieces is completed.

That concludes our take on the important news from the LVMH Watch Week this year. There is plenty of promise here, but a volatile year ahead means that anything can happen, even by the time the big show in Geneva rolls around. Mind-blowing watches are still on the menu but taking the long view is probably the smart play. This is why we are upbeat about the expansion of Zenith’s role, and hopefully Hublot’s too, as far as research and development goes. See our Highlights section this issue for a few close-ups on some the individual watches at the fair.

This story was first seen as part of the WOW #77 Spring 2025 Issue

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