SUBDIAL EDITORIAL
Timothy Barber on 2024
2024 brings a new year in the world of watches. We talked to the movers and shakers in the industry about what trends are here to stay and which ones we'll see the end of in 2024. Our next guest is Timothy Barber, a long-term watch journalist for publications including Wired, Spear's, Esquire, Mr Porter and the Financial Times. He was formerly the Daily Telegraph's watch editor, and editor of the watch magazine QP.
The headline is that this is going to be a pretty challenging year for the watch industry. As we know, the luxury industry’s post-pandemic boom came to a juddering halt, and when you speak to people in the business they’ll tell you that the second half of 2023 was very hard going. Pricing is going to be a very hot topic, but we really need some fresh energy in design and concepting – by which I don’t mean uninspiring collabs and tick-box dial variants. We can hope…
It’s a given that bold dial colours and textures, along with cases in colourful ceramics and composites, are going to continue to be a big factor – that’s a consequence of the visual landscape we’re now in. One interesting thing is how that makes the idea of a pure white dial suddenly rather strong. We don’t yet know when it’s dropping, but something like Omega’s upcoming white dial Speedy (revealed on Daniel Craig’s wrist back in November), is going to be quite the flex.
The as of yet unannounced Omega Speedmaster on Daniel Craig's wrist | HODINKEE
We’re on the downslope of the ‘integrated sports watch’ bandwagon now, which sucked up so much energy and hype in the past few years. Those watches aren’t going away, but they’re far from the hot tickets they were, which is a problem for brands whose equity has been overly tied to that.
On the other hand, it does open the door for things to get more interesting again for classical round watches, and dress watches in particular – at Watches & Wonders I’d really like to be slayed by some new ideas in this area. There were ripples in 2023, particularly with Rolex launching its superb Cellini replacement, the 1908 (while, conversely, Patek Philippe turned its venerable Calatrava into a natty sports watch, Ref 6007G). It may not be this year, but I’m intrigued to see how Rolex develops the 1908 – it’s a forthright, seductive and high-spec model that nails so much that the Cellini missed, and lays down a bit of a gauntlet to brands who should see this as their stock in trade.
The Rolex Perpetual 1908 and the Patek Philippe 6007G | HODINKEE and Patek Philippe
In the independent sector, it’s fascinating that the most influential person right now, arguably, is the 25-year-old scion of the world’s biggest luxury corporate. The fact that Jean Arnault is effectively making Louis Vuitton the chief sponsor of independent watchmaking, while relaunching Daniel Roth and Gerald Genta brands as lodestars of that sector, tells us much about the how the centre of gravity in watchmaking has shifted, and is continuing to shift.
Thanks to Timothy for spending time with us. To be the the first to read exclusive content like this, make sure you're signed up to the Subdial Clubhouse.