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The Watches & Wonders exhibition showcased the industry’s latest horological trends and innovations.

Earlier this year, the world’s largest and most important exhibition of watches, Watches & Wonders, took place in Geneva. With almost 50 exhibitors showcasing in the Pal Expo exhibition hall — and dozens more scattered around the city at smaller shows, hotels, and boutiques — this event was (and always is) the place to be for watch lovers. Top brands use this event to unveil their newest masterpieces — watches that will set wrist trends for the entire year and, maybe, years to come.

Innovations run the gamut from revolutionary new technical concepts to patented inventions, new materials, and boundary-bending designs. Top trends that ought to be on your radar include new colorways (red, green, and salmon), unique and whimsical dial motifs (inspired by jigsaw puzzles, pop art, and Kermit the Frog), an emphasis on certain categories (skeletonized open-worked movements and multiple time zones), and three-dimensional movements and dial architecture. Some brands, though, brought the heat in other ways. Here, we take a look at three top trends that you just might find are worth your investment.

World Firsts

Every year, certain watch brands surprise us with “world first” watches that lead the way for other inventions down the road. Whether it be an all-new color of sapphire (something that can take years to develop), another material not yet used in watchmaking, or a new feature or function, these innovations are the most anticipated of the year.

Roger Dubuis delighted horophiles with the Monovertex Split Seconds Chronograph, weilding an entirely new winding system and housed in ultra-lightweight Mineral Composite Fiber made almost entirely of silica.

In a more classic presentation, Parmigiani Fleurier also released a world first: this time using the Rattrapante. Until now, the Rattrapante (which means “catch up” in French) has been used in a split-second chronograph, where multiple events can be timed at once; the additional timing hand works by “catching up” to the first timing hand. Now, with the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Minute Rattrapante, the brand reinterprets the “catch up” hand, using it to set the extra hand ahead by one- or five-minute increments. This makes it easy to time something or set a reminder. As the regular minute hand gets closer to the “set” time, the wearer is reminded that time is fleeing. A push of a button sends the second hand back to its place, tucked away beneath the main minute hand.

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Complications

Always a huge trend, highly complicated watches were prevalent at the show. Complications that excite us this year include the retrograde function, wherein a watch times something — like a day or date indication — in an arc format. When the hand reaches the end (for instance, the 30th of a month), it jumps back to the beginning to start the tracking all over again. Vacheron Constantin released several new watches this year with the beloved retrograde complication.

Tourbillon escapements — wherein the tourbillon cage compensates for timekeeping errors caused by the e ects of gravity on the wrist in certain positions — continue to be an important category. So do perpetual calendar watches with moon phases that remain accurate for 122 years before needing an adjustment; multiple time zone indications; and the beloved chronograph.

Motorsports

There just wouldn’t be a world of motorsport without watches to time the races. For that reason, many a watch brand has aligned with and sponsored top racing series, drivers, and tracks over the years and even developed timepieces to celebrate those relationships.

Rolex, for instance, has been timing races around the world

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••• for decades; its most well-known relationship is with Daytona and dates back almost a century. This year, the brand celebrates the 60th anniversary of its famed Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona watch with a host of new versions that will have watch collectors clamoring.

Similarly, Chopard has a long and storied relationship with the famed Mille Miglia classic car race and unveils new versions each year. Even TAG Heuer this year celebrates the 60th anniversary of its beloved Carrera watch, named for the Porsche 911 Carrera, by o ering new watches in conjunction with Porsche.