Watches and Wonders: the 2024 Geneva watch fair features 54 brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Chopard, Hermès and Chanel, with Gisele Bündchen and Wang Yang checking out luxury timepieces

Apr 11 , 2024

Watches and Wonders Geneva runs until April 15, with brands including Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Chopard, Hermès and Chanel. Photo: AFP

Experts say that there is an ‘overall slowdown’ in the timepiece market, but high-end brands such as Patek Philippe have very wealthy clientele and are less affected by economic changes

Rolex has released 6 new watches, mostly variants of favourites including a GMT-Master II, a Daytona with dozens of diamonds, a new bracelet for the Sky-Dweller, and a Deepsea in 18-karat gold

The 2024 Geneva watch fair opened on Tuesday amid slower demand in China for fancy Swiss timepieces and timid consumer spending across the board on luxury items.

The Watches and Wonders salon, which runs until April 15, sees 54 major watch brands display their latest creations, including Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Chopard, Hermès and Chanel.

Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen at the Watches and Wonders Geneva luxury watch fair. Photo: AFP

Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen and Chinese actor Wang Yang were among the stars checking out the timepieces on show at Swiss watchmaking’s landmark event.

Last year, Swiss watch exports broke records for the third straight year, hitting US$29.5 billion.

The 2020 downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic was quickly reversed by what financial analysts called revenge buying, with consumers splashing out with savings accumulated during lockdowns.

Visitors are seen at the stand of German watchmaker Nomos Glashütte at the luxury watch fair, in Geneva. Photo: AFP

However, the growth in Swiss watch exports has slowed, with exports up 7.6 per cent in 2023, having risen 11 per cent in 2022 and 31 per cent in 2021.

“We are seeing an overall slowdown,” said Karine Szegedi, the consumer industry lead in Switzerland at auditing firm Deloitte.