Not that long ago, a different version of Watches and Wonders existed in the public imagination. It was hushed voices, marble floors, appointment-only theatrics; a place where brands like Cartier and Vacheron Constantin would unveil their most significant work to a curated audience of journalists, retailers, and collectors who had knowledge of what exactly they were looking at. In fewer words, it was highly exclusive. You either belonged there or you didn’t. While that version still exists on some level, it’s starting to share the room with something else entirely, and I feel like that’s the most interesting thing to happen to this show in years.
The 2026 W&W has 66 brands (up from 60 last year) and a guest list that reads less like a private members club and more like an interesting dinner party. Audemars Piguet is making their big return, Sinn is sitting next to brands that have had hand-finished parts since before Germany was a unified country, and Favre Leuba, which is finally getting a well-deserved seat at the table.
Public days have been extended along with city programming, and there’s a partnership with the Montreux Jazz Festival (which is totally on brand or completely random, I guess it depends on your mood). So, before we get lost in the breathless excitement of new releases and anniversary editions, I have one simple question: What is Watches and Wonders becoming? And, is it doing so in an honest way?
The Rules Are Being Renegotiated
The event’s origins were elite on purpose. Its predecessor, the SIHH, started in 1991 as an invitation-only affair that was never designed for the public. It wasn’t about accessibility, but about prestige and the careful maintenance of it.
When Watches and Wonders first began expanding its roster, it was still operating within parameters we could recognize. Grand Seiko brought with it a different geography, sure, but it still had the same level of ambition. Hermès brought credibility with the fashion crowd, but it still had serious watchmaking underneath. What appears to be different now are the rules themselves, which seem to be up for renegotiation.
The Range Now On Offer In 2026
Considering what’s on offer in 2026, you have a major pendulum swinging back and forth. On one end, you have Patek Philippe, which will almost certainly have something extraordinary to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Nautilus. It does feel like an obvious moment, right? This is a watch that will be discussed, argued over, and photographed more times than most of us have had hot dinners, and I would be highly surprised if its 50th anniversary passed without ceremony.
On the other end, you have Sinn. A brand whose collectors are up at midnight researching reference numbers and want to know exactly how the case is pressure-tested. In between, there is a whole spectrum: A. Lange & Söhne making German watchmaking look absolutely devastating (in a good way), Czapek & Cie with exquisite dials, and Oris continuing on in their mission of making proper mechanical watches at prices that don’t require a financial advisor.
Not one of these brands is the same. And yet, come Waches and Wonders 2026, they’ll all be under the same roof. This is either a major contradiction or a reflection of something true; I guess it depends on how you look at it.
Actually, I Think It Works
To be frank, when the brand list first dropped, my first instinct was to raise an eyebrow at the sheer size of it. 66?! There is a version of this story, somewhere out in Switzerland, where Watches and Wonders, in its eagerness to grow, loses the thing that made it matter in the first place. Where Adding more public days, more brands, and a jazz club starts to feel less like an evolution and more like a trade show mid-identity crisis.
But then I thought about it more, and realized my first instinct might have been wrong. The watch community has always been more eclectic than the industry’s own marketing departments might suggest. The person saving up for years to get their hands on a single Vacheron Constantin is not actually that different from the person who has opinions about Sinn’s hydro pressure resistance.
They are both people for whom watches mean something beyond timekeeping. They care about the craft, history, philosophy, and the particular satisfaction in something that is built to outlast you. The price points differ, as do the philosophies, and the watches on their wrists look completely different. But the obsession underlying it all is the same.
A show that can hold Patek Philippe and Favre Leuba, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Czapek, Grand Seiko and Oris all in the same building is not a show that’s lost its identity. It’s a show that has finally found an honest one. The newcomers don’t dilute W&W; they complete it. Plus, if it takes a partnership with a jazz festival to get people through the door, well, I’ve heard of worse ideas.
