Indeed, Aeschlimann says products that have a longstanding legacy did particularly well at this year’s show, with their renown providing as much appeal as their design features.
“At Baselworld, there was strong interest in the reissues of two of our classic watches,” he said. “These are not fickle or fashionable new designs. They have strong connections to the past, yet the modern consumer is fascinated by them.”
Williams noted recent popular designs are also trending toward simplicity.
“Clean, simple, round dials seem to be the strength of the moment with the modern consumer,” she said.
“Most companies’ successful items have basic styling,” said Wenger. “Automatic watches are doing well, and watches with full Arabic digits on the dial are always good. There’s also a movement toward domed crystal and glass.”
This is not to say newer, more unique designs are completely out of the running. Breschan, for example, says Rado’s more recent models also performed well at the show.
“New materials in new colours with new design approaches and different and interesting movements have proved very popular,” he said.
