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GQ is reporting from the Watches & Wonders convention in Geneva this week. Click here to read all our coverage from the event or sign up for the Box + Papers newsletter to get the latest in your inbox.
The word in the hall of the Palexpo, where Watches & Wonders is held, is that this year’s new pieces are a touch stale. There are lots of remakes and watches that didn’t change much outside of a dial or bezel color. Still, part of me feels these brands are damned if they do, damned if they don’t. In a funny turn of events, Rolex, typically more reserved than any brand, really went for it this year! Andrew McUtchen, the founder of Time + Tide and one of the hosts of watch podcast About Effing Time, joked that it looked like the whole Rolex team went on a company trip and took ayahuasca (he meant it as a compliment).
At Watches & Wonders, there are few things more exciting than when the rep for the Crown calls you in for your appointment. The brand’s booth, a replica of a Rolex boutique, is tricky to get inside, let alone score an appointment with. I was initially stonewalled by the brand’s army of employees, who were dressed entirely in beige. Rolex is the appointment for most people, and W&W attendees get to the event hall early and line up outside the booth to see the novelties the moment the curtains are drawn and they’re unveiled at 8:30am local time. Rolex, more than most brands, makes watches that need to be worn to be fully appreciated.
The Best Watch I Tried On Today
In my writeup of the new Rolex pieces this morning, I called the all-gold GMT the Watch I’d Sell My Soul For. Having now seen it on my wrist, I’m now doubling down on that assessment. Although I don’t think my soul would cover the cost, and I’m now putting my liver down, too, to get it. But there’s something about an all-gold Rolex that’s just right. Rolex and gold is like peanut butter and jelly.
This GMT is a pure throwback to ‘80s opulence, which is great if you’re into that type of thing. (I am, but one fellow attendee told me it wasn’t for him because he isn’t an “arms dealer” lol.) Precious metals like gold and platinum weigh a lot—they’re substantial, so when you strap the thing on, you can tell that it must be really valuable. And yes, you might also feel like an arms dealer. There’s something villainous about this watch, but in a smiling-devil-emoji way. One cool thing I learned about this watch in my meeting: It’s the first GMT done up in black and gray. Typically the GMTs get goofy fountain-soda nicknames—the Pepsi, Root Beer, Coke, Sprite—but this one is going to be tougher to christen. The Johnnie Walker? Please reply to this email if you’ve heard any good potential nicknames.
The Rolex team also had last year’s massive FIFTY millimeter Deepsea on hand, and I tried it on side-by-side with the new titanium Yacht-Master. At 42 millimeters, the YM is not tiny, but it looks like a tugboat next to the titanic Deepsea.
Once you’re done at Rolex, they send you on your way with a beautiful Rolex-green suede tote bag—meant to mimic the calfskin underside of the new 1908’s leather band, I believe—filled with goodies. This year, it’s a box of chocolates and a cute little coin pouch.
The Best Sounding Watch
I met with Montblanc’s global managing director Laurent Lecamp, who has a handy backstory for seemingly every design choice the company makes. The new gray-dial Iced Sea (known as the “Ice T” among its fans) is inspired by the color of the stone on the Mont Blanc mountain above 8,000 meters. Why 8,000 meters? Because there are only 14 peaks higher than 8,000 meters in the world, according to LeCamp.
The color of the dial is less impressive, though, then the sound of the bezel, which mimics a dolphin’s clicks. “It’s something we have developed, I’m not kidding,” LeCamp told me. “It was not easy to do it!” And indeed, when he spun the bezel quickly, and was by far the most dolphin-like sound I’ve ever heard from a watch. 10 out of 10 dolphins.
Best Booth
The W&W booths are often massive, with outrageous designs. The coolest I’ve seen so far belongs to Van Cleef & Arpels, which decorated the space with a bejeweled forest.
Best Watch I Saw On Someone’s Wrist
Friend of the newsletter Oren Hartov, whose writing you can find on Gear Patrol, MONOCLE, InsideHook, Robb Report, Worn & Wound, Analog:Shift, HODINKEE (basically, any place that covers watches), pulled up to my breakfast table this morning and flashed this 1970s double-signed Audemars Piguet out from under his shirt sleeve. I was instantly jealous.
“This is definitely a ladies’ watch, but I definitely couldn’t give a fuck,” he said. “It’s mechanical, it’s good looking, it’s a Cartier-retailed AP. What could be better? It’s the perfect dress watch.”
Only Way to Get a Good Picture
The lighting in the Palexpo stinks, which is unfortunate, because everyone is taking pictures of watches. Some have found inventive solutions to this challenge; Jessica Owens of Daily Grail and RedBar’s Adam Craniotes used a parasol at the Cartier touch and feel session today.
Best Emoji On a Watch
Rolex’s new far-out jigsaw Day-Date features a different emoji for every day of the month. You can happily spin through a panda, pumpkin, unicorn, puppy dog, and eight ball. My favorite has to be the Rolex emoji, which you’ll probably only find on this Day-Date.
