The Watch Trends We're Thankful For

It's Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S. A day that we not only completely engorge ourselves on an insanely grotesque and equally amazing amount of food, but we also take a moment to reflect and be thankful for the things and the people in our lives. Tradition is that before we eat our turkey and dressing, we go around the table and say what we are thankful for. So, as I sit here waiting for dinner to finish, and before I’m too full to even think, I thought it was only appropriate to talk about the trends in the watch community that I’m thankful for.

Thankful for Colorful Dials

I remember back when I started collecting watches (which seems like 86 years ago), it seemed as though watch dials were either black or white (with the exception of a few one-off watches). Then blue came around seemingly out of nowhere and disrupted the industry. We thought we had it good back then, just a little color here and there but keeping everything still “safe”. While a few brands would release a colorful dial here and there, they just never really seemed to catch on and become a major trend. That is of course, until Rolex released the expanded Oyster Perpetual color and brought bright, colorful dials to the main stage. It’s one of my favorite trends in watches currently. I love going into my local dealers and seeing a literal sea of color from almost every major brand out there. Blue, green, orange, purple, and even pink – colorful dials have taken this hobby by storm and don’t seem to be going away any time soon!

Image Source Rolex

Thankful for Sizing Options

They say variety is the spice of life, and when it comes to watches, the options are endless! We all know the frustration of falling in love with a watch but it being too large or too small for our wrists. The lies we try to tell ourselves to justify buying it anyway. I mean, who hasn’t stood in front of an AD showcase and told themselves that they could get used to wearing a larger watch than what actually fits their wrists? “It’ll be fine”. “I’ll get used to it”. Only to have that watch sit in their watch box and ultimately get sold because you were wrong. Those days are getting more few and far between as many brands have caught on to the fact that they can sell more watches if they make their best sellers available in a multitude of sizes. I’d love to see this trend grow a bit more when it comes to iconic watches, but seeing how great Oris, OMEGA, and even Rolex do this gives me hope that it will be a trend that continues well into the future.

Image Source Watchuseek

Thankful for the Inclusivity of Women Possibly

one of the things that I am most thankful for in this industry is the increase of gender diversity. As a female in the collecting space, it’s been a frustrating and uphill battle with the brands to be taken seriously. For too long, all the good watches were marketed for men, leaving us ladies “stuck” with tiny, quartz watches designed mostly for fashion. As I look around at the industry now, I’m incredibly proud of the changes that I see. Watch brands have caught on to the fact that women are collectors too, and that we equally appreciate the craftsmanship of a mechanical watch. Outside of designing watches for women, there’s also a trend in the change of marketing, making more and more watches “gender-free” so that anyone can enjoy them while browsing online or in-store. I think there’s still a long way to go here, but the current state of the industry gives me so much hope!

Thankful for the Popularity of Independent and Enthusiast Brands

It’s tough to be the little guy, especially in an industry in which all of your competitors have centuries of history behind them. Not to mention the automatic criticism received for any new watch brand by the collector and enthusiast community (honestly, sometimes we can be brutal). Somehow, in an oversaturated market and with so much adversity, independent brands have flourished. They are continuing to challenge the status quo of the industry as a whole, pushing further in the pursuit of perfection, the use of new materials, and pushing new boundaries into what is possible. They also represent the fun side of a traditionally stuffy industry, and for that, I will always be thankful.

Image Source Moser

While there are many more trends to appreciate in this ever-growing and ever-changing hobby of ours, these are just a few of the ones that I hope stay around for quite a while. And before I indulge on turkey, sides, and pies, one final thing that I’m thankful for is you all! The watch community has been such an incredible part of this hobby that I would not trade for the world. I think many of us can relate to the loneliness of trying to explain watches to friends. But the community behind watches is unlike any other collector community I’ve been a part of. For the continued support and encouragement, for always sharing your knowledge, and for just being awesome people – thank you.