Upon their inception in the 16th century, watches may have been a one-and-done affair. Five centuries on and the horological industry is almost as capricious as the fashion industry, with watch trends emerging and dissipating year on year. Last year, we saw a perceptible shift away from the endless dives into the archives, with established luxury watch brands and microbrands alike seeking novel inspiration for their designs. We also saw the rise of watches with atypical case shapes—thanks to the likes of Berneron, Anoma, and Toledano & Chan—as well as atypical movements from De Bethune, Ressence, and Louis Vuitton. Dichotomy in case sizes was also present, with teeny tiny and larger than life case sizes coexisting in harmony. Meanwhile, the in-person watch community continued to grow, with watch meetups growing in popularity (simply look at the success of invitation-only meetup Rolliefest) and luxury watch brands establishing physical spaces—think Audemars Piguet’s AP House and Vacheron Constantin’s Club 1755—for their most loyal customers to connect and convene.
The key watch trends of 2026 span aesthetic cues, technical innovation, and overarching watch industry moves. From getting stoned on the dial to the resurrection of formerly defunct brands, these are the top watch trends of 2026.
1. The democratisation of stone dial watches
Stone dial watches have been on the rise since 2023, when Rolex introduced a trio of Day-Date 36 references with green aventurine, carnelian, and turquoise dials. In the following years, the trend has continued to be adopted by established luxury watch brands and independent watch brands, with highlights including the Piaget Andy Warhol (originally called the ‘Black Tie’) in both malachite and tiger’s eye; the De Bethune DB25 Starry Varius Aérolite which has a purple meteorite dial; and the H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Pop collection, which sees multiple gemstones unite on the dial.
Originally, the requirement for ultra-thin movements meant that stone dial watches were formerly reserved for luxury timepieces. However, the relative accessibility of slimline movements—both mechanical and quartz—coupled with the abundance of attractive minerals such as malachite, turquoise, aventurine, and tiger’s eye has led to a growing crop of microbrands working to democratise the stone dial watch. Notable is Dennison’s ALD lineup, which combines stone dials like malachite, lapis lazuli, and rubellite with a slim cushion case designed by Emmanuel Gueit, the case shapes reminiscent of the glamorous cases his father Jean-Claude Gueit designed for Piaget in the 1960s. There’s also Baltic’s limited-edition stone dial releases within its Prismic cocktail watch collection, as well as Timex’s Q Timex releases, which see an integrated bracelet dive watch paired with dials in malachite, lapis lazuli, and tiger’s eye.
This year, we expect to see even more affordable timepieces with dials made from semi-precious stones, particularly from microbrands. While many stone dial releases have been ephemeral offerings, we predict more brands—luxury and affordable alike—will make them part of their core lineups.
2. It’s always cocktail hour somewhere…
Coalescing both the small watch and jewellery watch trends, cocktail watches are set to be a key watch trend for 2026. Here, function follows form, with cocktail watches prioritising aesthetics over mechanics. Of course, they can have mechanical movements, but it makes little difference whether they’re quartz, self-winding, manual, or even still ticking at all. The point here is an element of whimsy and a distinct aesthetic point of view, with notable examples including the Tiffany Rope Watch, Bulgari Allegra, Cartier Baignoire, and the decidedly underrated Hamilton American Classic Lady Hamilton, which can be worn as a necklace or on the wrist. It’s also popular to embrace vintage finds, from heirloom pieces to underrated pawn shop picks.
However, the cocktail watch isn’t limited to female wrists, with the trend likely to extend to the men’s watch segment. While the past few years have seen guys embrace dress watches and pared-back two- and three-hand styles, the cocktail watch trend for men will unite elegant case shapes with the aforementioned touch of whimsy; an element lacking in many contemporary dress watches for men. Look at the Seiko Presage Cocktail Time collection, which references actual cocktails on the dial, and the Baltic Prismic, which looks to art deco design to prove panache and masculinity needn’t be mutually exclusive terms.
3. Non-derivative integrated bracelet sportswatches
If there’s one horological sub-category that’s never in short supply, it’s the integrated bracelet sports watch. However, many of them tend to look a little *ahem* Royal Oaky (or Nautilusy, pick your poison). Things are poised to change though, with more brands carving out their own unique design language when it comes to integrated bracelet sports watches. We’ve seen this from Atelier Wen, with the Chinese watch brand releasing its uniquely shaped Inflection watch, which combines concave and convex surfaces and is hewn from tantalum, a notoriously difficult metal to work with. Other notable examples include Speake-Marin’s Ripples, Louis Erard’s pared-back 2340, and Laurent Ferrier’s distinctive Sport Auto.
4. Originality as a status symbol
That scarcity is a status symbol is hardly news. But now the appeal lies in not merely having bypassed a waiting list and strapped on a watch everyone can identify from a mile away, rather something not everybody can discern — or attain. Whether it’s the upper echelons of avant-garde haute horology like the rather handy F.P. Journe FFC Calibre 1300.3 or a pièce unique from Andersen Genève, or a vintage timepiece from a now-defunct Swiss watch brand, the focus is on timepieces that prompt a “hey, what’s that?” as opposed to an unsolicited sermon on reference numbers and manufactured scarcity.
5. Haute horology for everyone (kinda)
The concept of accessible haute horology seems like something of an oxymoron; after all, the upper echelons of watchmaking were never designed to be attainable by the masses. Traditionally, high complications such as minute repeaters and perpetual calendars, and striking movement architecture like visible bridges and tourbillons have been the sole dominion of high-end maisons and independent watchmakers. As a result, they’re accompanied by price tags that start at the high-five-figure mark.
While we’re unlikely to see a minute repeater or grand sonnerie made attainable for the minimum wage worker, the past year has seen the release of several comparatively affordable haute horology and avant-garde releases. Chinese watch brands CIGA Design and Behrens are challenging perceptions of what a tourbillon should cost; the former with its Central Tourbillon Watch and the latter with its Dark Knight. Elsewhere, the Frederique Constant Classic Perpetual Calendar is the first Swiss-made perpetual calendar to clock in at a hair under $10,000USD.
On the avant-garde side of things, striking movement architecture is making its way dial-side for less thanks to challenger brands like Christopher Ward and M.A.D.Editions. British watch brand Christopher Ward’s C12 Loco showcases an open balance wheel and a duo of bridges with brushed and polished bridges on the dial in a manner reminiscent of Girard Perregaux’s signature bridge architecture. And, it manages to do it for under $5000USD. There’s also M.A.D.Editions—a sub-brand created by MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser, for his friends who couldn’t afford the brand’s Horological Machines—which releases limited-run avant-garde timepieces at affordable prices, allocated through a lottery system.
Outside of the dominant luxury maisons, we can expect to see more watch brands use modern technology to offer complex mechanisms at affordable price points and experiment with unconventional, avant-garde design.
6. Back from the dead
The past couple of years have seen the relaunch of a number of defunct heritage brands. Daniel Roth, Gérald Genta, and Universal Genève are perhaps the most well known due to their multinational conglomerate backing (LVMH for the first two, which sit under the La Fabrique Du Temps division, and Breitling for the latter), however there’s also Urban Jürgensen, Nivada Grenchen, Angelus, Yema, Favre-Leuba, Vulcain, and Dennison.
There’s a definite appeal to reviving a heritage brand. Aside from being able to tap into its archival designs—and thereby appeal to consumers desirous of vintage styles—the use of a respected name bestows a company with instant legitimacy and a sense of respect; the type of goodwill that takes decades, if not centuries, to amass. Perhaps most importantly, it allows brands to have a richly illustrated history on their ‘about us’ page on arrival and display an impressive ‘established in’ date that doesn’t start with a ‘2’, lending them a perceived sense of salience and gravitas typically lacking in freshly established brands.
In 2026 and beyond, we can expect to see more heritage names (particularly those of Swiss, French, and British origin) coming back from the dead. Whether the final output respects the original vision is to be seen.
7. Weird is here to stay
Last year, our prediction of “weird shit to make you feel shit” resonated with brands and collectors alike. Fortunately, weird is here to stay, particularly when it comes to case shapes. Expect to see more brands continuing to think outside the circle (and rectangle), with asymmetrical, wavy, elliptical, and triangular cases. We also predict case finishings will go beyond brushed and polished this year, with more brands extending creative expression off the dial and onto the case itself.
8. Monobrand retail experiences
With the desire for community and connection only increasing, we expect many watch brands to double down on their physical retail offerings. Last year, Richard Mille made a strong statement by opening its first Australian boutique in Sydney. At the launch, commercial director Alexander Mille said “our ambition for each boutique goes well beyond creating a point of sale: we aim to create a genuine experience for the brand.” It’s a sentiment that resonates across the watch industry, with more luxury brands looking to form a loyal coterie of customers who go beyond one-off purchases.
While multi-brand watch stores will always have their place, we expect to see maisons expanding their monobrand retail presence in key markets, allowing them to control how their timepieces are presented and the overall customer experience.
Words by T. Angel
