Bulgari, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Cartier and IWC are among the brands that have listened to those who are tired of the ‘less is more’ approach and just want more of everything. But still with a touch of restraint. Think monochrome and gold on gold on gold. The gold case is complemented by a gold dial, and in most cases also gold hands. Thus, to keep legibility one must play with different textures and tactual sensations.
Minimalist gold
Let’s start with the Cartier Tank Louis Cartier Yellow Gold Medium, run by the manually wound 1917 MC movement. This model is often mistaken for being the original Tank. But alas, the original was presented in 1917, and is smaller and squarer. On The Louis Cartier 2025 gold version, a sunray guilloché pattern gives a shimmering background, which makes the mirror-polished baton hands stand out. Who knew that going all in could be so minimalist?
1950’s gold
At Watches & Wonders Geneva, Jaeger-LeCoultre presented a new interpretation of the Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Second – 2025 is all about Reverso for the manufacture based in Vallée de Joux. The 50-component, swivelling, 7.56-millimetre-thick pink gold case version of the unmistakably Art Deco design (the Reverso was born in 1931) is paired with a Milanaise bracelet in the same pink hue. And, for instant readability, the dial in the same hue is of a grained texture. The Milanaise bracelet adds glamour and, for many of us, a 1950s design nod. However, this type of jewellery bracelet design was already popular in the 1920s, and it derives from 13th-century chainmail! The integrated buckle is also made of pink gold and has a polished finish.
Monochrome gold
The latest iteration of IWC Ingenieur is the Automatic 35 (Ref. IW324903), which was also introduced at the beginning of April at Watches & Wonders. With this new automatic model, the Schaffhausen manufacturer complements the collection with an 18-karat 5N gold case, bracelet, dial, hands, and screws. This makes it perhaps the most monochrome ever, of the model that reached iconic status after being redesigned by Gérald Genta in 1976. To be able to read time, the matt-finished dial has a guilloché pattern of wide, horizontal lines intercepted with short, vertical lines which gives the impression of squares. Thus, the mirror-polished sword-shaped hands, filled in with Super-LumiNova® for those long nights, are easily seen at a quick glance.
Italian gold touch
It comes as no surprise that glamorous Bulgari – which joined Watches & Wonders for the first time this spring – is on this golden trajectory. With the Octo Finissimo 18-karat rose gold watch joining the collection of round and square stepped cases with integrated bracelets, Bulgari shows that the finely grained finish used for titanium works equally well with a warm-toned rose gold. The Roman jeweller, which has its own watchmaking facilities in Switzerland, opted for contrasting hands and indexes – a great example of the design versatility of the Octo, which has been the revival of the brand in men’s watches. With Octo, Bulgari has become relevant among serious collectors, and the stepped circle within a square design is set to become a contemporary icon.
With such strong gold models already out there, and more to come, do we dare forecast that the record export value of Swiss watches in precious metals set in 2024 – 9,566.7 billion Swiss Francs – just might be beaten in 2025? Especially since the value and perception of gold tends to go up in shaky times.
