I actually feel like the link should come with some kind of warning because it increases your heart rate, makes your knees tremble, and creates all kinds of other symptoms of excitement. The traditional time for discovering new timepieces, or novelties, as they are referred to in the watch world, is during the watch fairs. But as journalists, we don’t discover everything in one go; it takes a week to make the rounds of all the brands to see what’s new.
But with Only Watch 2023, there are 62 watches, each one as magnificent as the other, to be discovered instantly. It is almost overwhelming! And to add to the excitement, there is only one of each, so if you like one, you are going to have to fight for it (in a civilized auction way, of course)!
Having followed Only Watch since its very beginnings over 18 years ago, it has not only grown in size and importance, but also in terms of the watches presented. Each Only Watch edition is associated with a colour, a concept that was designed to inspire watchmakers in their creations. In the past, brands tended to adapt one of their current timepieces to the colour scheme and then donate the watch, easy peasy lemon squeezy! But that was the past.
Today, Only Watch is being used by watch brands as a playground for new ideas, concepts, designs, materials, complications, and more. For watch brands wanting to try something new, mad even, Only Watch is the place to do it. There is no negative judging (it is all for charity after all), the crazier the watch is the better, and if collectors love it, then the sky is the limit for the brand to incorporate some of the ideas into future collections.
On the watch collectors’ side, Only Watch is literally watchmaking heaven. To be able to acquire a unique, one-of-a-kind timepiece is an opportunity not to be missed. It is an investment that is always going to be of interest the day they want to resell. Add to this the fact that 99% of the price paid goes to funding research to find a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and I honestly can’t think of a watch purchase that would bring more joy.
Perhaps the most heartwarming part of Only Watch is the fact that it is totally altruistic. No brand makes money out of the event, everyone is giving their creativity, energy and hard work for free. From the watchmakers to their suppliers, the event planners, the public relations experts, the auctioneers, the logistics people, the photographers, and the media too – the list is endless – and that is perhaps the most unique thing in all this uniqueness.
This year’s edition is the 10th Only Watch and to celebrate this first big birthday the organisers have decided to choose “technicolour” as this year’s theme. Not that the brands needed any more encouragement to get creative, but let’s just say some of them are presenting some incredibly colourful pieces that will blow your socks off.
At WorldTempus, we are going to be covering the event as it makes its world tour before the big auction in Geneva on November 5th. So, stay tuned, as always, and if you are sitting quietly, have the go-ahead from your doctor, and are ready to take a visit into horological heaven, click here.
