Cover Johnathan Chan (Photo courtesy of Johnathan Chan)
Johnathan Chan (Photo courtesy of Johnathan Chan)
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From eye-popping price hikes to bonding over the irrational love for watches, the watch enthusiast and co-founder of Hong Kong-based The Horology Club muses about his experience in Geneva
Beep! Beep!
My phone alarm erupted at 6 am, and for once, I didn’t snooze, launching out of bed like a mainspring uncoiling. It was the first day of my annual pilgrimage to Geneva, the Vatican of watchmaking. Amidst the headlines about trade wars and tariffs, I craved an escape—a week to worship at the altar of horological art.
Armed with hope and eagerness, I marched into the halls of Palexpo for Watches and Wonders 2025 (WWG), only to collide with reality. Between back-to-back appointments, I devoured the novelties, but one thought echoed louder than Chopard’s latest minute repeater: “Everything has gotten so expensive!”
Price hikes aren’t new. Blame gold prices, logistics, or the apocalypse, but I whimpered when it seemed like every other watch cost more than my car.
Read more: Watches and Wonders 2025: 3 record-breaking timepieces
And yet, I was weirdly grateful, only because this sticker shock forced us back to the roots of collecting: pure, irrational love. It’s when you rationalise the irrational, when desire overrides logic, and “overpriced” somehow becomes “priceless”. And there was no shortage of horological excitement—overall, this year’s releases slightly outshone last year’s, despite my reservations about the pricing.
I drooled over Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso Tribute Monoface ‘Or Deco’, a full rose-gold spectacle, its Milanese bracelet sharp enough to slice through cynicism. The technical significance of Rolex releasing a revolutionary model line, the Land-Dweller, with their proprietary escapement. The lightness of Ulysse Nardin’s Diver [Air]. The playfulness of the colourful collections from Nomos and Moser. The painstakingly beautiful métier d’art displayed in the straw maquetry from Chopard and the gem-set Le Pont des Amoreux pieces from Van Cleef & Arpels.
Above Chopard L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25 - Straw Marquetry Edition
Chopard L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25 - Straw Marquetry Edition
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There were truly many pieces designed to rekindle that emotional connection we hold with our timepieces. But beyond the lure and lucre, I felt something deeper: a togetherness. In a world on fire, we huddled around these tiny machines—united. Collectors, media, and brands came together for a week to celebrate what ties us all together: our love for watches.
So here’s the truth: this hobby isn’t about time. It’s about friendships and emotions—and the magic of objects that happen to evoke them.
If there were one takeaway from my experience in Geneva, it would be that Watches and Wonders 2025 proved something radical: in a fractured world, we still find meaning in tiny gears, shared obsessions, and the friends who get it. Regardless of how depressing the global economy is right now, the watch industry will be okay.
And so we tick on.
My Top 3 watches from WWG:
- Cartier Tank à Guichets
- Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds ‘Or Deco’
- Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotier Solaria Ultra Grand Complication
Above Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds
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This piece is part of a series of opinion articles from the Tatler GMT Collective honourees, featuring a broad range of voices from across the region offering expert perspectives, advice, forecasts, and thought leadership. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or editorial stance of Tatler Asia.
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