Breitling continues to evolve and Omega gets set for fireworks: watch world predictions for 2019

Where the watch world is concerned, casting the runes for the year too precisely sets one up for a more or less graceless fall, in part because the year’s new watches are already in production ready to be unveiled at either January’s SIHH or Baselworld in March, and those that we do know about are mostly under embargo.

But that doesn’t matter, as 2019 isn’t really going to be about the watches as such, but about how you discover them, how you buy them and where you might sell them down the line.

All the same, there are watch stories: just as 2018 was the year that Breitling’s root and branch re-invention went public (and there’s much more to come from George Kern’s #squadonamission), 2019 should see the renewal of Girard-Perregaux.

Breitling Premier Chronograph 42, ￡4,950, Breitling

Always thought of as one of the Grandes Maisons, G-P has lost ground, to put it mildly, against both its historical competitors such as Jaeger-LeCoultre and comparative upstarts such as Hublot. Despite a nicely conceived re-working of the Laureato, G-P hasn’t really moved on over the last few years whether in terms of product, brand or distribution. Heads, inevitably, rolled.

In a bid to turn matters around, Kering, the brand’s owner, has installed Patrick Prunieux as the new CEO, Prunieux having impressed with his year in charge of another Kering brand, Ulysse Nardin (he remains CEO of both for the moment). If he can refine the brand with anything like George Kern’s brio, Girard-Perregaux should be quickly on the rise.

You’ll know that watch brands love an anniversary and there a few worth looking out for, starting with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo landings next summer. Expect some horological fireworks from Omega with both traditional Speedmasters and, doubtless, an update for the X-33.

Moe directly horological, 1969 was also the year of the automatic chronograph with Zenith’s El Primero pipping the post just ahead of rival efforts from Seiko and a consortium that included Breitling and Heuer, so expect new versions of from all four, the most striking of which was Heuer’s Monaco.

 Speedmaster "Dark Side of the Moon" Apollo 8 black, ￡7,200, Omega

Over the last year there have been seismic shifts within the industry that will have a direct effect on availability, prices and all sorts of other matters. Online retailer Mr. Porter has become an established player, while the likes of Matchesfashion.com and Farfetch are looking to carve out their own niches.

Pre-owned and hybrid concerns such as Chrono24, Chronext and Watchfinder have all received large-scale investment over the last year, so expect to see major changes in the way they communicate and work.

What’s common to all these (and a small cloud of upstarts) is a determination to use technology to ease the decision-making process and give you, the consumer, a measure of trust whether you’re buying or selling. Their entrance to the market hasn’t been ignored by the established retailers, so it will be interesting to see where the more in-demand models end up.

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