Given all the heritage that’s riddled in watchmaking, you might assume that watches are not at the mercy of trends, but you’d be wrong. Watch trends are a thing. Timelessness can pervade – a panda-dial 1:1 replica Rolex Daytona will forever be a grail – but every year, a new clutch of shapes, sizes and finishes drift into favour, ousting those that were breaking the internet, bank accounts (and marriages) just a year ago.

Small watches – specifically those by perfect fake Cartier and Piaget – sit at the zenith of the zeitgeist right now, but what else should a discerning watch lover be looking for?

’70s kitsch is back (again)
Smaller shapes, ‘burnt’, sunburst colours and retro detailing are reigning supreme right now, be that in the popularity of specific vintage pieces – just look at the boom for tiny dress replica watches for sale – or the arrival of new watches that pay homage to the watch industry of the ’70s. Vintage dealer Robin Mann says the trend for “disco” top quality copy watches (as he lovingly calls them) is on fire. “Whether it’s derivative watches that look back,” he says, such as Rado’s Anotom Automatic or Casio’s Casiotron 50th Anniversary reissue, “or whether it’s the original Piagets that are doing so well, people are really tuning into them.”

Green dials are everywhere

One of many watch trends that bloomed last year and looks set to continue in 2024. “Five years ago, it was all about blue dials,” says de Turckheim, “now it’s all about green.” There are verdant pieces across the industry, ranging from Oris’s almost-silly-but actually-cool ‘Kermit’ Pro-Pilot to Swiss movement fake Cartier’s smoky bottle green Santos, and now cheap replica TAG Heuer’s limited edition Carrera Chronograph Green and Zenith’s new green dial Chronomaster Sport. “I just think that green is such an easy colour, it goes with everything,” adds De Turckheim. “A lot of buyers still think they can’t wear blue [watches] with black [outfits], but green literally goes with black, brown, steel or gold.”