This Week in Watches: The Calm Before Geneva

March is the industry’s held breath. With Watches & Wonders Geneva still five weeks away and LVMH Watch Week now a fading memory from January’s Milan showcase, the pace of major announcements slows to a more contemplative register — and that is not necessarily a bad thing. The news that did emerge this week was rich with intention: a bold material statement from IWC, a cultural milestone for the watch industry’s expanding community, and an ever-louder drumbeat of anticipation ahead of April’s main event.

New Releases

IWC Portugieser Chronograph Ceratanium: The Icon Goes Dark

The most talked-about watch of the week arrived, technically, on February 26, but the flood of hands-on reviews, collector reactions, and editorial coverage placed it firmly at the centre of this week’s conversation. IWC’s Portugieser Chronograph Ceratanium — reference IW371631 — is a genuine departure for a collection whose identity has long rested on dressy, silver-toned elegance.

The 41mm case, crown, pushers, and rubber strap are rendered entirely in Ceratanium, IWC’s proprietary material that bonds titanium’s lightness with ceramic’s surface hardness through a proprietary kiln process. The result is a fully monochromatic, matte-black timepiece that tips the Portugieser firmly into sport-watch territory for the first time. Inside beats IWC’s in-house Calibre 69355, a column-wheel automatic chronograph offering 46 hours of power reserve.

Collectors and critics have noted the compelling trade-off at the heart of the design: the all-black dial is visually arresting, but legibility takes a modest hit in dim light. Limited to 1,500 examples worldwide at $14,600, the Portugieser Ceratanium has already generated serious pre-order interest. Whether it succeeds in broadening the collection’s reach — or unsettles its more traditional admirers — remains an open question.

Culture & Community

WatchPro Celebrates Inaugural Women in Watches Event

On Sunday, 8 March — the eve of International Women’s Day — WatchPro hosted its inaugural Women in Watches event in London, spotlighting the remarkable breadth of female leadership shaping the British watch industry. The evening brought together CEOs, retail directors, independent watchmakers, educators, and brand executives, culminating in the publication of WatchPro’s inaugural Women in Watches list in the magazine’s March issue.

The list recognised figures spanning the full spectrum of the trade, from veteran retailers who built their businesses over decades to rising executives at global maisons. For an industry that has historically directed the majority of its storytelling toward a male audience, the event felt like a meaningful — if overdue — moment of recalibration.

Market: The April Lens

The secondary market is currently functioning in a kind of suspended anticipation, with collectors and dealers alike holding positions ahead of Watches & Wonders Geneva, which opens on April 14, 2026. The show carries particular weight this year, as Audemars Piguet returns to the established trade-show format after years of staging its own standalone presentations — a significant institutional signal.

Rumour and informed speculation have converged on a handful of expected highlights: new references of Rolex’s Land-Dweller, which made its landmark debut with the Dynapulse escapement at last year’s show; a potential revival of the discontinued Milgauss in honour of its 70th anniversary; and some form of tribute from Rolex to the Day-Date, which also turns 70 this year. Patek Philippe, meanwhile, faces the milestone of the Nautilus’s 50th anniversary — a centrepiece that has generated intense speculation about a commemorative reference.

Until Geneva’s curtain rises, the market’s mood is watchful but warm. Retail trading data from Watches of Switzerland — which upgraded its annual growth forecast earlier this year to 9–11% on the back of robust US and UK demand — suggests that the appetite for luxury timepieces, at both the retail and secondary levels, remains entirely intact.

The next edition of This Week in Watches will arrive with Watches & Wonders Geneva on the near horizon. The industry’s most consequential fortnight of the year is almost here.