We’re already at what many would consider the most exciting time of the year for watch releases. A time rife with speculation regarding Rolex releases, as seen here by Monochrome’s yearly Rolex prediction roundup, and just general chatter on public watch forums as well as private watch collector groups.
Ever since Baselworld’s official permanent cancellation in 2022, Watches and Wonders has been the most important go to event for the highest echelon of watch publications, renowned watch collectors, and even press from other corners of media. As someone that frequently attended Baselworld, I was quite excited to get on board with Watches and Wonders, assuming the press attendance process would be as streamlined and simple. I soon came to find out that attending Watches and Wonders as an official press member, the same way we had done with Baselworld, is now entirely different.
During my attendance inquiries last year I came to find out that Watches and Wonders now works on an “invite only” program, that is if you want access to some of the embargoed watch releases before the general public. Whereas with Baselworld it had always been a simple membership application, and you’d be granted a free attendance pass as long as you had some form of publication or watch media outlet. Not only is Watches and Wonders an invite only program, but to be invited you also need watch brands to vouch for you – herein lies a huge issue.
For watch brands to vouch for you to receive an invite, there’s of course going to be massive incentive to invite watch publications that are slanted, or even paid off by the inviting brands. The last thing a watch brand is going to do is vouch for an independent publication that has the freedom to express both pros and cons about a watch without repercussion. The watch brands that have been granted a certain number of invites are going to vote for watch publications that they know will be providing first encounter positivity. You can look at the largest names to be included on this list, names such as Hodinkee, Fratello, WatchPro etc.
Advice to the Attendee
My advice to you, as a watch collector and enthusiast who may be waiting for initial input from these publications, is to take any initial reviews with a grain of salt. Try to see through the hype of various new watches that these larger publication will be focusing on. Use any information coming out of these publications more technically, for example sizing, specs, features – but stay wary regarding any definitive conclusive stances that the largest of the watch media outlets will attempt to portray. It would be wise to let the hype settle down for a few weeks after the event, and to allow some of the less biased independent publications to get their hands on the new releases for more accurate and level headed reporting.
Word of Caution
Smaller watch outlets that don’t receive official member invites from Watches and Wonders still get plenty of hands on time at the event regardless, but they’ll be second to see the watches when compared to the larger names. The smaller publications still get to arrange one on one meetings with brand CEO’s, and are able to schedule booth appointments to check out the new watches for introduction, as well as photo and video time. In the grand scheme of things, a private invite compared to an official W&W member invite won’t be much different – but it’s important for the end consumer to be aware of the difference in order to gauge how much trust you place on initial reporting coming out of this years event.
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