Innovative Diamond Designs Dominated at Watches and Wonders 2026

Watches and Wonders, the central show of Geneva’s watch week, was a record-breaker this year: 60,000 people — 9% more than last year — visited the fair in the Swiss city, which ran from April 14 to 20. Of those, 25,000 people bought tickets during the three days it was open to the public, and the overall attendee numbers included 1,750 journalists and 6,000 retailers. Social media coverage reached some 900 million people during the week — a 29% increase over last year’s following — with the hashtag #watchesandwonders2026. 

There were some obvious trends among the 65 exhibitors: skeletonized watches with open dials; chronographs, including new movements from brands like TAG Heuer and Parmigiani Fleurier; scaled-down sizes; and jeweled watches everywhere.  

Flexing technique 

In several of the models on show, diamonds served as more than spectacle; they showcased technical prowess and clever design, as was the case with the Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Impact High Jewellery One Million. The “One Million” refers to its price in Swiss francs; in US dollars, it’s $1.2 million. The watch contains 500 diamonds totaling approximately 44.60 carats, but the most impressive aspect is the complex stone-cutting and setting. Each diamond on the inner dial is a custom-cut shape that fits an interlocking pattern resembling a vortex around a central flying tourbillon. Hublot points out that all the diamonds are “top Wesselton,” a quaint term the industry still uses for stones of F to G color and VVS or VS clarity.  

Connoisseurs can always count on Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels — both established masters of the high-jewelry watch — to play with jeweling in some creative way. The diamonds on the case and bracelet of Cartier’s Baignoire are set in an inverted style, with pavilions jutting upward in an edgy clous de Paris-shaped metal design that embraces the diamonds’ spiky points. The Myst de Cartier jewelry watch boasts a bracelet design with articulated sections strung onto a flexible strap without a clasp. Tubular metal segments between and just under each link hide the strap, and the diamonds on the contours of the bracelet links took 112 hours to set. Prices for both pieces are available on request. 

On Van Cleef’s Lady Retrouvailles Celeste, which sells for $229,000, an arrangement of variously sized round brilliants forms the figures of two lovers posing on the dial. Using a patented Van Cleef & Arpels technique, the jewelry house set some of the surrounding diamonds directly into plique-a-jour enamel, with no other metal components.  

This combination of métiers d’art is becoming increasingly common in luxury watchmaking. Jaeger-LeCoultre, famous for its complicated movements, has incorporated jewelry and métier workshops into its manufacturing in recent years. “Jewelry watches represent a significant area of growth for Jaeger-LeCoultre,” says CEO Jérôme Lambert. 

The watchmaker’s Reverso One Hibiscus Rosa combines paillonné, grand feu and champlevé enamel with hundreds of snow-set diamonds in nine sizes to depict a hummingbird poised above a hibiscus flower. The enamel and diamonds extend over the curved surfaces of the case as well, an outstanding technical feat. 

Hues on display 

Gem-setting also served as a way to add color in some unexpected places. Patek Philippe’s aesthetic rarely veers from the unadorned — except in its annual Rare Handcrafts collection — but the veteran watchmaker’s Ref. 5374/400P-001 perpetual calendar/minute repeater boasts 48 Paraiba tourmaline baguettes and 72 baguette diamonds on the bezel, a total of 2.53 and 5.64 carats respectively. An additional 86 baguette diamonds totaling 3.50 carats decorate the case, and the stitching on the strap matches the Paraibas.  

Less surprising is Bulgari’s fearless use of colored gemstones. The Serpenti Aeterna showcases the house’s signature joyful color palette in large sizes and random shapes. The 122 stones include rubellite, amethyst, topaz, emerald, citrine, sapphire, tanzanite, tsavorite, peridot, and pink and Paraiba tourmaline. Bulgari devoted 185 hours to stone selection and preparation, and more than 60 hours to setting.  

Sparkling surprises 

Myriad private events in Geneva during Watches and Wonders also yielded sightings of diamond- and gem-laden watches. Urwerk, very much a men’s large-case, high-complication brand, introduced the limited-edition UR-101 Diamond Sky, a version of its wandering-hours model with an unusual application of diamonds. The dial and case sparkle with round brilliants in star-shaped settings cut into steel. The watch, of which there are only 25, retails for $116,000. 

Another surprise was the number of ladies’ timepieces in the much-anticipated relaunch of watch brand Universal Genève, three years after its acquisition by Breitling. Among the offerings was the Disco Maxi Couture edition, with a ruby root center dial surrounded by several rows of gradient pink sapphires and diamonds in both round and baguette shapes. The case is 42 millimeters, suggesting gender neutrality.  

These and the other gem-set masterpieces at Watches and Wonders point to a trend of jeweling in both men’s and ladies’ watches as a way of not only drawing the eye, but adding value at the top of the luxury watch market. 

Main image: The Disco Maxi Couture watch by Universal Genève. (Universal Genève)