Jewellery Watches Steal the Show at Watches and Wonders 2026

Jewellery watchmaking asks two entirely separate crafts to produce one object, and Watches and Wonders 2026 was a reminder of how differently each house resolves that tension. Van Cleef & Arpels leaned on the Ludo bracelet, whose interlocking 'briquette' links — a nod to a leather belt — have been in the maison's vocabulary since 1934 and still move like fabric a century on. Bulgari brought the Serpenti Aeterna to the wrist, while Cartier and Chopard both used the fair to argue, quietly but persuasively, that a watch can be jewellery first and a timekeeping instrument second.

For a category that lives at the intersection of two entirely different client bases, this year's showing suggested the two worlds are converging faster than either side likes to admit.