The Monocle Minute

The watch industry has always been associated with a degree of conservatism – and rightly so. This is a sector run by heritage luxury houses whose stories often span centuries. They are deeply invested in safeguarding craft traditions and collectively tend to eschew novelty in favour of design icons from their archives. Still, the best brands have always made room for creativity and there was a bigger appetite for rule-breaking than usual at this year’s Watches and Wonders fair in Geneva, where there was plenty of experimentation and humour on show. The reason for the mood shift? The global state of affairs calls for some light-heartedness and escapism – or, at least, that was how it was explained to me.

“It’s about having an optimistic view of the world,” says Catherine Rénier, the CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels, pointing to the house’s new watch depicting lovers kissing on a bridge. “The technique is always at the service of the story.” At Piaget, bold ornamental stones and one-of-a-kind sautoirs from the 1960s and 1970s recalled stories of Yves Piaget, a fourth-generation member of the founding family, encouraging his team to propose new ways of wearing time and “do what had never been done before”. This instruction resulted in dials within cuff bracelets and necklaces. “It was a period of revolution, liberation and freedom of expression,” says Stéphanie Sivrière, Piaget’s creative director, discussing the rising popularity of the brand’s mid-century designs that marry the arts of high jewellery and watchmaking. “We try to hold onto that spirit.”

Elsewhere, brands associated with sportier silhouettes have also found ways to experiment, primarily with bolder colours. Hublot celebrated 20 years of its Big Bang model with coloured ceramic styles, while Tag Heuer has turned the spotlight back to its Formula 1 Solargraph, updated in bright shades of blue, yellow and green. “Luxury is something abstract,” says Tag Heuer’s CEO, Antoine Pin. “We have to free ourselves. There’s too much focus on pricing.”

In a tougher market – production costs continue to rise, Swiss watch exports were down at the start of 2025 and Donald Trump’s 31 per cent tariffs on Swiss goods will no doubt cause further strain – it’s refreshing to see watchmakers getting more creative and daring to surprise their customers. Along the way, they have also reimagined the watch, turning it from a utilitarian item to a precious piece of design. Time, after all, is the ultimate modern luxury.

Natalie Theodosi is Monocle’s fashion director. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.

The US administration is out shopping for new turf and the strategic value of both the Panama Canal and Denmark-administered Greenland has caught its eye (writes Jack Simpson). But if you’re against the idea of a hostile takeover of sovereign territory – and a fan of smart business decisions – you might appreciate the poetic justice of the recent announcement that a unit of Danish shipping giant AP Møller-Maersk is to acquire the Panama Canal Railway Company, whose tracks connect the ports at either end of the Panama Canal.

The deal, inked despite Donald Trump’s claims that the US would seize back control of this vital waterway, came somewhat out of the blue. The train line was built by the US through a joint venture between Kansas City Southern Railway and Mi-Jack Products in 1998, so its newfound Danish ownership is likely to irk the White House. While this railway connecting Balboa and Colón represents just a fraction of the overall trade traffic through the canal, it has proved an attractive solution for Maersk and other companies at times of drought, when the waterway becomes jammed – generating €70m of revenue in 2024. After months of the US railing against Chinese influence on the passage, the Danes seem to be settling into their new role as the president’s chief provocateurs.

To read our in-depth interview with the administrator of the Panama Canal Authority, Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, pick up a copy of Monocle’s March issue.

The eight finalists of the 2025 LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers have been announced (writes Grace Charlton). In the running for the €400,000 grant are three graduates of London’s Central Saint Martins: Tolu Coker, Torishéju Dumi and Steve O Smith. The UK is the only nation that is represented more than once in the line-up.

Though an increasing number of the country’s designers have relocated to Paris or Milan in recent years, London is clearly still a good place for young creatives to cut their teeth in – and it seems that fashion’s most profitable conglomerate would agree. It makes a welcome change from the discourse often heard at fashion weeks, even at London’s event people can be heard lamenting the UK capital’s inferiority and lack of big names. But when the winner of the LVMH Prize is announced on 3 September at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, the odds will be in London’s favour.

The 28th edition of the PAD Paris design fair is under way at the Jardin des Tuileries (writes Simon Bouvier). The opening was a refreshing change of pace for those more used to the febrile crowds of the design calendar’s other major fixtures. “PAD Paris feels very European, a touch more reserved than the typical fair,” one relieved exhibitor tells The Monocle Minute. “You don’t have to run around telling people not to touch the pieces or chase influencers away when they start changing outfits on your stand.” Notably, this year’s fair featured the work of many contemporary artists; sculptures from London’s Sarah Myerscough Gallery made their Paris debut alongside experimental cabinetry made using silk-worm cocoons and beeswax.

There are whispers of reduced prospects in the US market after Donald Trump’s announcement of steep tariffs on goods from the EU. But many exhibitors remain optimistic that their clientele of collectors won’t mind paying a premium for a piece that catches their eye. It appears that a love of good design conquers all – even trade wars.

French director Louise Courvoisier’s debut feature, Holy Cow, follows 18-year-old Totone as he takes over his father’s dairy farm and learns the arduous process of making comté cheese – all while wrestling with the travails of first love. Here, Courvoisier tells us about taking French cinema out of the capital, casting non-professional actors and why cheese is a worthy protagonist.

How did you choose the film’s location?
I grew up in Jura so that’s where I decided to shoot the film. I wanted to make a film about the young people who I grew up with and those who don’t have the chance to leave the countryside. In France, films are almost always set in Paris so it was important for me to focus on my area.

What were your priorities when you were casting the film?
I wanted to work with non-professional actors who were actually from the area but I didn’t know how to find them. It wasn’t going to be a documentary so they had to have natural talent on screen. It took maybe a year but we eventually met Clément Faveau, who plays Totone. He has a fire and a fragility about him.

Why did you want to tell a story about comté?
Only a small part of France is allowed to make this kind of cheese. When you come from the area, it surrounds you. The process of making it was a challenge to film but I was confident because it’s interesting to capture something so physical. Totone grows up in the film and making comté helps him to evolve.

‘Holy Cow’ is in cinemas now in the US and Australia, and opens in the UK on 11 April.

It’s all about New York this week: Jonathan Tarleton talks about his new book Homes for Living, which explores the privatisation of two housing co-ops; we look at traffic and downtown gridlock; and discover how the “City of Yes” plan will bring more density to the city.