Helping us forget ongoing restrictions, the brands at Watches and Wonders unveiled an explosion of colour alongside calendar complications, our future travel companions.

Métiers d’art, transparent materials, three-dimensional structures, skeletonised movements… the brands at Watches and Wonders are changing the face of watchmaking.

In 2001 Jean-Marie Schaller encountered the genius of an eighteenth-century watchmaker who would become the focus of all his energy. Twenty years on, Louis Moinet is very much one of the small group of independent brands that are shaping watchmaking's "new wave".

Geneva Watch Days helped make up for the absence of the industry's traditional fairs, albeit on a much smaller scale. The 16 exhibiting brands showed watches for men of taste and men of action.

Every cloud has a silver lining. The disastrous impact of Covid-19 on the economy in general and the watch segment in particular is forcing brands to embrace the virtual world.

The eighth Only Watch is on November 9th in Geneva, with fifty watches crossing the block. The sale has grown beyond its original purpose as a fundraiser to become a worldwide reference for collectors.

Watchmaking has many registers and so does the chronograph. Performance-focused or a lesson in elegance, innovative or traditional, a record-breaker or a design delight, chronographs were all over Baselworld 2019.

Could it be the fiftieth anniversary of Man's first steps on the moon that has so inspired watchmakers? This year, brands are pulling out all the stops with a host of watches dedicated to the moon-phase complication. Because what could be lovelier than a moon-struck mechanism?

From the infinitely vast to the infinitely small, the mysteries of the cosmos continue to fascinate watchmakers. Enjoy this one-way voyage into space and time, courtesy of Louis Moinet, Graham and MB&F.