Watches and Wonders 2026: T3 watch experts give their predictions on what we’ll see at the event

It’s time for the most hotly anticipated watch event of the year – Watches and Wonders 2026. Taking place from 14-20th in Geneva, Switzerland, the event will be showcasing the latest and greatest novelties from the world’s top watch brands.

For 2026, 65 exhibiting watch brands will be at the show with new and classic timepieces, including Rolex, Tudor, TAG Heuer, Zenith, Hublot, Grand Seiko and many more. As we do every year, T3 will be covering – and attending – the event so if you want to hear about all things Watches and Wonders, stay tuned.

So, what can you expect to see at Watches and Wonders for 2026? T3’s team of watch experts – Beth Morgan (that’s me!), Sam Cross and Alistair Charlton – have been eagerly awaiting for this year’s event and have come up with their predictions for the show, including launches, anniversary celebrations, discontinuations and more.

Will Rolex discontinue the ‘Pepsi’ GMT?

Rolex news and launches are always eagerly anticipated, but as Sam points out “predicting what the crown brand will cook up is a real guessing game.” What has been most rumoured this year and something myself and Alistair are (sadly) predicting is the discontinuation of the popular ‘Pepsi’ GMT-Master II.

As Alistair states, “there’s been a lot of speculation around the future of the Pepsi-dial Rolex GMT-Master II. Will it be discontinued? If you’ve got one, hold onto it and watch its value inevitably rise if Rolex does indeed pull the plug!” As the Pepsi dial has been disappearing from authorised dealers, I also think it could be on the way out but it could be interesting to see what it’ll be replaced with. Mine and Alistair’s bets are on the black and red ‘Coke’ dial.

As a big Rolex fan, Alistair had many predictions about Rolex and commented that “I’d like to see an expansion of the year-old Land-Dweller family with new case materials and dial colours. As ever, I’m looking out for new Oyster Perpetual dial colours with soft pastels… Lastly, 2026 marks 70 years of the Rolex Milgauss, so a revival of that watch, not currently in production, could well be on the cards.”

What’s in store for Tudor’s 100 years celebrations?

As Tudor is celebrating 100 years of watchmaking this year, Sam will be “keeping a particularly close eye on Tudor… I can’t see them passing that occasion without marking it.” At Watches and Wonders 2025, Tudor debuted many novelties, including Black Bay and Pelagos Ultra watches, so we hope to see similar things this year.

For me, I’m always excited to see new colours from Tudor. While it’s quite a monochrome brand, Tudor often surprises with brighter shades, like pink, so I’d like to see more exciting colours this year. For Sam, he’d “love a modern ode to the Oysterdate Monte Carlo. I’ve also seen rumours of a version of the iconic Rolex ‘Batman’ GMT coming to Tudor’s catalogue, which is a tantalising prospect.”

Patek Philippe’s Nautilus hits 50

2026 is a big year for watch birthdays and anniversaries, and Alistair is most excited about “the 50th anniversary of the Patek Philipe Nautilus, so I’m expecting big things from that watch in Geneva this week.” When asked what he’d like to see, Alistair said “new metals and dial colour would of course be welcome, but I’d like to see Patek go even further by introducing a new complication or movement to the Nautilus line-up.”

Intricate yet usable complications

but in terms of predicting what there might be this year, we’ve fluctuated between obscure and usable.

2025 “felt like the year of the perpetual calendar”, according to Sam, “and I’m sure there’ll be more of that this time round. I’m also sure there’ll be a pocket watch or two as those seem to be gaining traction” much to my and Sam’s dismay.

For Alistair, he’d “love to see rumours of a moonphase complication appearing on the Rolex 1908 dress watch come true”. I’d have to agree with him on moonphases, and I’d love to see more of a focus on them this year, namely for brands to make them more ‘usable’.

Personally, I love a good compilation but sometimes that’s exactly what they are – complicated. However, smaller and independent brands are starting to adopt complications and offering them in simpler and more affordable packages. This includes tourbillons and jumping hours, the latter of which has been seeing a revival from brands like Audemars Piguet and Christopher Ward – may it continue.

The return of the square

Square watches are a big watch trend this year, mainly because vintage-inspired and architectural designs are becoming more prominent. Watches have also been shrinking a bit which makes the shift from round to square that much easier.

Watch brands like TAG Heuer, Hublot and Jaeger LeCoultre are key proponents of the square watch trend so I expect to see them come out with new square-shaped novelties this year. I’ve also noticed more square and rectangular dials with slightly rounded edges which seems to make the transition more gradual and less jarring for some wearers. I hope to see more of these at Watches and Wonders 2026.