Christian Selmoni, style and heritage director at Vacheron Constantin, echoed the idea. “Collectors who are younger grew up in the rose gold era and so yellow gold is a novelty to them,” he said, “They see it as a refreshing change.”
In line with the trend, earlier this year the brand released a yellow gold version of its 222 watch, a remake of the timepiece designed in 1977 by Jorg Hysek to celebrate Vacheron Constantin’s 222nd anniversary. “There is always a momentum to go back to what we loved in the past,” Mr. Selmoni said, “and with the increased interest in vintage watches, there could be strong positive influence on the part of customers for yellow gold watches. Especially because yellow gold is the purest form of gold and there is no significant price difference between yellow and rose gold.”
Brands that create both watches and jewelry have seen the trend rising in both categories. At Piaget, for example, “there is a shift toward yellow gold, but it is not fully out yet,” Alain Borgeaud, the brand’s head of patrimony, said in a video interview from its headquarters in Geneva. “The attraction from the U.S. market is strong, but we see it in Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, a little Europe.” And, he added, there will be more yellow gold offerings in 2024.
Antoine Pin, managing director of Bulgari’s watch division, said the house has been aggressively exploring yellow gold. “What turns it from a sleeping slow trend to an active trend? The demand on the part of consumers. And we are seeing interesting parallels between the return to smaller sizes, the return to the 1970s and ’80s and the natural color of gold.”
Bulgari has continually had yellow gold watches in its women’s collections, but this year it introduced yellow gold versions of both the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Chronograph and the limited edition 50th anniversary Octo Finissimo. “We had early signs popping out before Covid that yellow gold has clearly shifted back into trend, but it came back stronger after the pandemic and I am glad our team in the U.S. really pushed it,” Mr. Pin said in a video interview from the division’s headquarters in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. “We reacted at a good pace to respond to the market.”
