Recent years have proved very profitable for collectible watches, with certain models reaching record values at auction. Indeed, many fear that hyper-speculation is taking precedence over “real” interest in these pieces. What does this phenomenon reveal? Above all, the arrival of a powerful new constituency of watch enthusiasts that must now be reckoned with, and the flaws that accompany it, such as the casino effect surrounding certain timepieces, and a tendency towards “digital bashing”. But these issues should not detract from the genuine dynamism of this new and fundamentally passionate scene.