In spite of a spate of reports that a watch is fast becoming a seasonal accessory/fashion item and the breathless news about fuchsia and fusion metals and stripes, a visit to the recent watch fairs in Switzerland – which is to say to some 350 brands and thousands of chronometers, regulateurs and tourbillons – reveals it’s simply not the case. A luxury watch is not a trend-driven accessory; it’s an enduring item that will remain on one’s body a lot longer than this season’s wide-belts or preppy striped tees.

“We absolutely do not want to be trapped by the urgency of constantly launching new products,” says Philippe Mougenot, head of Chanel watches and jewellery, an attitude that neatly sums up the more conservative tone of the watch world. After the brand-buying bonanza of the turn of the century, followed by the teenage scramble to be different at all costs, the watch business is growing up.

The name of the game is consolidation: tweaking, tucking, perfecting and focusing on past successes, such as Chanel’s six-year-old J12. This year’s limited edition is set with 600 baguette-cut diamonds and will sell for £240,000 – something you might want to hang on to longer than this season’s handbag.

Which helps to explain the somewhat cryptic “our surprises are not obvious” statement from Rolex’s spokesperson Dominique Tadion. She is referring to their six-year reworking of their entire watch line, a honing, smoothing and polishing of every timepiece so they still remain recognisably Rolex.

Similarly, producers are focussing on past winners such as Omega with the Planet Ocean, which is returning to its original 1950s styling.

TAG Heuer, which over the past few years has worked hard at consolidating and purifying its core ranges, is now “looking at the details”, according to UK marketing manager James Massey. And Florentine house Panerai has judiciously modified two basic models over the years to create a whole brand.

For its part, Patek Philippe has never underestimated the power of unswerving attention to detail: see its new Trapèze, a recreation of a classic found in its watch museum with delicately faceted angles and unusual case shape and subtle guilloche detailing.

Even fashion houses are saying their watches are not “fashion” but “luxury” items and Dior has gone so far as to back-pedal on its idea of seasonally changing straps, concentrating instead on two more enduring and expensive lines: the La D and the Christal.

Still, while the fashion brands are becoming watchmakers, some traditional houses can’t help flirting with the fashion idea – with mixed results.

Breguet, which so beautifully captures the purity of traditional watchmaking, has seen fit to add gem-set dangles and candy-coloured stone dials to its gracious oval Reine de Naples watch, originally created for Queen Caroline of Naples.

And Jaeger-­LeCoultre, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the iconic Reverso, has decided to play with the shape of the perfectly proportioned art deco case and give it an edgier, tougher look. Only time will tell if the new squat Squadra case will be a success, but a first viewing suggests that a classic of such stature should be left well alone.

Yet its bold Reverso Grande Complication á Triptique is one of the most attractive complicated watches produced – despite the fact that the words “complicated” and “attractive” do not tend to go together in high horology.

“The most important point is that it still remains a watch,” says CEO Jerome Lambert, which may sound strange but is, in fact a truth often overlooked in the drive toward cool.

Ultimately the most successful models are tried and tested designs given a contemporary gloss: Vacheron Constantin’s deliciously sober ultra-slim Patrimony in understated platinum; Audemars Piguet’s Le Temps Ovale Millenary in pink gold with an unexpected chocolate brown and rich blue dial; Cartier’s Tank Asymétrique based on the 1936 design; and the 1950s gorgeous Omega DeVille X2. And yes, they all tell the time.

FROM PINK GOLD TO THE COCKTAIL RING

At the aptly named “Hall of Fantasies” at BaselWorld, 600 exhibitors jostle for attention at the largest watch and jewellery show of the year but despite its size the message this year from Basel, as far as jewellery went, was surprisingly uniform. As Diane von Furstenberg, there to unveil her debut jewellery collection in conjunction with H Stern, says: “Jewellery is firstly about ornamentation and power but also about luck and spirituality.” In other words, it ain’t about bling any more.

It’s about style (“Jewellery has to be sex,” says Fawaz Gruosi of De Grisogono. “It has to flatter you like a dress”); it’s about personality (see Chanel’s San Marco collection, inspired by Mademoiselle Chanel’s recollections of a visit to Venice, with beads threaded together at random like memories); and it’s about subtlety – even Chopard has de-iced its exuberant Copacabana line, making it lighter and more delicate and set with smaller yet more expensive stones.

The metal of the moment is a warm-toned pink gold and the dominant diamond cut is the discrete baguette. Subtler, paler-coloured stones such as smoky quartz and rock crystal abound and uncut and unpolished stones are making an appearance. Witness Tiffany & Co’s kite-shaped hunk of kimberlite in its natural form, which could well be worn as a pendant, and Van Cleef & Arpel’s “Pierres de caractère”, uncut but polished hunks of emerald in celebration of the natural beauty of exceptional stones.

Not surprisingly, as jewellery becomes more individual, a new wave of DIY gems has emerged. De Grisogono’s playful Cartouche earrings can be coiled up à la bicycle chain for a day in the office, unwinding to create a more dramatic drop earring for the evening. Gucci’s Twirl cuff, designed by Frida Giannini, has a disc that rotates to reveal a watch dial. Additionally, Cartier has brought back the Love collection of handcuff-inspired bracelets and rings that your loved one screws firmly in place with a bijoux screwdriver.

Of course, as with any trend, there is exception to the rule and this year it is the H Stern cocktail ring. More Anita Ekberg glamour than bling, this 100-carat rock could be the accessory of the year, doubling up as a finger-mounted tray for those awkward canapé, cigarette and martini moments.