– Logan Baker
It's hard to believe that it's been exactly four years since Geneva Watch Days, AKA the-little-Swiss-show-that-could, entered our lives. It feels like the entire world and industry has changed three times over in that period. (Spoiler alert: It has.)
This was my second year attending the event, but my colleagues at Phillips in Geneva have of course been engaged with the show from its beginning. With nearly 40 brands taking part and hundreds, if not thousands, of attending guests, this was clearly the most successful and significant edition yet.
Similar to my wrap-up coverage of Watches & Wonders 2023, I've put together a short list of remarks and comments on what I noticed over the fair's five days. I cover everything from the product trends that emerged, analysis of the event itself, to even a broader look at the discourse around the rapidly evolving culture of luxury watchmaking.
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Exclusive Accessibility: The Dichotomy Of A Swiss Watch Fair
Geneva Watch Days has thrived thanks to a fairly idiosyncratic structure. It’s by far the most relaxed major event in the Swiss watch industry, with brand executives and legendary watchmakers readily available and mingling with attendees between their various appointments and events.
Where bigger, more international-heavy exhibitions tend to keep the highest-ranking individuals at brands behind a velvet rope, all pretense is discarded at Geneva Watch Days. I can’t think of any other event where, in a single room, one can go from throwing a pint back with Max Büsser to chatting about Manchester City stud (and Breitling ambassador) Erling Haaland’s latest hat trick with Georges Kern, and then shaking Philippe Dufour’s hand (with a sly peek at what’s on his wrist, of course). The level of accessibility is unrivaled in the industry.
However, a large reason for this approachable culture is the fact that Geneva Watch Days is still a rather exclusive event. Despite a genuinely impressive line-up of 40-odd brands, plus the countless other “non-official” players that descend on Geneva to take advantage of the occasion, the fair still lacks a true tentpole exhibitor, like Rolex and Patek Philippe at Watches & Wonders. In fact, the only member of the top 10 Swiss watch brands by revenue that participates in the show is Breitling, who didn’t officially announce anything at Geneva Watch Days. They showed press and retailers a few embargoed releases that they plan to publicly debut at their own event in the near future, far away from Geneva.
They say a music festival is only as good as its headliners, and the same holds true for multi-brand watch events. The result of this is the undeniable fact that Geneva Watch Days is dominated by European-based press, retailers, and collectors. Very few Americans, Asians, or Australians make the trip from their home turf.
Geneva Watch Days is likely the most accessible major event on the Swiss watch industry calendar, but it’s also arguably one of its most exclusive.
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A Growing Share Of Voice
Large industry showcases always attract auxiliary watch brands that, despite not participating in the official event, will travel to the host city to network and meet with the attending press, collectors, and retailers. This can take all sorts of shapes and sizes. For example, during Watches & Wonders earlier this year, major-label brands such as Bulgari, Bovet, and F.P. Journe all set up activations that were independent of any shared exhibition.
Things at Geneva Watch Days are a bit smaller, and a lot more fluid. In the hustle and bustle of the week, while rushing between appointments and attending after-hours events, I consistently ran into new faces and exciting young voices in the industry that made the trek to Geneva just for the experience, often with no specific plans or meetings on the books. I was able to meet and handle watches for the first time from international up-and-comers like Atelier Wen (China/France), Felipe Pikulli (Germany), Hegid (France), Holthinrichs (Netherlands), MEC (United States), and Sherpa (Germany). I even ran into our old friend Cyrano Devanthey from Oscillon at one point!
It’s clear that the smaller stakes of Geneva Watch Days have allowed a greater share of voice for these smaller brands on the rise, even if the meetings took place in crowded bars and restaurants rather than the spacious luxury hotel rooms of many of the exhibiting brands.
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Collaborations Continue To Dominate The Day
This isn’t a new development by any means, but collaborations are still the name of the game when it comes to generating discussion in the watch world.
Two of the biggest stories to come out of the week were the collaborations between the independent watchmaker Sylvain Pinaud and Massena LAB, and the official reveal of the result of MB&F and H.Moser’s latest team-up. The former saw Pinaud revisiting his first-ever watch, the Chronograph Monopoussoir, with a new case design and aesthetic treatment, developed in tandem with William Massena of Massena LAB, while the latter was the chaotically fun, minute-repeating Streamliner Pandamonium unique piece for the Only Watch 2023 charity auction.
The Streamliner Pandamonium was unveiled during a packed press conference inside the official Geneva Watch Days pavilion, and later that day, a panda sculpture tied to the watch was auctioned during the Geneva Watch Days Charity Auction hosted by Phillips, where it ended the night as the top lot, selling for CHF 26,000, with every cent going toward supporting Geneva’s local watchmaking school.
Other collaborations that we came across during the week and are worth noting include Czapek and Bernhard Lederer on the new Place Vendôme Complicité; Louis Erard’s set of three watches designed by The Horophile, a collector with a popular Instagram account; Krayon and Dubai’s Perpétuel Gallery on a special batch of the Anywhere; and an unexpected team-up on a series of unique Big Crown Pointer Dates between Oris and the Arab Watch Club.
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Bidding With A Purpose
The Charity Auction Phillips hosted with Geneva Watch Days was also a massive success, achieving nearly CHF 110,000 across 18 lots. It was an amazing collaboration between our team, the Geneva Watch Days organizers, and all the individual brands that offered up either an amazing experience or object with no return for their donation.
The late-night Wednesday auction was packed, with hundreds of industry VIPs and collectors standing in the Geneva Watch Days pavilion, watching and participating in the proceedings led by Aurel Bacs. There was no official rostrum for him to stand behind, and there were no seats in the audience for people to rest on. It was one of the most intimate watch auctions we can remember, with the crowd completely surrounding Aurel as he went to work.
The complete sum of CHF 109,800 that was raised during the sale will benefit the Geneva Watchmaking School, also known as l’École d'Horlogerie de Genève, during an upcoming move, as well as next year during its bicentenary, which will be celebrated with a series of events taking place over the 2024-2025 school year.
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Famously Avant-Garde, These Independents Are Opting For Wearability
Watches are meant to be worn on the wrist. That wrist most likely belongs to an individual of normal stature, a description that for a long time in independent watchmaking seemed to be out of sync with the rest of the world. It’s hard to appreciate a watch’s innovative engineering, state-of-the-art materials, or consummate finish if it isn’t comfortable to wear.
Well, it seems like many of independent watchmaking’s most talented and popular firms are finally starting to take that criticism to heart. Greubel Forsey, never afraid of broaching diameters north of 45mm, introduced its high-tech Balancier Convexe S² and Double Balancier Convexe in lightweight carbon fiber in case diameters of 41.5mm and 42.5mm, respectively.
The new De Bethune DB28XP “Kind of Blue” balances its traditional 43mm with unbelievable thinness of 8.5mm. Armin Strom introduced a new type of integrated-bracelet sport watch with its “One Week,” that takes the company out of its aesthetic comfort zone yet somehow remains easily identifiable as an Armin Strom product. And Laurent Ferrier continued to expand on its sporty integrated-bracelet line with the all-new Sport Auto 40, a time-and-date release with micro-rotor that has the smallest profile yet for the collection, at just 40mm in diameter.
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Gérald Genta Is Back!
Although it’s been known for a few months now, the return of the Gérald Genta watch brand was made official during Geneva Watch Days with an event hosted by LVMH’s Jean Arnault and the head of the Gérald Genta Heritage Association, his widow, Evelyne.
The brand is still in the early stages of its return, but significant progress has been made. Arnault and Evelyn Genta were in good spirits as they addressed a small crowd gathered in front of Geneva’s tony President Wilson Hotel. A number of neo-vintage Gérald Genta watches were also displayed in vitrines inside the hotel lobby, with everything from models featuring unique hardstone dials and gem-setting on display to an example of Genta's wildly impressive Grand Sonnerie, the most complicated wristwatch in the world when it debuted in 1995.
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Bulgari, Still The Big Brand On Campus
Bulgari is one of the founding partners of Geneva Watch Days and serves as one of the exhibition's "major donors" (alongside Breitling, Girard-Perregaux, and Ulysse Nardin). In my experience attending the fair the past two years, Bulgari also appears to play the most active role in developing and producing the event.
The Italian-born brand's marketing department is incredibly active around the grounds of the fair, especially inside the temporary Geneva Watch Days pavillion. And the company's key executives – such as CEO Jean-Christophe Babin and Executive Director of Design and Product Fabrizio-Buonamassa Stigliani were highly visible during almost every key Geneva Watch Days press conference and event. I would even go as far as to venture that Bulgari is the primary driving force behind the event taking place each year.
Although Breitling might be slightly ahead of Bulgari in terms of revenue from Watches (according to the 2022 Morgan Stanley report on the Swiss watch industry), Bulgari clearly has the largest presence at Geneva Watch Days. It makes sense. Although neither Breitling or Bulgari currently take part in Watches & Wonders, Breitling hosts a number of what it calls "Summits" in different markets throughout the calendar year that allows them to introduce new watches on their own terms while bringing together a certain region's press and retailers under the Breitling banner without any distractions.
Bulgari hosts events for its watch division throughout the year, of course, but they're generally much more exclusive affairs. Geneva Watch Days is likely the largest watch-focused event Bulgari takes part in each year, and taking a leading role in its organization allows them to remain on the tip of the tongue for every attendee.
It also doesn't hurt that the new product Bulgari showed was incredibly strong. The new Octo Finissimo Automatic and Perpetual Calendar cased in CarbonGold are extremely attractive watches. They're also the new releases that I received the most texts and social media messages about from friends and collectors that weren't attending the show.
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The Future Stirs At Girard-Perregaux
It’s been widely discussed over the past 18 months that Girard-Perregaux (and Ulysse Nardin) is now a separate entity from the Kering Group, its former multinational conglomerate owner. Leadership at the historic Swiss watchmaker was largely maintained during the transition, and many industry followers have waited with bated breath to see what might be coming down the pipeline from the brand.
Would it be focused on more variations of the Laureato? Well, yes. Girard-Perregaux did happen to introduce the new Laureato Absolute 8 Tech Chronograph, featuring an impressive composite carbon-fiber case, resulting in an attractive monochromatic aesthetic, during Geneva Watch Days. It’s admittedly a cool-looking watch, and for a non-limited addition to the brand’s collection, I’m sure it will catch the eyes of many collectors. But that’s not all Girard-Perregaux had to show us last week!
Although we can’t share the news – yet! – GP gave me a quick look at a near-future release that blew me away. It’s a truly impressive product that no other brand can offer, and I believe it will help the brand potentially develop its largest buzz among hardcore watch collectors in years. I can’t wait for it to be announced.
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The Debut Of Haute-Rive
The news came a few days before the start of Geneva Watch Days. Stéphane von Gunten, best known for the 12 years he spent as the face of Ulysse Nardin’s pioneering research and development department, had just announced a new brand called Haute-Rive – and he wasn’t making us wait to see his first watch.
Haute-Rive and von Gunten set up shop inside a corner hotel room at Geneva Watch Days with its debut product: the Honoris, a dressy, tourbillon-equipped timepiece in precious metal with the outstanding claim of up to 1,000 hours of running autonomy, a power reserve equal to 41 days, or about one-and-half months.
It’s a figure that places the Honoris in stunning company. Only one or two other wristwatches – ever – can claim to top von Gunten’s result. And to do it on his first try? In a watch that, for one thing, actually looks like a watch? And that doesn’t require an additional tool for winding? Impressive stuff.
We needed to find out more. I was fortunate enough to sit with von Gunten for about an hour last week to discuss his family history in watchmaking, his career, and all the technical details worth knowing about behind the Honoris. I’ll breakdown the complete story behind von Gunten, Haute-Rive, and the Honoris in an upcoming “Indie Insider” article.
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Bernhard Lederer Is Beginning To Receive His Due
Bernhard Lederer is on the shortlist of the most underrated watchmakers of the modern era. He was a founding member of the AHCI in 1985 – alongside better-known luminaries such as Svend Andersen, Vincent Calabrese, Franck Muller, and – ahem – some British chap named George Daniels. He's had a 40 year career working on movements for other brands as well as under his erstwhile company BLU (Bernard Lederer Universe). These days he produces a small series of watches under his own name, and runs a company in Saint-Blase outside Neuchâtel called Manufacture de Haute Horlogerie et Micromécanique SA (MHM), where he develops movements and movement components for a long list of clients.
Despite his impressive credentials spanning across five decades, Lederer has rarely received the recognition he's deserved. That's slowly starting to change. Lederer introduced the Central Impulse Chronometer in 2021 – an incredible work of technical watchmaking that evolved and improved the original independent double-wheel, dual-impulse escapement ideated by George Daniels. The watch ended up taking home the Innovation Prize at the 2021 edition of the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève, and it also inspired me to write a rather lengthy in-depth article on the mechanics behind the watch last year.
It's a fascinating piece of chronometric engineering.
Lederer's star continued to rise during this year's Geneva Watch Days. Not only did Lederer introduce two new versions of the Central Impulse Chronometer – one in 18k rose gold with a soft grey-brown dial, another in stainless steel with a lovely seafoam green dial – but he also collaborated with the team at Czapek & Cie. on one of the show's most exciting introductions. I even named it my top release of the show in our Specialist's Picks column on Geneva Watch Days 2023!
The Place Vendôme Complicité features a pair of twin escapements and balance wheels connected via a differential gear that averages out any rate variations and is completely visible on the dial-side of the watch. Although the watch doesn't mention Lederer's name anywhere on it, Czapek is completely open to the fact that they coudn't have completed it without the help of Lederer and his team.
The movement was conceptualized by Czapek, but it was almost entirely executed by Lederer at his workshop. Czapek has become quite popular among enthusiasts since the release of its Antarctique sport watch series in 2020, so it's exciting to know that an even larger group of enthusiasts will learn about and appreciate Lederer's genius through the Place Vendôme Complicité.
Honorable Mentions & Quick Hits
- Rolex' recent acquisition of Bucherer was – naturally – the number one topic for collectors, brand executives, and press alike. The verdict? Overwhelmingly positive. The executive of one exhibiting brand who works with Bucherer throughout the United States and Europe said it was the best case scenario for his company. There had been rumors of a Bucherer acquisition for a number of years, he told me, and Rolex purchasing the brand was a much more favorable outcome for his organization than a differerent luxury conglomerate stepping in.
- A number of brands brought out iterative releases that looked great and received strong feedback from visitors, but they also didn't reinvent the wheel. Some examples include two new HM9 "Flow" models from MB&F cased in sapphire crystal with colored movement bridges, an updated Trilobe Nuit Fantastique with an eye-catching barley grain guilloché dial, and H.Moser & Cie. released a pair of beautiful dress watches in the Endeavour (one time only; one with tourbillon) series, each featuring 18k red gold cases and dials made of pitch-black Vantablack. The new Oris Aquis Date is also worth a shout; it features a dial made completely from reclaimed "ghost" fishing that were recovered from our oceans.
- Alpina had perhaps the surprise of the show with the release of the new Alpiner Heritage Carrée, a vintage-inspired shaped watch that serves as a great affordable alternative to a Cartier Tank.
- Although F.P. Journe didn't officially take part in Geneva Watch Days, the team was offering tours to a select group of clients and press of their brand-new case- and dial-making facilities in Meyrin, a suburb of Geneva. I was fortunate enough to visit Les Cadraniers de Genève (dials) and Boîtiers (cases), each of which were inaugurated in June, and will be putting together an in-depth story about the visit later this year. It's a deeply impressive pair of facilities that combines some of the most up-to-date manufacturing tools I've seen combined with age-old methods plied by craftsmen.
- Doxa earned its cult following due to its tremendous tool-watch heritage and one-of-a-kind aesthetic. It was certainly a surprise, then, to see the brand take its beloved SUB 300 diver platform in an entirely different direction. The new SUB 300 Beta Sharkhunter is billed by the brand as the first Doxa dive watch built for city life. The case is entirely black ceramic, while the crown and part of the bezel are crafted from 18k 3N gold. The dial is completely blacked out – even the date! – with only the applied gold-plated hour markers standing out. It's a brand-new take on Doxa's classic formula that I'm sure will attract robust opinions on both sides of the spectrum.
You can learn more about Geneva Watch Days here.
About Phillips In Association With Bacs & Russo
The team of specialists at PHILLIPS Watches is dedicated to an uncompromised approach to quality, transparency, and client service. Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo holds the world record for the most successful watch auction, with its Geneva Watch Auction: XIV having realized $74.5 million in 2021. Over the course of 2021 and 2022, the company sold 100% of the watches offered, a first in the industry, resulting in the highest annual total in history across all the auction houses at $227 million.
About Logan Baker
Logan has spent the past decade working in watch-focused media, reporting on every aspect of the industry. He joined Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo at the start of 2023 as the department's Senior Editorial Manager. He splits his time between New York and Geneva.
Recommended Reading
The Geneva Watch Days: The Brief History Of A Young Fair Heading Toward Maturity
Phillips Raises Over CHF 100,000 For Charity During Geneva Watch Days Auction
Specialists' Picks: Our Favorite Releases From Geneva Watch Days 2023