Our first live auctions of fall 2024 season, PHILLIPS RELOADED: The Rebirth of Mechanical Watchmaking, 1980-1999, and the Geneva Watch Auction: XX, take place on November 8, 9, and 10, at the Hotel President, at Quai Wilson 47, in central Geneva. The auctions include more than 195 of the world's finest watches – and though we are loath to boast, we truly think they're some of the best catalogs we've ever put together. We'll be highlighting a number of the most interesting lots and stories featured in the sales over the next month, including the watches highlighted in this article.
The rise of the younger generation of independent watchmakers – figures like Rexhep Rexhepi, Sylvain Pinaud, and Petermann Bedat, among others – marks a thrilling new chapter in horology. These creators are reshaping the landscape of traditional watchmaking with their innovative spirit, rooted in meticulous craftsmanship and an eagerness to challenge convention.
Rexhep Rexhepi, for example, has become a beacon for high-end horological artistry with his work at Akrivia, blending classical techniques with fresh, modern perspectives. His Chronomètre Contemporain stands as a benchmark of refinement, driven by his relentless pursuit of perfection and the mentorship he sought from legends like F.P. Journe and Jean-Pierre Hagmann. This balance of reverence for traditional methods and an openness to new ideas defines his approach, while his youthful energy infuses a distinctive cultural shift into the atelier, blending the worlds of luxury and modernity.
Sylvain Pinaud, another standout in this cohort, is rapidly gaining attention for his inventive watchmaking, with pieces like the Origine dominating conversations among collectors and press alike. His approach reflects a deep commitment to technical mastery combined with a willingness to experiment, blending classical watchmaking with cutting-edge technology.
Meanwhile, Petermann Bedat exemplifies the collaborative ethos of the new generation, with an emphasis on hand-finishing and mechanical ingenuity. Their watches are a celebration of the traditional métiers d'art, while still embracing modern precision and execution.
What makes these young watchmakers so collectible is not just their technical brilliance or dedication to time-honored practices but their ability to operate with freedom, unbound by the constraints of large-scale commercial watch brands. Their small production numbers, high-quality finishing, and often bespoke or limited-edition releases make them highly sought-after by collectors.
In an era when the horological community is more connected than ever, these watchmakers have also leveraged social media to build relationships with collectors, accelerating their visibility and success in ways that were previously unimaginable.
The future of independent watchmaking has never looked more exciting or collectible.
– By Logan Baker
Sylvain Pinaud
Discreet yet highly talented, Sylvain Pinaud is one of the most lauded contemporary and independent watchmakers to come on the market in recent years. After having spent a large part of his childhood next to his father’s bench watching him restore timepieces, Pinaud decided to embrace the same profession. After his studies, he joined Franck Muller in the complications department, followed by a stint restoring antique clocks and watches and finally by joining THA (of Journe, Halter and Flageollet fame).
Pinaud always stated that he desired to set off on his own even when he was in watchmaking school and he finally took the plunge and worked relentlessly over a year on his first wristwatch, a unique monopusher chronograph for which he won, in 2019, the extremely prestigious Meilleur Ouvrier de France (France’s best craftsman) award. This award is open to different and varied crafts such as cooking, carpentry, embroidery and of course watchmaking. In 2022, Pinaud who was at the time relatively unheard of, launched his brand and his first “serially produced” wristwatch (considering that he makes a handful of watches a year is hardly “serial” production) the Origine, that hit a chord with collectors. Rapidly orders grew, waiting lists counted in years, culminating in Pinaud winning the Revelation category at the GPHG the same year.
Fully designed by Pinaud the movement features an incredibly architectural display with a large 13mm visible balance at the 6 o’clock position with offset hours/minutes and seconds indications. The movement on the back is also finely hand finished with superb contrast between the grainé plates and highly polished angles. The present Origine is the first to grace the auction market (other than a unique piece offered at OnlyWatch charity auction in 2024). Even if the Origin is Pinaud’s first timepiece it displays dexterity, maturity and the soul of one of the most exciting and promising young watchmakers to have appeared in recent years.
Petermann Bedat
Gaël Petermann and Florian Bédat are one of the most creative, young and inventive duo in contemporary watchmaking. A long time friendship before being a partnership, the two met at watchmaking school in Geneva in 2007, went on to work together and hone their skills at A. Lange & Söhne, and eventually they opened their workshop on the outskirts of Lausanne.
Deadbeat seconds reference 1967 is their first creation. Launched in 2018, the timepiece features an incredibly inventive design, merging tradition with modernity. The center of the dial is a frosted disc, a finish reprised on the outer minute track - featuring a five-minute chemin-de-fer minute divisions, a scale typical of mid-century watchmaking. Between the central disc and outer track, the top plate acts as dial providing contrast to the numerals painted to the underside of the crystal. The semi-skeletonized construction features a main opening which allows the beholder to enjoy the gearwork of the winding crown stem, and smaller round apertures showcasing screws and jewels.
The final result of this dial architecture is extremely unusual, blending historical details with modern aesthetics in a surprisingly powerful, but at the same time very elegant, package. The movement side of the timepiece is as fascinating as the dial side, featuring the highest level of decoration: coats de Geneva to the bridges, hand-polished chamfers, perlage to the mainplate, hand-polishing and hand-black polishing to the bevels of the steel parts and so on. It truly is and ode to traditional watchmaking techniques and finishing.
Production of Petermann-Bédat timepieces is extremely limited given the ridiculous level of perfectionism they demand from themselves, and unsurprising their waiting list is daunting. Thus, this lot would seem the perfect occasion to skip the wait and acquire immediately one of these supreme timepieces, but the present watch is so much more than that. As unmistakably declared on its dial, this is a 1/1 piece unique example, and what makes it unique is as subtle as it is appealing: out of the three 1967 specimen in steel ever made, this is the only one with luminous hands. Any connoisseur knows the intellectual pleasure that derives from having a sublime horological creation fitted into a stainless steel case - one of the most mundane materials. This contrast is nearly blasphemous: high watchmaking should be fit into precious metals cases, according to logic. Thus, high-end complicated watches in steel are as rare as they come, usually made in restricted limited editions (as in this three-pieces instance) or even as piece uniques, and they are considered the ultimate catnip for even the most seasoned of collectors. The presence of the unique luminous hands is the proverbial cherry on top of this outstanding horological masterpiece.
Ferdinand Berthoud
Ferdinand Berthoud is undeniably one of the greatest names in the history watchmaking. Based in Paris, he was named Horologist-Mechanic to the French navy by King Louis XV. In 2015, the Ferdinand Berthoud brand was re-established and acquired by Chopard, spearheaded by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and his team with an aim to manifest the legacy of one of the greatest horologists in history.
Keeping with the chronometry focused, no corners cut philosophy of the brand, the Chronomètre FB 3SPC is the brand’s third model and draws its stylistic, technical and aesthetic inspiration from the No. 26 decimal watch, made in 1793 by Louis Berthoud.
The watch’s 18th century aesthetics are highlighted by the grené yellow gold plates and visible components, including the cylindrical balance-spring that can not only be admired dial side but also thanks to an opening on the case flank at 9 o’clock. A cylindrical balance spring, found in marine chronometers increases the watches accuracy rate but are also more challenging to produce. The FB3SPC may be the simplest watch in the Ferdinand Berthoud catalogue but the quality and attention to detail make it a proud member of the elite production of the brand.
Charles Frodsham
A Charles Frodsham Double Impulse Chronometer Escapement wristwatch is already a very rare timepiece but one with a silvered dial with Eastern Arabic numerals pushes the watch into the rarefied stratosphere of the ultra rare as it is to the best of our research one of 3 made as of date of publication of this catalogue, the present watch being the first one delivered.
While Charles Frodsham is a venerable maker of British chronometers whose pieces date back to 1834, it wasn’t until 2018 that the brand introduced a wristwatch – 16 years in the making - whose technical prowess took the horological world by storm.
With the Double Impulse Chronometer, Charles Frodsham has firmly stated the return of British watchmaking at the forefront. The goal with this first wristwatch was to present a chronometer escapement, originally invented by Abraham-Louis Breguet and later perfected by George Daniels and Derek Pratt...in pocket watches. The immense complexity of miniaturizing this escapement into a wristwatch took 16 painstaking years. Frodsham can boast being the first and only maker to have done it, with a bit of help from the great Derek Pratt himself.
This is the first wristwatch to use the Daniels Double Impulse Chronometer Escapement, which is completely symmetrical, highly detached, and oil free. The large free-sprung balance has a self-compensating balance spring with raised terminal curve, and a proprietary shock protection system with fixed jeweled bearings. Absolutely every component of this watch is made by Frodsham including the case and dial. The only elements from the outside are the crystals, the main and balance springs, the jewels (that are from the brand’s existing stock dating from the 1950s) and the strap, giving the term “in-house” a brand new meaning. The movement is not only a horological masterpiece but also a thing of beauty with beautifully finished components, train wheels in gold and all steel components mirror polished.
It is interesting to note that the serial number is quite long, this can be explained by the fact that the serial number is a continuation of the watch numbering sequence first started by John Arnold in 1761, and adopted by Charles Frodsham when he bought Arnold and Son in 1843.
Akrivia
It is extraordinary to think that a watchmaker in his early 30s is heading a brand that launched its first wristwatch just about a decade ago and has ever since garnered cult-like following, with waiting lists that are counted in years and some of the world’s greatest collectors as clients.
Rexhep Rexhepi is however far from an overnight sensation, having built his brand on hard work, talent and “blood sweat and tears”. At the age of 14, Rexhepi began his horological career with an apprenticeship at Patek Philippe and moving up as watchmaker, focusing on tourbillons. He later joined F.P. Journe and BNB before opening his own ateliers. He named his brand Akrivia, inspired by the Greek word for precision and immediately created a design language with his somewhat tonneau shaped watches with flamboyant dials. Rexhepi states that he wanted his first wristwatch to be a tourbillon, but his AK01 is not “just” a tourbillon but an incredibly ingenious single button chronograph tourbillon with a 100 hour power reserve!
The caliber is constructed in a way where not only the tourbillon but also the chronograph elements are visible dial side, including the chronograph’s column wheel that sits proudly at 12 o’clock. A gear placed at 4 o’clock engages directly with the tourbillon once the chronograph pusher is pushed. The 100 hour power reserve display is placed on the left hand of the dial.
The blue dial is absolutely gorgeous with engraved tone on tone numerals and silver elements providing a visually arresting effect. The movement side is as attractive as the dial side, perfectly symmetrical with gorgeous Geneva stripes, mirror polished elements and interior angles it is an ode to beauty and craftsmanship.
Fresh to the market and from the original owner, the present AK01 one of less than 20 ever made and is the first Akrivia model created - the first step to building this iconic brand. Please note that Akrivia has offered complementary servicing of the the present watch for the new owner of the timepiece.
You can learn more, place a bid, and view the entire Phillips Geneva Watch Auction: XX catalog right 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 reporting on every aspect of the watch business. 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
An In-Depth Collectors’ Guide To The Patek Philippe Chronograph Ref. 5070
Patek Philippe’s TV-Shaped Ref. 5020 Is A Genuine ‘90s Deep-Cut