Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo is thrilled to welcome you to The Geneva Sessions, Fall 2025, online auction, running from 12:00 PM CET, Thursday, 4 September, to 2:00 PM CET, Friday, 12 September. The sale features more than 80 different high-end luxury wristwatches, covering everything from A. Lange & Söhne and F.P. Journe to Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe, including a large selection of independent watchmaking
– By Logan Baker
Independent watchmaking has never been more diverse – or more exciting. Over the past few decades, a new generation of makers has challenged the boundaries of design, materials, and mechanics, while established names have continued to refine their craft in unexpected ways. From the radical rethink of Ressence’s rotating dials to the poetic restraint of Laurent Ferrier, these watches remind us that creativity in horology is alive and thriving well beyond the big houses.
The pieces gathered in the Phillips Geneva Sessions, Fall 2025, Online Auction span a wide spectrum: early landmarks from Daniel Roth and F.P. Journe, playful collaborations from Louis Erard with the likes of Vianney Halter and Stefan Kudoke, and bold experiments in sapphire cases and featherlight carbon fiber. Some are unique creations, others limited editions, but all reflect the individuality and vision that make independent watchmaking so compelling.
Lot 39: A Ressence Series One in Stainless Steel
Estimate: CHF 8,000 - 12,000
Ressence is one of those ideas that feels obvious in hindsight, but in 2010 it landed like a UFO. Industrial designer Benoît Mintiens looked at the wristwatch as an object to be rethought from the ground up. The result was a new way of showing time – fluid, intuitive, and unlike anything else. Three working prototypes sat quietly in the corner of the fair, yet they drew plenty of attention: Swiss-made watches from a Belgian newcomer that had no hands, no traditional dial, and no real precedent.
The first production came a year later with the Series Zero, a 50-piece run that set the tone. Then in 2012, Ressence followed up with the SeriesOne, capped at 150 examples. The watch here, SeriesOne Type 1002, is number 18 and features a matte grey titanium dial – pure Ressence minimalism, right from the start.
What made these early watches so radical? Instead of hands sweeping over a dial, the entire dial itself rotates, with four subdials orbiting in harmony to show hours, minutes, seconds, and AM/PM. It’s a display system called the ROCS (Ressence Orbital Convex System), and while it seems familiar today, back in 2010, it was jaw-dropping. One other early quirk: these first models still had a traditional crown on the case flank, a feature later dropped in favor of Ressence’s crownless casebacks. This example comes complete with its original manual and presentation box – a snapshot of Ressence’s bold first chapter.
Lot 5: A Circa 1990s Corum Minute Repeater in 18k Yellow Gold
Estimate: CHF 12,000 - 24,000
Corum has long dabbled in the high-wire acts of watchmaking – tourbillons, minute repeaters, and jeweled showpieces. At first glance, the watch here seems like a restrained take on that tradition: an elegant yellow-gold minute repeater with a semi-skeletonized guilloché dial, its lower half opened to reveal a glimpse of the mechanism beneath. But the real story is on the back. Flip the hinged caseback and you’re met with a beautifully finished movement signed, almost discreetly, “Renaud Papi Claret.”
Dominique Renaud and Giulio Papi founded their workshop in 1986, and in just a few years, it became the go-to skunkworks for complicated watchmaking, supplying movements and ideas to the likes of IWC, Richard Mille, and Audemars Piguet. From 1989 to 1994, they joined forces with Christophe Claret, the enfant terrible of chiming complications, in a brief but brilliant partnership known as Renaud Papi Claret. That period yielded some of the most ambitious and technically inventive movements of the era, most of them tucked away in watches that looked deceptively simple on the outside.
This Corum is one of those pieces. Number 11 in a small series, cased in yellow gold, it embodies a fascinating chapter in modern horology: an understated exterior housing a movement crafted by three of the most important independent watchmakers of the last half-century.
Lot 50: A 2025 Andersen Genève Jumping Hour 'Rising Sun' Limited Edition in Platinum
Estimate: CHF 20,000 - 40,000
Svend Andersen has long been known as the “watchmaker of the impossible.” While most of the Swiss industry was reeling from the Quartz Revolution, Andersen struck out on his own in 1980 with the goal of making one-of-a-kind mechanical watches for collectors who still believed in artistry and craft. Just five years later, he co-founded the AHCI (Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants), cementing his role as both a pioneer and a mentor in the independent watchmaking world.
Fast-forward to 2020, and Andersen unveiled what has since become one of his signature creations: the Jump Hour. It’s deceptively simple at first glance – hours displayed digitally through a window at 12 o’clock, minutes by a single hand at 6 o'clock – but the design leaves a broad expanse of dial as a canvas. On this “Rising Sun” edition, that space is filled with a bold guilloché motif engraved into a pink-gold plate, its warm tones playing beautifully against the cool sheen of the platinum case.
Created as a 50-piece limited edition for the Japanese market, this example is number 4. It’s in superb condition, complete with its full set of accessories, and even remains under warranty until April 2027. For collectors of independent watchmaking, it’s a chance to own a piece that speaks equally to Andersen’s pioneering past and his creative present.
Lot 16: A Circa 2024 SpaceOne Jump Hour 'Perpétuel Gallery' Limited Edition in Titanium
Estimate: CHF 1,000 - 2,000
SpaceOne is a watch that wears its influences on its sleeve. Inspired by the space-age optimism of the 1960s, it combines retro-futurist design with a distinctly modern independent spirit. The project is a collaboration between Paris-based watchmaker Théo Auffret – best known for his hand-built, classically styled pieces – and Guillaume Laidet, the entrepreneur behind several contemporary watch revivals. Their debut collection spans stainless steel, titanium, and forged carbon, each material giving the design a slightly different personality.
At its core is a jumping hour display developed by Auffret, a module built from nine custom parts and assembled in Switzerland. The complication sits atop a reliable SOPROD P024 automatic movement, with minutes tracked on a sapphire disc beneath a domed “cockpit” crystal. An exhibition caseback completes the package, underscoring the watch’s mix of utilitarian tech and playful design.
The example here is one of just 25 pieces produced for Perpétuel Gallery in Dubai. It’s cased in green brushed titanium and distinguished by its Hindu-Arabic orange numeral hour display – a vivid pop that adds character without overwhelming the clean design.
Lot 19: A 2012 F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Resonance RT 'Parking Meter' 40mm in Platinum
Estimate: CHF 120,000 - 240,000
When François-Paul Journe introduced the Chronomètre à Résonance in 2000, it felt like something out of another century. The watch drew on an obscure phenomenon: when two balance wheels beat at nearly identical frequencies, they naturally fall into resonance, stabilizing one another and improving chronometric performance. It was a concept hinted at in pocket watches of the 18th century, but no one had made it work in a modern wristwatch – until Journe. The result was a technical tour de force that has since become one of the brand’s defining creations.
The Résonance has gone through several generations since those first pieces. The inaugural series in 2001, the so-called “R” models, housed brass movements inside 38mm platinum or pink gold cases. In 2004, the “RN” series swapped in 18k pink gold calibers and expanded to 38mm and 40mm cases. Then in 2010, Journe marked the watch’s 10th anniversary with the third series, the “RT.” This was the first major redesign: the dial now featured a digital 24-hour display on the left, breaking the symmetry of the earlier versions and earning the affectionate nickname “Parking Meter” for its resemblance to the streetside device. It remains the only Résonance series to feature this quirky rotating disc.
The example offered here comes from that RT series and is preserved in excellent condition.
Lot 26: A Circa 2019 Speake-Marin Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon Légèreté
Estimate: CHF 35,000 - 70,000
Few watches live up to their name quite as literally as the Speake-Marin Légèreté. “Lightness” here takes form in a case made entirely of sapphire crystal – three painstakingly machined and polished components that leave no place to hide and no room for error. The result is a clear, sculptural shell that gives uninterrupted views of the movement from every angle. At 6 o’clock, a flying tourbillon set within Speake-Marin’s emblematic logo seems to hover in space, its one-minute rotation adding a quiet, mesmerizing rhythm.
But this watch doesn’t stop at transparency. Hidden inside the crystalline case is a Minute Repeater Carillon, triggered by a subtle slider on the left flank. It strikes the hours, quarters, and minutes on three hammers, producing a richer, more resonant sound than a traditional repeater. At the same time, a playful detail unfolds: the Roman numeral XII appears to disintegrate and then re-form, a touch of whimsy in a watch defined by mechanical virtuosity. Look closer and the craft reveals itself everywhere – mirror-polished steel on the tourbillon cage, finely sculpted bridges, perlage and engraving across the movement.
This unique piece holds a first in watchmaking: the world’s only Minute Repeater Carillon housed in a 100 percent sapphire-crystal case. Delivered with its presentation box, certificate, and an additional strap, it originally retailed for CHF 360,000.
Lot 67: A 2024 Artya Curvy Purity Tourbillon 'Emerald Green, Unique Piece'
Estimate: CHF 50,000 - 100,000
ArtyA has never been a brand to follow a well-trodden path. Founded in 2009 by industry maverick Yvan Arpa, it has built its reputation on “raw” creativity – watches that feel as much like artistic statements as mechanical ones. Over the past decade and a half, the independent Geneva-based house has carved out a space for itself with daring designs and serious technical chops.
The Curvy Purity Tourbillon “Emerald” is a perfect encapsulation of that ethos. A unique piece, it’s cased in a block of emerald-green sapphire – a material that demands more than 200 hours of milling and hand-polishing to achieve its flawless transparency and curves. Through it, the movement appears almost suspended, its sandblasted cast-iron bridges giving the watch an architectural presence that contrasts beautifully with the crystalline case.
At 12 o’clock, a skeletonized display sits between twin barrels that provide 72 hours of power. The bottom half of the dial is almost entirely dedicated to the star of the show: a massive 18mm flying tourbillon that dominates the stage with each slow revolution.
Offered in excellent condition and complete with its full set of accessories, this one-of-one creation is as much a piece of mechanical sculpture as it is a wristwatch.
Lot 56: A 2025 Behrens Ultra-Light 11G 'Purple Edition' for Blue Lake Watches
Estimate: CHF 4,000 - 8,000
Behrens has been steadily carving out its place in the independent scene since 2019, earning a GPHG nomination and a growing reputation for delivering avant-garde mechanics at a relatively approachable price point. The brand has become known for pushing design in bold, futuristic directions without losing sight of traditional watchmaking values.
The 11G is a showcase of that philosophy. Powered by Behrens’s in-house caliber BM02, it uses twin retrograde hands for the hours and minutes, complemented by a power reserve indicator and a free-sprung balance exposed at 6 o’clock. The result is a display that feels both technical and playful, with layers of depth to keep the eye engaged.
The case is another talking point. Crafted from what Behrens calls SPSCF (Spark Plasma Sintered Carbon Fibre), it tips the scales at just 11 grams – featherlight yet striking, with a modern matte finish. This particular example was produced exclusively for Blue Lake Watches as part of a 33-piece run. Number 2 in the series, it remains in near-unworn condition and comes with its complete set of accessories.
Lot 68: A 2020 Laurent Ferrier Galet Annual Calendar School Piece 'Geneva Edition'
Estimate: CHF 20,000 - 40,000
Laurent Ferrier is the kind of watchmaker who embodies the term in its purest sense. After more than three decades at Patek Philippe – culminating as Director of the Creation Department – he launched his own brand, where his pieces quickly earned a reputation for their refinement and quiet elegance. Vintage influence runs through much of his work, and this watch is no exception. The twin apertures, peripheral date track, sector-style layout, and two-tone finish all nod to 20th-century classics while still feeling distinctly modern in Ferrier’s hands.
The model is the Montre École Quantième Annuel, first introduced in 2018 as a tribute to the watches that most inspired Ferrier himself. Its round case with pronounced officer-style lugs recalls early wristwatches converted from pocket watches, giving it both a historical resonance and a distinctive presence on the wrist.
This particular example is even more special: a five-piece limited edition created with Geneva retailer Montres Prestige. Housed in a 40mm steel case and paired with an opaline salmon dial, it has all the hallmarks of Ferrier’s restrained design language but with a rare and collectible twist. Fresh to the market and offered by its original owner, it remains in excellent condition and comes with its complete accessories.
Lot 80: A Circa 2008 F.P. Journe Octa Lune in Platinum
Estimate: CHF 60,000 - 120,000
When François-Paul Journe introduced the Octa in 2001, it marked an important turning point. After the Tourbillon Souverain and Chronomètre à Résonance, this was his first self-winding caliber – engineered to deliver a generous 120-hour power reserve without sacrificing thinness or elegance. The debut came with the Octa Réserve de Marche, and by 2004 the collection had transitioned from brass to solid pink-gold movements. A year earlier, in 2003, the Octa Lune joined the family, adding a moon-phase display and eventually earning the GPHG Men's Watch prize.
The Octa Lune mirrors the layout of the Réserve de Marche but layers on a touch of poetry: a moon-phase at 7 o’clock positioned just beneath the long power reserve indicator. Available in platinum or 18k pink-gold cases with dials in either white or pink gold, it’s powered by the caliber 1300-2 – a self-winding movement in solid pink gold, complete with a bi-directional rotor, straight-line lever escapement, and four-arm balance.
The example here pairs a platinum case with a white-gold dial, a combination that feels both cool and quietly authoritative.
Lot 18: A Circa 2021 Garrick S4 in Stainless Steel with Orange Dial
Estimate: CHF 3,000 - 6,000
Garrick was founded with a straightforward mission: to build honest, beautifully finished watches in Britain. Working out of a small workshop in Norfolk, the brand produces no more than 50 pieces a year, focusing on handcraft and traditional methods over scale. With most components – dials, hands, and even movement parts – are made in-house, every Garrick feels personal, purposeful, and unmistakably British.
The S4 has been the brand’s most accessible model, though it never skimps on detail. Frosted and rhodium-plated dials, heat-blued hands, and a finely finished small-seconds sub-dial with Garrick’s own sunburst engraving are all part of the package. Beneath the steel case sits a hand-modified Swiss caliber, reworked with in-house bridges and fitted with a traditional screwed balance. Now discontinued, the S4 has become a bit of a cult favorite among collectors who appreciate its balance of craft and value.
The example offered here stands out with its burnt-orange guilloché dial, a striking backdrop that shows off Garrick’s handwork at its best. Accompanied by its presentation box, an additional rubber strap, and offered in excellent overall condition, it’s a chance to own a piece that captures the spirit of modern British independent watchmaking in its purest form.
Lot 20: A 2024 Louis Erard × Vianney Halter Le Régulateur
Estimate: CHF 3,000 - 6,000
For their second collaboration, Louis Erard and Vianney Halter have come together once again to create a watch that feels instantly familiar yet refreshingly different. Cased in brushed stainless steel, the design tips its hat to Halter’s landmark Antiqua while distilling his aesthetic into something more wearable and approachable. Copper-toned subdials sit against a matte silver backdrop in a regulator-style layout, blending Louis Erard’s traditional framework with Halter’s unmistakable design language.
The result is a modern reinterpretation of the regulator – quirky, architectural, and unmistakably Halter, yet offered at a fraction of the price of his handmade independents. For collectors, it represents a rare chance to experience the creative vision of one of contemporary watchmaking’s most original voices without the waitlist or six-figure price tag.
Produced in a limited run of 178 pieces and sold exclusively online, the model sold out quickly and has since become highly sought after. The example here, delivered in December 2024, is presented in like-new condition and complete with its full set of accessories – a collectible collaboration that captures both accessibility and artistry.
Lot 22: A 2025 Gröne by Grönefeld in Stainless Steel
Estimate: CHF 1,000 - 2,000
Launched at the end of 2024, Gröne is the latest venture from the Grönefeld brothers – an offshoot designed to offer a more accessible entry point into their world of independent Dutch watchmaking. While their eponymous Grönefeld pieces are known for six-figure complications, Gröne aims to distill that same spirit of craft and detail into something more attainable.
The Manueel One is the brand’s debut, and it carries clear echoes of its big brothers. The case and crown draw inspiration from the Remontoire 1941 and Principia, while the dial steals the show: a hammered salmon center framed by a crisp silver hour track, a combination that feels both traditional and fresh. Flip the watch over and the story gets even more personal—the caseback is engraved with an outline of Oldenzaal, the Grönefelds’ hometown, along with the Dutch proverb “Zoals het klokje thuis tikt, tikt het nergens” (“there’s no place like home”).
The example offered here is in unworn condition and comes complete with its full set of accessories.
Lot 77: A Circa 1990 Daniel Roth Perpetual Calendar Ref. C117 in 18k Yellow Gold
Estimate: CHF 20,000 - 40,000
In the early 1990s, Daniel Roth set out to design a perpetual calendar that would live inside his signature double-ellipse case. For the movement, he turned to his neighbor and friend Philippe Dufour. Together, the two watchmakers adapted the Lemania calibre 8810, with Dufour carefully reworking it to suit Roth’s unconventional case proportions. The result was the Perpetual Calendar ref. C117 – a landmark reference that blended mechanical ambition with Roth’s distinctive design language.
The example offered here, in 18k yellow gold, represents an early and rare iteration of the model. Its layout features twin apertures for the day and month, while the “semi-instantaneous” calendar mechanism reflects the pair’s original goal of achieving full instantaneity.
It's accompanied by the Certificate of Origin and presentation box, and is preserved in excellent condition.
Lot 17: A Circa 2017 MB&F Legacy Machine EVO Split Escapement in Titanium
Estimate: CHF 30,000 - 60,000
By 2012, Maximilian Büsser had already spent years challenging traditional watchmaking with his wild Horological Machines. But with the debut of the Legacy Machine, he showed he could play with classical codes, too – though always on his own terms. Round cases, domed crystals, and suspended balance wheels became the collection’s signatures, a fusion of old-world watchmaking ideals and MB&F’s futuristic vision.
The watch here, the Legacy Machine Split Escapement, arrived in 2017 as the fourth chapter in that story. Limited to just 33 pieces in titanium with a vivid teal dial, it pushed the Legacy Machine aesthetic further by literally splitting the escapement in half. The oversized 14mm balance wheel still floats above the dial, but its anchor and escape wheel are hidden 12mm below, connected by an unusually long 11.78mm balance staff. Conceived with Irish watchmaker Stephen McDonnell, the design is both mechanically audacious and beautifully executed, delivering 72 hours of power while keeping the theatrics front and center.
The teal dial adds another layer of intrigue. Created using PECVD (plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition), it shimmers with depth and texture, shifting tones with the light. It’s a striking backdrop for the lacquered white subdials and the hovering balance, perfectly capturing MB&F’s mix of tradition, innovation, and pure visual drama.
Lot 31: A Circa 2004 Daniel Roth Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon in Platinum
Estimate: CHF 30,000 - 60,000
By 2004, the Daniel Roth brand had already established itself as one of the most distinctive voices in modern watchmaking. That year, to celebrate the brand’s 15th anniversary, it unveiled the ref. 199.Y70 – an ambitious blend of a tourbillon and a perpetual calendar with retrograde date. At its core was the newly developed DR740 calibre, the first automatic movement from Roth to unite these two complications, underscoring the firm's reputation for technical daring wrapped in unmistakable design.
Limited to just 15 pieces, the anniversary edition carried subtle but meaningful nods to the milestone. The platinum case is engraved “XV YEARS” on the back, while the silver guilloché dial features three discreet “XV” engravings worked into the seconds sub-dial.
The example offered here is preserved in excellent condition and comes with its international guarantee and two presentation boxes.
Lot 42: A 2025 Louis Erard × Kudoke Le Régulateur
Estimate: CHF 2,000 - 4,000
Earlier this year, Louis Erard teamed up with independent watchmaker Stefan Kudoke for a fresh interpretation of the regulator dial. The collaboration yielded four variations – purple (78 pieces), forest green (100), mother-of-pearl (78), and the light blue version you see here, limited to 100. Each carried Kudoke’s unmistakable design elements, but in a more approachable package that reflects Louis Erard’s mission to bring independent watchmaking to a wider audience.
Cased in stainless steel at 42mm, the watch stays true to the regulator format with sub-dials for the hours at 12 and running seconds at 6 o'clock, while the minutes command center stage from the main hand. The arrangement nods to the precision clocks once used by watchmakers, but here it’s expressed with a contemporary twist.
The frosted dial finish, engraved textures, and heat-blued hands speak directly to Kudoke’s poetic style and dedication to traditional craft.
You can view the complete Phillips Geneva Sessions, Fall 2025, Online Auction catalogue 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 ten years covering the watch industry from every angle. He joined Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo in early 2023 as Senior Editorial Manager, after previous roles at Hodinkee and WatchTime. Originally from Texas, he spent a decade in New York and now calls Geneva home.
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