Our first live auction of 2026, the PHILLIPS Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII, takes place on 9 & 10 May, at the Hotel President, at Quai Wilson 47, in central Geneva. The auction includes more than 200 of the world's finest watches – and though we are loath to boast, we truly think it's one of the best catalogues we've ever put together. We'll be highlighting a number of the most interesting lots and stories from the sale over the next month, including the Naissance d'Une Montre 1 example, featured below.
– By Logan Baker
In 2007, a small group of watchmakers began asking a difficult question.
If modern watchmaking continued to move toward automation, what would happen to the traditional skills that once defined the craft? Computer-aided design and CNC machining were transforming the industry. Efficiency improved. Consistency improved. Yet the old gestures, the slow and exacting methods that once passed from master to apprentice, risked disappearing.
Rather than simply lament the change, Robert Greubel, Stephen Forsey, Philippe Dufour, Vianney Halter, and Kari Voutilainen decided to act. Together, they created the Time Æon Foundation, an organization devoted to preserving traditional watchmaking knowledge. Their solution was bold in its simplicity. They would train a young watchmaker to build an entire watch by hand, using historically faithful tools and methods, and prove that the old ways still worked.
The project became known as Naissance d’une Montre, or “Birth of a Watch.”
The first chapter of that effort centered on Michel Boulanger, a watchmaking teacher at the Lycée Technique Diderot in Paris. Boulanger was not chosen because he was already a famous independent watchmaker. He was selected precisely because he stood between two worlds. As an educator, he would be able to pass on whatever knowledge he acquired to future generations of students.
Beginning in 2009, Boulanger embarked on what became a six-year apprenticeship under Philippe Dufour and the Greubel Forsey team. Each month, he traveled from France to La Chaux-de-Fonds to work alongside some of the most respected figures in contemporary watchmaking. There, he learned techniques that once formed the backbone of the craft: cutting wheels on manual lathes, shaping components from raw metal, polishing steel by hand, and finishing every bridge and screw without the aid of modern automation.
The goal was not to create a nostalgic replica of an antique watch. The objective was far more demanding. Boulanger would construct an entirely new wristwatch, but would do so using only the tools and methods available to 18th- and 19th-century watchmakers.
The result was Naissance d’une Montre 1, a handmade tourbillon wristwatch that stands today as one of the most intellectually ambitious horological projects of the modern era. Every component of the movement was produced on manual machines. Every surface was finished by hand. The project emphasized process above all else. It served as proof that the techniques practiced by watchmakers such as Abraham-Louis Breguet remain achievable in the 21st century.
The watch itself reflects that philosophy. Its architecture combines classical mechanics with a contemporary aesthetic. The dial is asymmetrical, with the time display offset to allow a clear view of the tourbillon mechanism beneath. The movement construction recalls the traditions of 19th-century watchmaking, while the finishing demonstrates an uncompromising commitment to handcraft. Hand-executed anglage, straight-grained steel components, and black-polished surfaces reveal the countless hours invested in each detail.
The first completed watch, known as the Montre École, was unveiled publicly in 2012 and later sold at auction in 2016 to finance the foundation’s work. Eleven additional pieces followed, bringing the total production of Naissance d’une Montre 1 to twelve watches.
Among those examples, the present watch occupies a singular place in the project's history.
Numbered 1 of 11, it is the first of the production pieces and the only example whose movement was entirely made and assembled by Michel Boulanger himself. While subsequent watches were assembled by the Greubel Forsey team, this example represents the closest link to the original educational experiment that defined the program.
It also possesses another distinction. At the request of its original owner, the watch was fitted with a fully handmade 18k white gold case. No other example of Naissance d’une Montre 1 shares this feature, further reinforcing its unique position within the series.
In many ways, the Naissance d’une Montre series occupies a curious place in modern watch culture. It lacks the typical markers of contemporary hype. There was no celebrity ambassador attached to the project. There were no social media campaigns built around it. Yet within the watchmaking community, it stands as one of the most meaningful collaborations of the past two decades.
The reason lies in what the project represents. Naissance d’une Montre is not simply about producing a beautiful mechanical watch. It is about preserving knowledge. The techniques used to create this watch once formed the foundation of horology. Over time, many of them faded as industrial production took hold. The Time Æon Foundation chose to document, practice, and transmit those skills before they vanished entirely.
The success of the first project set the stage for future chapters. Naissance d’une Montre 2 followed years later with Cyrano Devanthey and Dominique Buser of Oscillon under the guidance of Urwerk and Greubel Forsey, while Naissance d’une Montre 3 continued the educational mission with Ferdinand Berthoud.
Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo has played a role in bringing those later projects to collectors, offering the unique Naissance d’une Montre 2 in May 2023 (where it sold for CHF 406,400), and the first example of the Naissance d’une Montre 3 produced, in November 2025 (where it sold for CHF 1,270,000).
The reappearance of Naissance d’une Montre 1 in the upcoming Phillips Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII, therefore, carries special significance. It represents the beginning of a story that continues to influence contemporary watchmaking.
In a time when manufacturing increasingly relies on precision machines and digital processes, the Naissance d’une Montre series stands as a reminder that the human hand remains at the heart of watchmaking.
You can learn more, place a bid, and view the entire Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII catalogue 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 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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