The Geneva Spring Week is now the highlight of the watchmaking year. Beyond the Watches & Wonders show itself, which brings together more than fifty brands, there are at least two hundred other brands that present their new products in different locations (I gave up counting them all). The difficulty lies in this geographical dispersion, which requires very good organization, fitness and a comfortable pair of sneakers in order not to miss the major watches that are unveiled. We come to regret the good old days of the boom years of Baselworld, where, apart from the SIHH brands, the entire industry met in the same place. Now, you have to run and juggle between means of transport to get there. But hey, Geneva is not such a big city and these are still manageable distances. Despite everything, there were 3 poles of interest outside of Watches & Wonders: the Beau-Rivage which asserts itself year after year as the “watchmaker” hotel of Geneva (it will be strange when it is under construction), the Time to Watches show and of course, the AHCI exhibition at the IceBergues. Unfortunately, I was not able to see everything, including even at the Academy which is a great regret. However, I think I was able to grasp the essential and I therefore offer you my selection of my 10 favorite watches seen outside of the Watches & Wonders show. The advantage of Watches & Wonders is to define, thanks to the influence of the organization on the exhibitors, a sort of homogeneity of quality. Outside of the show, the discoveries are much more heterogeneous, the worst can rub shoulders with the exceptional. In any case, I found the offer quite creative with some good surprises from a technical point of view. And what’s more, watches with attractive prices are part of the selection. Smaller players, and they would be wrong not to, benefit from a more favorable cost structure and more measured constraints compared to the big brands, to accommodate themselves in price segments abandoned by others.
So here is this selection, as always, in no particular order.
Behrens Kung Fu
Behrens exhibited at the Time to Watches show. This brand represents for me all the Chinese potential and it is high. It has creativity (it even goes in all directions sometimes), technical interest and the aesthetics are adapted to Western tastes because it avoids falling into the baroque and the demonstrative. The Kung Fu watch is almost wise compared to the rest of the collection but it is no less original thanks to the small details borrowed from the world of martial arts (for example, the representation of the power reserve). It is damn well done and very attractive. Bravo to the Behrens team.
De Bethune DB Kind of Grande Complication
What can we say except that Denis Flageollet has struck again? This masterful piece is a concentrate of know-how but it also prepares the future of De Bethune. It could be presented as the culmination of a trajectory but it will only be a step. The reversible double-sided case allows you to enjoy two dials with distinct universes and to harmoniously group the complications. The result is magnificent, both from a technical and aesthetic point of view. The thickness of the watch is not felt once worn and the beauty of the dials makes you forget all other considerations.
Kollokium Project 01
The Projekt 01 is the first series watch after the initial batch dedicated to the friends of the three founders of the brand. Very good fairies have perched on the cradle because the trio composed of Manuel Emch, Barth Nussbaumer and Amr Sindi has struck hard. I find this watch remarkable from an aesthetic point of view. It is sober and impactful, it is classic and contemporary, it is original and mastered, in short, the Projekt 01 is an absolute success. Powered by a Lajoux-Perret caliber with more than correct performance (68 hours of power reserve), it seduces thanks to its consistency and its impeccable execution. And since the price is reasonable (2,666 CHF excluding taxes), it is difficult not to resist. I did not resist, in fact.
Bovet Recital 28 Prowess 1
The Récital 28 Prowess 1 is typically the kind of watch that I shouldn’t logically like but that I end up greatly appreciating. In fact, the world time complication is my favorite and I like the simplicity of Patek Philippe’s approach to the subject. Bovet, on the other hand, offers us a “gas factory” interpretation, but when it’s Bovet who takes care of it, we already know that we’re dealing with a special watch. In fact, Bovet addresses the problem of desynchronized summer and winter time changes according to the time zones by offering an evolving city ring thanks to a clever system of 24 four-sided rollers. To complete it all, the manufacturer adds a tourbillon and a perpetual calendar. And finally, the magic happens and the complexity gives way to the wonder that the Récital 28 Prowess 1 provides.
Amida Digitrend
The cap watch regularly makes its comeback and this time, it is one of the “symbol” brands of this style materialized by a vertical digital display that rises from its ashes thanks to Clément Meynier and Matthieu Allègre. The challenge is to obtain a readable display and beyond the mechanics, a cap watch requires a reflection (no pun intended) on the mirror game. The basic caliber is a Soprod Newton which animates the display module. The prototype that I was able to observe was accomplished and the Amida team really worked very well to rediscover the spirit of the original model while taking advantage of the advantages of a modern production.
Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer 39mm
The Central Impulse Chronometer is now available in a 39mm case and that is excellent news. The watch gains in elegance (as well as maturity) and the beauty of the movement seems to me to be even better highlighted. But beware, it was not an easy task. Bernhard Lederer had to change the overall proportions of the movement, including its thickness, without compromising reliability… while adding a synchronization mechanism for the seconds hands. The Central Impulse Chronometer appears more accomplished and the spectacle offered by the movement is still as magical.
Genus GNS2
Simplification is good for Genus. By taking a cleaner, more straightforward approach to display with its latest GNS2 model, Genus manages to highlight the path of free elements both on the periphery and on the figure-8 layout. The result is a watch that is simpler to look at but retains all the unique features that make Genus unique.
Anton Suhanov Chronotope
I didn’t want to miss Anton Suhanov’s latest creation at the AHCI exhibition. Indeed, I find the Chronotope watch clever because it offers an original and playful display of the days of the week that focuses our attention on the dial. There is the display itself and the snail at its base that combined define the aesthetic identity of the piece. Anton Suhanov did not let himself be trapped in the trap of technology because there is also a reflection on the design as evidenced by the use of palettes in various places (including at the ends of the hands). An attractive watch that has a hint of originality.
Renaud Tixier Monday
Dominique Renaud and Julien Tixier are ambitious: they have given themselves a week to redefine mechanical watchmaking. More seriously, they will proceed in 7 stages, each watch embodying a specific technical development. The first achievement therefore bears the logical name of Monday and aims, among other things, to improve the efficiency of winding a micro-rotor. The idea is that the micro-rotor can restore all the energy it is capable of generating. To achieve this end, the Renaud Tixier team has defined an auxiliary mechanism that acts like a racket string: it stores the energy and restores it like a catapult. Of course, all this is accompanied by an optimization of the consumption of this energy. The movement is in any case impressive both from a technical point of view and that of its architecture, unique in its kind. The dial is however more sober, favoring the readability of the information.
HYT T1
The challenge for HYT is to restore confidence and demonstrate to its partners and customers that the brand can commit to the long term. In any case, I think that the new T1 collection is an excellent contributor to this ambition. The display now goes to the essentials and thus puts a more direct spotlight on the evolution of the peripheral fluid. There is also a message behind this collection. By gaining in simplicity, by putting the watchmaking dimension back in the foreground, HYT wants to demonstrate that it is focusing on its objectives. Everything is done to reassure, in any case the watches in the T1 collection pleased me a lot and can help HYT in its reconquest.
Bonus: Maghnam Mohareb
A little bonus to exceed the limit of 10 watches that I had set for myself. And then I did not see the Maghnam Mohareb in the context of a formal presentation but during a chance meeting in the lobby of my hotel. Maghnam is the personal brand of Sohaib Maghnam, a fan of both watchmaking and automobile mechanics. The Mohareb model offers a fluid, very contemporary and modular design since the owner of the watch can modify the caseband. The display is composed of retrograde hours and linear minutes. Everything is perfectly integrated from an aesthetic point of view. The basic caliber is a Sellita. I found this watch very successful, the fluidity of the design hits the mark. The price seemed reasonable to me in this context (6,500 euros) which proves that we can make very beautiful and very original watches with measured prices.
As always, I will have the opportunity to come back to some of these watches in more detail as well as those that I have not mentioned.
