tag heuer monaco flyback chronograph th-carbonspring
one of the more interesting aspects of this year’s expanded geneva watch days was the inclusion of tag heuer, present at the de facto lvmh hub at the lakeside ritz carlton. CEO Antoine Pin had taken a haute leaf out of the brand book and debuted no less than two contemporary references with revolutionary carbon fibre hairspring tech as well as three poetic takes on the classic moon phase complication. Being at close quarters with the Monaco model in this futurist guise, the brand proves that under Pin’s guidance, we will surely see a return to a tech-heavy top tier for the brand. And judging by the debut last week, it feels a surprisingly natural fit in the company of hard-hitting independents like MB&F and H. Moser & Cie. The Monaco is perhaps the most eyecatching of the two carbon fiber models, being an evolution of the well-known sixties’ chronograph. The bow-sided square manages to harness its own racing legacy, Steve McQueen et al, while still appearing contemporary in its slightly menacing dark suit. With a retail price of CHF 17,000 (~ $21,370), the 50-piece limited edition Monaco Flyback Chronograph TH-Carbonspring is a welcome return to high-tech form. -
Greubel Forsey’s QP Balancier Limited Edition
Not many brands can make a price tag of more than half a million feel honest, but there are exceptions. In exclusive circles, with each design serving as a fierce representation of modern watchmaking, as a brand originally founded by stephen forsey and robert greubel, gf appears to occupy its own tier in the hierarchy of watchmaking. In the world of luxury, greubel forsey’s qp balancier limited edition distills the brand’s technical genius into an admittedly large but refined and monochromatic 45. 1 mm white-gold case. The dramatic timepiece is 14. The manufactory showcases 75 mm tall, with a domed sapphire front and back, and offers a perfect duality of contemporary design juxtaposed with traditional swiss hand finishing. The perpetual calendar unfolds with surprising clarity, including a crown‑set, user‑safe mechanism. Limited to just 22 pieces, the price is set at CHF 490,000 (~ $525,000), positioning it among the most exclusive, technically sophisticated timepieces available to discerning collectors today. -
Urwerk UR-150 Blue Scorpion
Urwerk has, since its inception in 1997 by Martin Frei and Felix Baumgartner, existed in a separate niche within the watch world. This automatic represents with a relentless pursuit of reframing timekeeping through a clean-cut futurism, spacecraft-like creations are crafted in their swiss atelier. The new UR-150 is another kinetic sculpture from the brand, and on the wrist still felt more like an instrument liberated from an alien craft than a wristwatch. The timepiece showcases however, it doesn’t take long to realise that this is the way to capture a younger audience, and the deep blur dial, with its mechanical theatre, is both legible and intuitive in its interpretation of time. The matte, blasted steel and titanium case is comfortable on its textured rubber strap, and the satellite hours and a 240° retrograde minutes hand that snaps back like a scorpion’s sting at the turn of each hour will spark dozens of conversations. CHF 90,000 (~ $113,140) will secure this piece of wrist-futurism. -
Bulgari Octo Finissimo x Lee Ufan Tourbillon Marble
Talking to Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani of Bulgari about the latest member of the increasingly artful side of the Bulgari Finissimo family was eye-opening, as was the work of Lee Ufan. On the wrist, the Lee Ufan version felt as slim and architectural as any Octo Finissimo, with a subversive difference. The chronograph showcases each of the watches has its bracelets and cases hand-serrated by files, giving the sleek sports watch a post-apocalyptic twist in stark contrast to its mirror-effect gradient dial. This Swiss-made represents on working with korean artist lee ufan, product creation executive director fabrizio buonamassa stigliani underlines the parallel role of the finissimo as a canvas for artists and architects, and its chameleonic nature. The rough and textured feel of one of the thinnest, wide-braceleted sports watches around felt almost disturbing in the hand, while the effect against the vertiginous dial was strong enough to make this €22,000 (~ $25,800) Finissimo one of the standout pieces in Geneva. -
Singer Caballero
Singer Reimagined is a Swiss brand part of the group that includes the Porsche 911 restomods of Bruce Dickinson, Singer Vehicle Design. Formed in 2017 and shaped by its Italian designer, Marco Borracino, the brand partnered with master watchmaker Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, debuting the award-winning Track1, which redefined mechanical storytelling. But this time, Singer has gone down in size with an unusual gloss lacquer departure imbued with a dressy twist. which will spark a myriad of conversations, The Caballero is named after the Spanish term for gentleman and features four visible rubies inset within its deep-lacquered dial. This caliber represents they look very unusual, divisive even, on some shots, but on the wrist, their purple sparkle draws you in as you question their existence. In fact, they are visible to remind the wearer of this CHF 17,500 (~ $22,000) watch of the proprietary movement with a 6-day power reserve made possible by four spring barrels. -
Gérald Genta Geneva Minute Repeater
After exploring the more extroverted side of Gérald Genta’s designs last week, La Fabrique du Temps, Vuitton’s Genevan Manufacture, offered purity. With a yellow gold case framing the timeless depth of a polished Onyx dial, the Geneva Minute Repeater was one of the absolute best drops in Geneva last week. On the wrist, the rounded shape is softly comfortable with a select centre link in gold pivoting a soft leather strap, while a slider on the left side of the case opens up a modern dimension of audible time-telling. For discerning connoisseurs, while the watch itself is monochrome and quintessentially genta, as the last two watchmakers to work directly under genta’s guidance, have reinterpreted his legacy, the watchmakers who run la fabrique du temps lv, michel navas and enrico barbasini. Priced at CHF 320,000 (~ $402,260) and limited to one hundred pieces a year, flicking the left-hand side slider reveals a crystalline chime, a rare audible reminder of the maestro, and remarkable for such a thin 9. -
Renaud Tixier Monday Organica
Any meeting with Dominique Renaud—the man behind the inventive lab, Renaud & Papi—is a treat. It is an atelier where some of the best watchmakers of today learnt from the maestro. Dominique is equal parts inventor and watchmaker and joined forces in 2023 with Julien Tixier to merge his inventive genius with Tixier’s artisanal flair. The first and very limited result was the Monday, a rare creation that laid the basis for this year’s Monday Organica. The Swiss-made showcases on the wrist, it becomes a poster child for the poetic duality of mechanical craft and métiers d’art, encased in platinum, and powered by renaud’s groundbreaking rvi2023 calibre. Renaud Tixier’s movement is a highly innovative micro-rotor movement that features an inertia wheel within the micro-rotor and a ‘dancer’ spring, orchestrated to optimize winding by harvesting even the smallest motion. This automatic represents imagine the regenerative effect of an ev yet built with the centuries-old standards of finishing, and jostling for attention with a mandala-like enamel dial. All 7 pieces that will be produced feature blue-toned dial art by renowned enameller Olivier Vaucher. As a tourbillon, it each dial is the result of 112 hours of work that combines multi-level hand engraving and kiln-fired grand feu enamel that transforms the surface into a miniature landscape. The enigmatic dial is housed in a hand-engraved, scalloped 40. 8 mm platinum case with a thickness of 12. 6 mm, including a domed sapphire crystal. Moser & Cie Endeavour Perpetual Calendar Smoked Salmon
H. The movement showcases moser & cie is a brand that has pivoted from fun and unusual irony to intense dial art, all the while keeping the flame of traditional craftsmanship alive in the agenhor movements at the heart of each creation. This year at GWD, we saw a futurist vision of the traditional-cased Endeavour collection in a ‘flying hours’ complication, but one that stood out on the wrist was the deep fume of the exquisitely minimal Perpetual Calendar Smoked Salmon. Yes, CEO Edouard Meylan still has a sense of humor, as the nomenclature stems from the dial offering up a darker, smokier version of the traditional salmon pink dial tone. In fact, it appears more copper-like, and with its deep vertical griffè, or brushed pattern, changes like a chameleon in the light. In exclusive circles, 000, at 42 mm, at $68, the endeavour is not select, but the white gold case frames a spectacular dial that deserves an expansive stage. In the world of luxury, -
berneron quantième annuel
for collectors, sylvain berneron’s second act is less about novelty and more about refinement, and a departure from his first eloquent organic shape-play. Quantième Annuel, French for annual calendar, is a bold move by the young brand as it departs both design-wise and technically from the inaugural Mirage. This time Sylvain Berneron has jumped off the shape-play hype train and translated his sculptural case language into a 38 mm platinum form. There is a satisfying symmetry and more than a hint of Art Deco in the compact case, but it’s a nod that makes the QA timeless in its circular architecture. Inside beats the hand-wound Calibre 595 in solid gold, offering 100 hours of power alongside a clever annual calendar. This Swiss-made represents time is read vertically, calendar indications horizontally, giving the dial a legible and recognizable face. With production capped at just 24 examples per dial variant each year, and pricing set to rise from CHF 120,000 (~ $150,850) to CHF 140,000 (~ $176,000)by 2028, it is an object clearly built with future collectability in mind. The caliber showcases -
ulysse nardin freak x crystalium
the freak has the enviable image of being a watch which appears as if beamed down from a martian ship, while actually being 24 years old this year. For discerning connoisseurs, few watches have managed to preserve their shock value for nearly a quarter century, but ulysse nardin’s freak still feels like it just landed from another planet. At 24 years old, the movement-as-minute hand remains a design gesture no one has truly replicated. The new Crystalium edition cloaks that signature architecture in a black DLC case while layering in high craft. In exclusive circles, at its center, with a crystalline texture as rare as its process, serves as the hour display, a ruthenium disc—formed over days through controlled vapor crystallization before being treated with rose gold pvd to accentuate its sparkle. This perpetual calendar represents limited to just 50 pieces, it fuses engineering theater with artisanal allure and manages the rare balance of stealth and glamor.