Watches and Wonders benefited this year from an expanded line up of brands, with Richemont and LVMH marques presenting side-by-side with Japanese giants Grand Seiko and Citizen Watch Company-owned Alpina and Frederique Constant.
Larger independents returned for a second year including Oris and Chopard; informal stablemates Bell & Ross and Chanel were side-by-side; and giants Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Tudor nestled around the same quadrant of the show.
Arguably the most innovative part of the exhibition was the Carre des Horlogeres, a square of artisan independents where the likes of Czapek, Cyrus and Gronefeld were found.
As part of our ongoing A to Z of the show, written before the doors opened with pieces that were shared with WatchPro under embargo, and updated since, we present brand from Ferdinand Berthoud through to Hysek.
Ferdinand Berthoud
Reviving the name of one of history’s greatest horologists brings with it a heavy responsibility, but since Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele relaunched Ferdinand Berthoud in 2015, there has been hit after sell-out hit.
Creating the most beautiful high-end, limited-edition timepieces that pay homage to Berthoud’s legacy, the brand’s watches are all about intricate design, precision movements and use of rare and precious materials — for example the FB 2RSM.2-1, which won the Mechanical Exception award at the 2022 GPHG, and the FB 2RE that won the GPHG Chronometry Prize in 2020.
The star of this year’s show was the FB 2T.2, one of the three versions offered by the maison, made in an 18-carat rose gold with a black satin-brushed dial.
Frederique Constant
Celebrating 35 years since its founding this year, Frederique Constant has already marked its rapid rise to global success with two new Highlife Worldtimer Manufacture watches.
Now, to commemorate the brand’s first appearance at Watches and Wonders, it is introducing a Classics Tourbillon Manufacture. Developed and hand-assembled in-house, the 39mm rose-gold watch will be made in just 150 examples.
The large tourbillon sits at 6 o’clock, and the FC-980 calibre can be seen through the exhibition caseback.
Grand Seiko
This is a big year for Grand Seiko in London and New York with a new flagship having just opened on Bond Street and a ribbon-cutting planned on an even larger space in Manhattan this autumn.
On the novelties front, the Japanese watchmaker got a taste for launching products throughout the year, and 2023 was underway well before Watches and Wonders with two Caliber 9S limited editions with silver (launched in February) or sky blue (in April) dials to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 9S movement.
This was followed with the Yuki Gesho Hi-Beat GMT and a dark blue Spring Drive 3-hander inspired by the moon on Lake Suwa near its Shinshu watch studio in Japan.
The star of the show, however, was the Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Collection Tentagraph SLGC001, the company’s first mechanical chronograph.
Grönefeld
Beyond the fanfare and extravagant stands of the world’s biggest watch brands, one of the best things about Watches and Wonders is the Carré des Horlogers, where we get to see the astounding creations of some of the world’s greatest modern independent watchmakers.
Among the most exciting are the timepieces by Grönefeld — the luxury watch brand founded by the Dutch brothers Bart and Tim Grönefeld in 2008.
Past years have given us the One Hertz with deadbeat seconds, the mesmerising Parallax Tourbillon and the 1941 Grönograaf Tantalum.
This year, the key piece was the company’s first sports utility watch: the 1969 DeltaWorks.
Hautlence
Founded in 2004 by Guillaume Tetu and Jean Plazenet, Hautlence was launched with a mission to create unique and innovative watches.
Known for its avant-garde designs, the company specialises in jumping hour displays and, in addition to its core line of watches, Hautlence is known for its limited-edition pieces and collaborations.
A collectors’ favourite, a recent launch was the intriguing Vagabonde Series 4, but the highlight for Watches and Wonders was on the Linear Series 2, an all-black piece with a new movement driving a linear display with hours in a column on the left and a central minutes hand.
Hermès
H08 watches have been the bestselling men’s (or unisex) timepieces of the Hermès range since their introduction in 2021, and the collection is being upgraded this season with new combinations of materials and colours.
They retain the key architecture and design signatures of a circular dial in a rounded square case made from a block of lightweight, robust aluminised glass fibre, and slate powder.
A black ceramic bezel and crown top the silvery composite housing and anthracite dial. Accents of yellow, green, blue, or orange on the watch-glass seal, minutes track, seconds hand and strap add a welcome pop of colour to this sporty and chic timepiece.
Hublot
Hublot kicked off the year presenting a family of retro watches with the look of its very first Classic Fusion, made in 1980, in yellow gold and black rubber.
Even more eye-catching is a fluorescent yellow version of the Big Bang Tourbillon in SAXEM, a version of sapphire made with aluminium oxide and rare earth minerals, which make it appear to glow.
Together, the Classic Fusions and popping Big Bangs deliver Hublot’s strategy of grabbing attention for highly complex limited editions while building the brand on the shoulders of the more attainable Classic Fusion line, which customers gobble up from multibrand retail partners.
Among the oversized arm ornaments like diamond studded Square Bang Unico watches, one of the surprises at Watches and Wonders was a collaboration piece with the angular artist Richard Orlinski. The long term partnership has created some eye-popping pieces, but the Hublot Classic Fusion Orlinski Bracelet in titanium was a surprisingly commercial piece that could become a repeatable design for the future.
Hysek
It is ten years since Hysek introduced its first tourbillon watch, the Kilada X-Ray, which set the fledgling independent on a path to create complex, often skeletonised three-dimensional watches.
The watchmaker’s timepieces also have a signature design detail on their dials by focusing on the hours 1, 5, 7 and 11.
Hysek continually updates its Kilada and Furtif families but the most unforgettable piece on show in Geneva was an extension of its IO line with a barely there dial giving full credit to its innovative movement.
