Geneva Watch Days - Ten Timepieces that Caught our Eye - Geneva Watch Days

Following a fun and frantic week getting together with watch brands during the Geneva Watch Days, we have been sorting through all the press material, photos, and videos to present to you. To get the ball rolling, here are 10 key pieces that immediately caught our eye.

Maurice Lacroix Aikon Urban Tribe

The whole WorldTempus team loved this piece by Maurice Lacroix that features engraving on the case and bracelet. How this piece came into being is a funny story as the brand came across an Aikon owner who had engraved his own watch. They loved it so much that they reached out to him to do more. The only issue was that hand-engraving 500 pieces would have taken him forever, so the brand had them laser-engraved (also keeping the cost down, which is important to Maurice Lacroix).

Aikon Urban Tribe © Maurice Lacroix

Reuge Enchanting Bird

Reuge was our first appointment of the show and to start the day off with musical automatons had us wondering if we hadn’t died and gone to heaven with their incredibly lifelike tweeting and twittering. We also got to chat with the watchmaker who puts all 250 components together to create the sound emitted by a tiny titanium and white gold bird whose beak and wings also move with the music.

Enchanting Bird © Reuge

Czapek Antarctique Rattrapante

Czapek unveiled a totally new movement for Geneva Watch Days in the form of a split-seconds chronograph, or rattrapante, as they say in French. What is interesting about this particular chronograph (made by Chronode’s Jean-François Mojon) is that it is displayed dial side up so that it can be admired through the sapphire crystal. The timepiece comes in the brand’s rather lovely Antarctique case and is paired with an integrated stainless steel bracelet.

Antarctique Rattrapante © Czapek

Louis Erard X Alain Silberstein Chrono Monopoussoir

We had seen these Louis Erard X Alain Silberstein pieces in photos, but were yet to see them in the metal until we sat down with the brand during the show. Unfortunately, we were light years too late to put in any orders as they have long sold out. I think I can safely say that there wasn’t a single member of the WorldTempus team who wasn’t having regrets about having missed the boat on these. Please make more!

Louis Erard X Alain Silberstein Chrono Monopoussoir © Louis Erard

Purnell Escape II Absolute Sapphire

We all have a sweet spot for Purnell at WorldTempus as our old colleague Joy Corthésy left us last year to be their creative director. Joy graciously gave us a personal presentation of the brand’s latest creations that had us oohing and aahing for the duration of the meeting. One of our favorites was this Purnell Escape II Absolute Sapphire with its transparent blue sapphire crystal case that almost takes the attention away from the spectacular tourbillons rotating within. I say almost as once your eyes clap onto them, there is no escaping the mesmerizing experience!

Dix garde-temps qui ont retenu notre attention

Escape II Absolute Sapphire Blue © Purnell

Breitling Top Time Classic Cars Capsule

Breitling unveiled three models that were inspired by cars from the 1960s. The top Time Chevrolet Corvette model comes with a red dial and black subdials based on the design of the Corvette C2 or “Sting Ray”. There is also a green dial version inspired by the first Ford Mustang, and a blue version based on the Shelby Cobra. You don’t need to own the car to own the watch, but something tells us that anyone driving one of these classic cars is definitely going to want the watch!

Top Time Chevrolet Corvette and Top Time Ford Mustang from Breitling © WorldTempus/Jordy Bellido

Girard-Perregaux Tourbillon sous Trois Ponts volants

Following on from the Girard-Perregaux Free Bridge timepiece released in 2020, this new Three Flying Bridges model is the final reference to join the manufacture’s Bridges Collection. This new version features all three bridges in 18-karat pink gold with the upper and lower surfaces coated in black PVD. The three bridges not only support the geartrain, barrel, and tourbillon, they also act as the mainplate. It is impossible to look at this movement and not be impressed.

Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges from Girard-Perregaux © WorldTempus/Jordy Bellido

Bulgari and Mickey Mouse

Bulgari released numerous pieces during the fair that we will be covering shortly, but perhaps the most surprising was the Mickey Mouse Gerald Genta piece that made us all smile. Gerald Genta had been making Mickey Mouse watches long before Bulgari acquired the brand, but it had been a while since any of us had seen one. Mickey is placed on a rhodium-plated sunray dial and points to the minutes with his left hand while the hours are displayed in a window at five o’clock.

Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur

Named after the small 19th century ships that were agile and fast, the Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur collection is reminiscent of marine chronometers from the past, while also presenting a design that is clean and contemporary. Seven new models join the collection with black, white, and blue dials. There is a tourbillon version, a Marine Torpilleur Panda, and a blue enamel chronograph to name just a few of the novelties presented. We definitely recommend checking them out.

Frederique Constant

Frederique Constant’s two new Highlife Automatic Skeleton limited editions present a new take on the skeletonized watch with a highly original cut-out of the Earth with the beating heart of the movement in the centre. What is interesting about this skeletonization is the smoothness of its lines, in comparison to the sharp edges of most open-worked movements. This roundness helps accentuate the curvature of the Earth. There are two versions of 888 pieces – one in steel with a blue dial and the other in steel with an anthracite grey titanium PVD coating.