Each year, the Geneva Watch Week highlights numerous players in the watchmaking world. Among them, independent houses compete in creativity to offer innovative timepieces.
In the world of luxury, major houses often tend to attract all the attention. During Geneva Watch Week, which coincides with the Watches and Wonders trade show, brands such as Patek Philippe, Rolex, Cartier and Chanel presented their latest timepieces.
But what makes the event interesting is the wide range of industry players it brings together. Watches & Wonders also gives prominence to independent manufacturers, eager to showcase their craftsmanship and their own sense of innovation and creativity, with prices ranging from a few hundred to several hundred thousand euros. Here’s a look back at the best of independent watchmakers.
De Bethune
The watchmaking house De Bethune combines cutting-edge technology with aesthetics in the DB28XS Purple Rain. This new model stands out with its distinctive purple hue, whereas blue is De Bethune’s signature color. To achieve the perfect purple, the house’s teams turned to thermal oxidation. This process involves heating the metal—titanium in the case of the DB28XS—to produce unique, vibrant colors. In addition to this characteristic purple, the timepiece stands out from previous De Bethune models with a more compact design. With a diameter of 39 mm, the DB28XS Purple Rain is a wearable piece that doesn’t compromise on innovation. This horological jewel is priced at around €92,300.
Urwerk
Since the brand’s launch in 1997, Urwerk has made a name for itself among enthusiasts of futuristic design. The manufacture constantly demonstrates ingenuity in developing extraordinary complications. Staying true to its essence, the Swiss house surprised once again by presenting the SpaceTime Blade, a “horological blade” composed of 1,446 components. Measuring 1.70 meters in height and weighing 20 kilograms of metal and glass, this spectacular clock is inspired by a gnomon, one of the earliest astronomical instruments. Mounted on a bronze base, the blade is calibrated to tell the time according to the Earth’s speed around the Sun. Produced in only 33 examples, the SpaceTime Blade is priced at €70,000.
Amida
In keeping with the Space Age trend, the Amida brand resurrects a creation straight from the 1970s. Definitively retro-futuristic, the Amida Digitrend completely reversed the codes of watchmaking upon its release in 1976, becoming one of the first non-electronic digital watches. With its design inspired by the dashboards of cars and planes of the time, it introduced a new way of reading the time. Nearly 50 years later, the Franco-Swiss duo Clément Meynier and Matthieu Allègre brings this extraordinary model back to the forefront. Named “Digitrend Take-Off Edition,” the watch retains its characteristic silhouette but features a mechanical automatic winding movement by Soprod, offering about 44 hours of power reserve. A final flourish: the leather and Alcantara strap maintains the color scheme of black and orange. The watch is available for pre-order at €3,500.
Gerald Charles
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Featured Photo: © Raymond Weil
