Geneva Watch Days 2025 is now well and truly behind us, but what did we think were the standouts of the event? Read on, and find out!
Geneva Watch Days has quickly risen through the ranks to become a must-see event on the watch enthusiast’s calendar. Now in its sixth year, the excitement surrounding the festivities has never been greater. With a more relaxed approach to celebrating horology, Geneva Watch Days distinguishes itself through its uniquely intimate connection between brands and their guests.
This year sees 66 brands participating, offering the watch world a remarkable variety of new releases. From demonstrations of mechanical mastery to feats of artistic craftsmanship and bold creative directions, Geneva Watch Days continues to prove itself as a powerful stage for showcasing the many forms timekeeping can take.
As with last year, our team had been eagerly anticipating this prestigious week. Running from September 4 to September 7, Watch Advice gathered early insights into many of the releases and even had the chance to go hands-on with several. If you’d like to keep track of these events as they unfold, the best way is to follow our social channels or head to the Geneva Watch Days 2025 tab on our website, located under ‘Watch Fairs’. Go ahead, We’ll wait!
With that said, the Watch Advice team has taken time to reflect on the many timepieces revealed this year. After much deliberation, we’ve chosen our two favourites of the event — no small feat given our enthusiasm for all things horology. The selections also highlight the breadth of tastes within our team and the diversity of appeal that watchmaking offers. So, enough preamble; Join us as we dive into the timepieces that blew us away at Geneva Watch Days 2025!
Chamath’s Picks
Behrens x Vianney Halter KWH
Behrens’ first collaboration with Vianney Halter is the KWH, a piece that blends industrial inspiration with refined independent watchmaking. Its compact 35 x 41 mm case, only 10.9 mm thick, reinterprets the shape of antique electricity meters from Halter’s Sainte-Croix workshop into a finely finished wristwatch. The squared form retains an instrument-like character, but careful detailing and proportioning give it a modern, elegant feel rather than a heavy industrial look.
On the dial, Behrens x Vianney Halter KWH introduces a distinctive display system they call the “pixel snake” chain, a nod to vintage digital counters but executed with high-end mechanics. At its core is the new hand-wound Calibre BM06, co-developed by both houses, offering a 72-hour power reserve and a temperature-compensation system for consistent performance. Offered in 18k white gold with a nebula-purple dial or 18k rose gold with a rock-grey dial and twilight-orange strap, each limited to nine pieces, the KWH feels like a serious, tightly executed collaboration rather than a novelty.
Trilobe Trente-Deux
Created to mark the debut of @trilobewatches’ first manufacture calibre, the new Trente-Deux collection represents the next chapter in the brand’s evolution. It builds on the legacy of Trilobe’s early creations while introducing fresh technical milestones that set a new benchmark for the maison. At its heart is the X-Nihilo calibre, Trilobe’s first in-house movement, designed, developed, machined, decorated, and assembled entirely under one roof. Viewed through the sapphire caseback, the movement appears to float in space, while a mirror-polished inner case reflects it back to create striking depth and dimension, a reminder that this watch is conceived as a complete architectural object rather than just a dial-and-movement.
Technically refined yet artistically bold, the X-Nihilo delivers a 42-hour power reserve and showcases Trilobe’s pursuit of both performance and aesthetics. The 39.5 mm case is composed of seven individually finished elements that form a sculptural silhouette with crisp edges and soft transitions. Together with a bracelet that tapers elegantly along the wrist, the watch achieves a balance of geometry and comfort. Remaining true to Trilobe’s identity, the off-centre time display returns with dials in matte sunray grey or blue, reimagining the maison’s visual codes while staying unmistakably Trilobe. Even on a 16.5 cm wrist, the watch sits securely, the integrated bracelet hugging the wrist comfortably and making its sculptural form as wearable as it is distinctive.
Matt’s Picks
Greubel Forsey QP Balancier
Geubel Forsey never fails to amaze me, and never disappoints. I’ve said on numerous occasions that Gruebel Forsey is one of my grail watches – I don’t really mind which one as I’d be happy with any, but if I’m being specific, a Twin Balancier Convex would be nice! But this could have been replaced by the new Greubel Forsey QP Balancier. This is a special watch (with a special price tag too!), but even so, it doesn’t stop you from admiring the talented watchmakers at Greubel Forsey and what they can do when given free rein!
The QP Balancier is everything done right, and done the Greubel Forsey way. The level of finishing is second to almost none. The design is pure Gruebel Forsey, with an asymmetrical dial, a 30-degree balance wheel, and all in a white gold case. The kicker is, this watch can be controlled entirely by the crown with its push-button setting system between the time and calendar functions. The layout is also great as it’s easy to read the most needed functions daily, like the time, day, date and month, then the other functions are placed around the dial to see them much more easily. On top of this, Greubel Forsey’s “mechanical computer” means this watch will keep the time running in the background, even when the power reserve is depleted, so when you wind it back up, it will pick up the time and date functions where it left off. This piece is Greubel Forsey at its best.
L. Leroy Osmior Bal Du Temps
240 years ago, L.Leroy (pronounced Le-wa) was created, and this year, the brand is making a comeback thanks to Perrelet’s parent company now owning the brand. And, if you’re going to bring back a watch brand that is as old as L.Leroy, then you’d better make it good. So they did. The L.Leroy Osmior Bal Du Temps has a flying tourbillon with a minute repeater, and all housed in a 43mm x 13.8mm thick case made of either red gold, platinum or titanium.
These are very limited in production, thanks to the high complexity of the watches and features a minute repeater mechanism on two gongs, which is activated on demand via the slide at the 9 o’clock position. The titanium model sounds amazing in person, and loud too, which is rare for a minute repeater, as often many are quite soft unless placed on an acoustic resonance board to amplify it. This is loud in the hand, and most probably helped by the grade 5 titanium, which is an excellent sound resonating metal. L.Leroy has a rich history, and hopefully, will have just a richer future as well.
Sam’s Picks
Ferdinand Berthoud Naissance D’une Montre 3
Geneva Watch Days for me is about discovering the hidden gems of horology. When it comes to watchmaking, I’m all for seeing timepieces that push the boundaries of horology, but also doing so in a way that you can appreciate it aesthetically. If it wasn’t apparent already, I’m a huge sucker for skeletonised dials, where you can see straight from the dial the countless hours, dedication, engineering and craftsmanship spent on the movement. With most mechanical timepieces, that appreciation usually happens when you flip the watch over and peer through the caseback. I’ve said it before, but I wish more brands would endevour to create watches that essentially “flip” the case back view to the dial side, while the time indications sit on top.
Ferdinand Berthoud’s Naissance D’une Montre 3 is one such timepiece. The brand is renowned for creation exceptional watches, where they truly try to push the boundaries of mechanical watchmaking. The one regret I have about this year’s Geneva Watch Days was not being able to see this timepiece in person when I was over in Geneva. There’s so much to this timepiece that it’s hard to sum it up in a few sentences, but if I were to, it would be that represents a rare blend of old-world craft and modern innovation. The movement has been built entirely by hand because the brand wants to put the focus back on traditional craftsmanship, with every surface, every component showing an obssesive amount of detail. And the beautiful part of all of this? Its all available to see straight from the dial. The Ferdinand Berthoud’s Naissance D’une Montre 3 is a manifesto for the preservation of endangered skills and a reminder of how horology can still leave you in awe.
Speake Marin Purple Hour Tourbillon
This year’s Geneva Watch Days had so many incredible timepeices on show, and walking from one room to another at Beau Rivage felt like you were about to see another piece of horological creativity waiting to be discovered. I first saw the Speake Marin Purple Hour Tourbillon in detail when Mario wrote up the press release, but nothing would compare to seeing the watch in person. While this is not a new creation, the stunning purple colour was a new addition, one that I found I couldn’t take my eyes away from.
Speake Marin’s “booth” that was set up to showcase the Purple Hour Tourbillon was fortunately near a window. Now I’m not saying this because I loved the watch so much that I felt like jumping out the window and running off with it, but more so that there was a lot of natural light coming in. And this is what helped to make the Purple Hour Tourbillon really shine. The dial isn’t just one shade of purple, as the dial plate is a vivid, multi-textured purple PVD that features recessed shapes which come to life at certain angles under light. Then ofcourse we have the beautiful tourbillon accompanied by the barrel and micro winding-rotor, all showcased right there on the dial. It’s a layout which perfectly balances technical marvel with artistic colour, letting you watch the mechanics at work while the purple backdrop shifts in tone with every movement of your wrist. Speake Marin might not have unveiled a brand-new complication this year, but this vibrant Purple Hour Tourbillon proves how a bold dial treatment can completely transform a watch you thought you already knew!
Mario’s Picks
Berneron Quantième Annuel
Thanks to the magic of social media, I’d been following the adventures of the Berneron brand for a while. It’s part of my general enthusiasm for horology: I tend to latch onto whatever cool and interesting independent brand is out there because I’m always on the hunt for something different.
So when I heard about the Berneron family’s foray into the independent scene, you bet I already had my eyes on them. And how could I not? Their first release, the Mirage, was absolutely mind-blowing — especially as a fan of both asymmetric aesthetics and ambitious mechanical engineering. It was enough for me to mark it as one of my favourite watches of 2024.
When I learned they were preparing another release in the shadow of Geneva Watch Days, I was all over it the instant it dropped. But while the Berneron Quantième Annuel felt like the polar opposite of the Mirage line — trading asymmetry for minimalism and balance — it still struck me as highly ambitious and unmistakably theirs.
With this release, Berneron only strengthened its case as a rapidly rising independent haute horloger, showing its commitment to every facet of the endless arts and sciences that fuel this remarkable craft. To me, it also signalled that they have no intention of letting off the gas — and I’ve joyfully strapped myself in for the ride.
Czapek Antarctique Rattrapante R.U.R.
Again, it’s no surprise that my second pick comes from the independent side of the industry. While some may dismiss their sportier line as nothing more than a PRX on steroids, Czapek’s Antarctique collection serves as a wonderful and familiar base with which to express their unique creative vision.
Like many independents, this usually involves a near-obsessive attention to detail married with some of the most beautiful mechanics you’ll ever see. Trust me — if you Google “Czapek SXH5” and don’t immediately get wowed, we can’t be friends, and I’ll never buy you a Christmas present.
Hyperbole aside, it was starting to feel like the Czapek Antarctique roster didn’t have many new routes to explore, leaving some of us wondering how they might reinvigorate interest in the line. Enter the Antarctique Rattrapante R.U.R. — a stunning openworked dial infused with aesthetics straight out of science fiction.
And not the dull kind of sci-fi, either, but the best kinds: robots and aliens. Inspired by the 20th-century Czech play Rossumovi Univerzální Roboti (Rossum’s Universal Robots), the R.U.R. pays tribute to the first literary use of the word “robot” with a functional yet playful robotic head at 12 o’clock, accompanied by custom dial text inspired by the Yautja language from the film Predator. It’s a sporty, practical, and eye-catching piece of kit — one I couldn’t possibly say no to, if only the budget allowed. For now, I suppose I’ll just keep dreaming.