The Best Releases of Geneva Watch Days 2024
Geneva Watch Days doesn’t have a long history–the first event took place in 2020 with only six founding brands exhibiting. Rather quickly, it has become the de facto #2 luxury watch fair in the world, and the list of over 50 exhibitors for Geneva Watch Days 2024 reads like a who’s-who of non-Richemont-owned watch brands that (mostly) didn’t exhibit at Watches and Wonders. In this article we’ll give you a quick rundown of everything you need to know about Geneva Watch Days 2024.
When and Where?
Geneva Watch Days 2024 occurred from August 29 to September 2, 2024, primarily at the Rotonde du Mont-Blanc Pavilion in Geneva, Switzerland. Many participating brands also showcased their novelties in boutiques and venues throughout the city (all within a ten-minute walk of the pavilion). If you see the famous fountain known as “Le Jet d’Eau” then you’re not far.
The Geneva Watch Days 2024 “Glass Box” structure near the pavilion hosted things like symposiums and brunches. It’s all located right on the shore of Lac Leman (“Lake Geneva” to
English speakers). Free guided tours started there as well.
Was Geneva Watch Days 2024 Open to the Public?
Yes, Geneva Watch Days is open to the public. Only the first day was press-only. Unlike Watches and Wonders, there are no tickets to purchase; it’s a bit more relaxed and decentralized.
Highlights
Here are our favorite releases from GWD 2024.
H. Moser & Cie x Studio Underd0g: Fans of (relatively) affordable mechanical watches are likely familar with Studio Underd0g, known for making quirky watches that generally sell for about $1,000-$2,000 secondhand. H. Moser & Cie, on the other hand, makes watches that can easily cost six figures, and even the most basic used time-only Moser will cost around $15,000. So it’s interesting that these two brands have teamed up for what they’re calling “Project Passion,” culminating in two new passionfruit-themed watches limited to 100 pieces each: one affordable (Studio Underd0g 03 Series Passi0n Fruit), and one expensive (H. Moser Endeavour Perpetual Calendar Passion Fruit). Did you think this was a neat way to offer some Moser DNA at an affordable price to some of Studio Underd0g’s loyal customers? Guess again! These watches will only be available as a $65,000 pair.
Breitling’s first perpetual calendar chronographs. Caliber B19 is Breitling’s first perpetual calendar chronograph movement, and it’s powering three new gold watches that celebrate the brand’s 140th anniversary.
Daniel Roth Rebirth: Daniel Roth was a smoking hot watch brand in the 1990’s, and they continued to make some great watches after being bought out by Bulgari in 2000 (who has, in turn, since been acquired by LVMH). The Daniel Roth brand was on hiatus for almost a decade, but now they have help from La Fabrique du Temps, a high-end movement maker that’s also owned by LVMH. The reborn Daniel Roth brand produced 20 examples of a yellow gold tourbillon model earlier in 2024, and now they’ve unveiled a red gold version with a different “pinstripe” guilloche dial texture. Its list price is 155,000 CHF.
Jacob & Co: Jacob has been on fire lately, having recently released the Bugatti Tourbillon Watch. Although they’re known best for their high jewelry, they’ve now made several legitimate ultra-complicated haute horlogerie pieces, and their latest one is a new Oil Pump Watch featuring an oil derrick automaton. The pusher at 2 o’clock activates the mesmerizing motion of the oil pump, and the 44mm case size makes the 2024 Oil Pump Watch much more wearable than the 49.5mm original version.
Konstantin Chaykin: Best known for their unmistakable Joker watch with a clown-face dial layout, Konstantin Chaykin is not a brand we expected to come out with the thinnest watch in the world. But that’s what they did: the ultra-barebones Konstantin Chaykin ThinKing is now the thinnest mechanical watch in the world at 1.65mm thick, although it’s only a one-of-one prototype for now.
Bvlgari: Bulgari still owns the record for thinnest mechanical watch in the world if you only count production watches. Their releases have been quite strong ever since they released the Octo Finissimo in 2014. Bulgari watch prices start at Rolex-like levels but they also make some grand complications, and at Geneva Watch Days 2024 they released some of their grandest watches yet: Three new Bulgari chiming watches, including one with a million-dollar retail price. While chiming watches typically strike notes that sound “nice” together, Bulgari has begun experimenting with dissonant tritone harmonies for the striking of the quarter-hours. Wild.
MB&F: Although MB&F is known for making insanely complicated avant-garde wristwatches, they make some clocks too. The L’Epée 1839 X MB&F Albatross is an audacious striking-hours clock with propellers that move when the clock chimes (at the top of the hour, plus a brief chime at the half-hour). Only 40 will be made, divided among various colors, with a cost around $140,000.
Laurent Ferrier: Nothing groundbreaking or unexpected here, just the classy design and top-notch finishing Laurent Ferrier is known for. The new Laurent Ferrier Classic Auto Sandstone adds an appealing new color to the brand’s lineup.
De Bethune: This high-priced independent watchmaker is no stranger to exotic dials, but they’ve outdone themselves with the new DB28 XS Aérolite. Its dial has what the brand calls a “random guilloché pattern, harmoniously contrasted by the perfect geometric lines of the Muonionalusta meteorite.” Another nice job by De Bethune.
Geneva Watch Days 2024 Exhibitor List
52 watch brands exhibited at Geneva Watch Days 2024:
| Brand | Owner |
|---|---|
| Alpina | Citizen |
| Alto | Independent |
| Angelus | Citizen |
| Armin Strom | Independent |
| Arnold & Son | Citizen |
| Bausele | Independent |
| Beauregard | Independent |
| Behrens | Independent |
| Bianchet | Independent |
| Blancpain | Swatch Group |
| Breguet | Swatch Group |
| Breitling | Partners Group/CVC Capital Partners |
| Bvlgari | LVMH |
| Byrne | Independent |
| Konstantin Chaykin | Independent |
| Claude Meylan | Independent |
| Corum | Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group |
| Cvstos | Independent |
| Czapek & Cie | Independent |
| Daniel Roth | Bulgari (LVMH) |
| De Bethune | WatchBox |
| Doxa | Independent |
| Edox | Independent |
| Favre-Leuba | Titan Company |
| Fortis | Jupp Philipp |
| Frédérique Constant | Citizen |
| Genus | Independent |
| Girard-Perregaux | Sowind Group (Kering) |
| Glashütte Original | Swatch Group |
| Greubel Forsey | Independent |
| Hautlence | MELB Holding |
| HYT | Independent |
| Jacob & Co | Independent |
| Krayon | Independent |
| Laurent Ferrier | Independent |
| Lederer | Independent |
| L’Epée | Independent |
| Louis Erard | Independent |
| Massena LAB | Independent |
| Maurice Lacroix | DKSH |
| MB&F | Independent |
| Micromilspec | Independent |
| Ming | Independent |
| H. Moser & Cie. | MELB Holding |
| Oris | Independent |
| Perrelet | Festina Group |
| Raketa | Independent |
| Ressence | Independent |
| Singer Reimagined | Independent |
| Speake-Marin | Independent |
| Trilobe | Independent |
| Tutima Glashütte | Independent |
Geneva Watch Days 2024 Corporate Breakdown: No Richemont, Some Swatch and LVMH
The biggest watch fair in the world, Watches and Wonders, has deep ties to the Richemont Group (the conglomerate who owns IWC, Cartier, Panerai, Jaeger-LeCoultre and many more). So it’s unsurprising that none of those brands will be at Geneva Watch Days 2024. All of them (except JLC) are exhibiting at Watches and Wonders Shanghai 2024 instead. Conversely, no Swatch brands appear at Watches and Wonders.
Currently, the Swatch Group owns 17 major watch brands, and only three attended Geneva Watch Days 2024. They’re the group’s three most upscale brands (except arguably Harry Winston, which makes some very expensive gem-set watches): Breguet, Blancpain, and Glashütte Original. Aside from a new green Blancpain dial, none of them released new products at the show.
Also notable is that multiple brands showed up from the world’s largest luxury conglomerate, LVMH (Bulgari and Daniel Roth). LVMH brands like Hublot, TAG Heuer and Zenith already exhibited at both LVMH Watch Week 2024 and Watches and Wonders 2024, so it makes sense that they sat Geneva Watch Days out. All in all, about one-fourth of the brands at this year’s Geneva Watch Days also participated in Watches and Wonders.
The top luxury watch brand within the Swatch Group in terms of sales, Omega, hasn’t been participating in major conventions at all recently. They seem to prefer to operate on their own schedule, and several 2024 Omega watch releases have already come out.
Although brands like Breguet and Greubel Forsey didn’t make any major new releases, there is plenty to take in from Geneva Watch Days 2024.
Past Watch Events:
The Winning Watches of 2023 GPHG
Releases from Independent Watchmakers at Watches & Wonders 2024
The Most Trending Brands from Watches & Wonders 2023
Patek Philippe Fall 2023 Releases
$5 Million Hublot – Baselworld 2012’s Most Expensive Watch
Best of Geneva Watch Days 2023
