Geneva Watch Days 2026 opened on Wednesday 2 September and runs until Sunday 6 September, with 71 brands showing nearly 400 new watches across the city. Picking a handful from such a crop is never simple, but the seven highlighted by Wallpaper make a useful map of the fair. They run from the Ming 57.05 Comet, priced from CHF 6,950 at launch, to the Daniel Roth Extra Plat Rose Gold Gilt, priced at CHF 55,000 at launch.
Between those two points sit a sporty steel Zenith, an ultra-thin travel watch from Bulgari, a jumping-hour watch from Bremont in a new smaller size, a skeletonised titanium piece from Mauron Musy and a rose-gold watch from Renaud Tixier made in runs of seven. Together they say a good deal about where watchmaking is heading: more modest sizes, small production runs and a strong showing from independent makers.
For Gulf readers, some of the fair’s names will soon be closer to home. Daniel Roth and Konstantin Chaykin, who is also taking part in Geneva, are among the makers listed for Mavericks of Time, the event Ahmed Seddiqi is due to hold in Abu Dhabi on 29 and 30 October.
The dress watch: Daniel Roth
The Daniel Roth Extra Plat Rose Gold Gilt is the most expensive of the seven. Extra plat is French for extra thin. Its shaped case measures 38.6 by 35.5mm and is made of 5N rose gold, a warm, reddish alloy. Inside is the hand-wound calibre DR002, assembled from 143 components, beating at 4Hz and running for 65 hours on a full wind. It is priced at CHF 55,000 at launch.
Daniel Roth is a revived name. LVMH brought it back in 2023 through La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, and the revival is already being recognised. A sister model, the Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton, is a finalist in the Essential category of this year’s Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, whose 84 finalists were named on 1 September.
Sport and travel: Zenith, Bulgari and Bremont
The Zenith Chronomaster Solo Sport is a 40mm steel watch with a ceramic bezel, priced at CHF 8,900 at launch. Its calibre 3620 beats at 5Hz, or 36,000 vibrations an hour, a high frequency that goes back to Zenith’s El Primero movement of 1969. In plain terms, a faster beat divides each second into finer steps.
Bulgari’s Octo Finissimo line is known for a long run of ultra-thin records, and its new Octo Finissimo Dual Time adds a second time zone, a practical feature for readers who divide their weeks between the Gulf and Europe or Asia. It is a small edition: 30 pieces in titanium and 10 in pink gold. The line is in the GPHG running too, with the Octo Finissimo 37 Satin-Polished Titanium a finalist in the Time Only category.
Bremont has added a new 35mm size to its Terra Nova Jumping Hour, alongside the existing 40.5mm, in steel and pink gold and powered by the calibre BC634. A jumping hour shows the hour as a numeral in a small window, which changes in a single jump as each new hour begins. Revolution also covered the launch.
The independents: Ming, Mauron Musy and Renaud Tixier
The most affordable of the seven is the Ming 57.05 Comet, limited to 200 pieces and priced from CHF 6,950 at launch. For a collector looking for a first watch from a young brand, it is the clearest way into this year’s fair.
The Mauron Musy MU05 nO-Ring Origin sits at the bolder end. Its 44mm case is made of grade-5 titanium, a hard-wearing titanium alloy, and it carries the skeletonised calibre MM01-SK, with much of the movement cut away so the wearer can see its workings. It is limited to 26 pieces, priced at CHF 34,000 at launch.
The rarest of the seven is the Renaud Tixier Monday Organica, offered in 5N rose gold with a Bordeaux colourway, in runs of seven pieces for each colour. Its price is available on request.
The fair’s own programme makes room for newcomers as well. A Young Brands Touch & Feel session is scheduled in the Collectors’ Lounge on Saturday 5 September, giving visitors the chance to handle watches from younger makers.
What the seven say
Seven watches cannot sum up a fair of nearly 400, but they can show its range. Four of the seven are limited editions, from 200 pieces of the Ming to seven of each colour of the Renaud Tixier. Small numbers are common at this level, and they reward collectors who move quickly.
Size is shifting too. A 35mm Bremont, a 38.6mm Daniel Roth and a 40mm Zenith all sit at the modest end of the scale, and Bremont’s decision to add a smaller size rather than a larger one is telling. And the price spread, from under CHF 7,000 to CHF 55,000, shows that an open fair in the city can serve first-time buyers and seasoned collectors in the same week.
Closer to home
The next date for Gulf collectors is Mavericks of Time at Space42 Arena in Abu Dhabi on 29 and 30 October, organised by Ahmed Seddiqi with Abu Dhabi Retail, where Daniel Roth and Konstantin Chaykin are among the 24 makers listed. A week later, on 7 November, the GPHG is due to name its winners in Geneva, and two of this week’s names, Daniel Roth and Bulgari, will be waiting to hear their results.
Sources: Wallpaper, The Hour Markers, The Hour Markers, WorldTempus, Revolution, Ahmed Seddiqi