The 2024 Watches and Wonders Geneva fair is set to begin on April 9. In recent years it has become both a trade and consumer fair with the trade only potion running from April 9 till 12 and the fair open to the public April 13 to 15.
It is by far the largest watch fair in the world with 54 brands exhibiting. Almost all are from Switzerland but there is scattering of other exhibitors from Germany, France and Japan.
This first group of watches I’m presenting are from independent watch brands, Czapek & Cie, Angelus, Arnold & Son, Artya and Beauregard. These brands represent the diversity of the product offerings at the fair and will provide a taste of what’s to come.
Czapek & Cie Antarctique ‘Mount Erebus’
Named after an active volcano in Antarctica, the Mount Erebus (top photo) is the first timepiece in Czapek’s popular Antarctique collection that uses gold.
The 40.5mm case is available in 18K 5N rose gold or 18k 2N yellow gold. The case houses a PVD-treated “deep blue” dial with a lamé finish made for Czapek by Swiss dial manufacturer, Metalem, a long-time partner of Czapek. The dial is crafted using what the watch brand describes as “a special kind of comb” that creates a textured satin finish effect. The dial is completed with luminescent sword hands.
Inside, the watch is powered by the caliber SXH5 in-house automatic single-barrel movement with a 60-hour power reserve.
The watch is completed with a matching rose-gold or yellow gold integrated bracelet. It is also available with a rubber strap and matching rose or yellow gold deploying buckle.
The 2N yellow gold version is limited to 50 pieces and is offered online at Czapek.com.
Angelus Instrument de Vitesse 60 Seconds Flat
Angelus will be unveiling a vintage-inspired mono-pusher chronograph designed to measure short bursts of speed up to 60 seconds. With its three central hands, it looks like a basic watch but the tachymeter scale running around the outer edge of the dial reveals its chronometric function. The 39mm steel case houses an ivory-white or ebony-black dial in two limited series of 25 timepieces each.
The timepiece is powered by the A5000 chronograph hand wound mechanical movement with a 42-hour reserve. The movement features a palladium main plate with a circular grained finish and palladium bridges with a chamfered Côtes de Genève motif. The watch is completed with a calfskin strap in either a caramel or midnight-blue color.
Arnold & Son Longitude Titanium
Arnold & Son has created a nautical-themed COSC-certified chronometer sports watch with a 42.5mm titanium case and integrated titanium bracelet. The PVD-treated vertical satin-finished dial comes in “Kingsand” gold (referencing the beach in southern England), ocean blue or fern green. The dial has a power reserve indicator at 12 o’clock and a snailed seconds subdial at 6 o’clock.
The watch is powered by a COSC-certified A&S6302 automatic movement with an 88-hour power reserve. The movement features a palladium main plate with a circular grained finish; palladium bridges with a polished and chamfered “Rayons de la Gloire” motif; and a skeletonized, chamfered, engraved 22-carat red gold oscillating weight. The “Kingsand” gold dial is limited to 88 pieces. The other two colored dials are not limited.
Artya Purity Stairway to Heaven
It’s Artya’s 15th-year anniversary and its first time at Watches & Wonders. To celebrate it will unveil a fully skeletonized two-hand watch with a minimalistic design inside a 40mm case made of either stainless steel (with or without black PVD treatment); or white, black, green or blue ceramic.
The watch is powered by Swiss-made movement exclusively for ArtyA with a 72-hour power reserve. The mechanics of the movement are layered and fully visible in the watch dial. The movement features two barrels working side by side, in parallel, with a longer and thinner spring that the company says ensures to “a smooth, stable and linear energy flow,” a suspended escapement and hand-beveled arched bridges.
The watch is completed with a choice of a rubber, integrated or calfskin bracelet.
Beauregard Lili Bouton ‘Jardin D’hiver’
Beauregard is using 2024 Watches & Wonders to unveil a set of six gem-set women’s watches from its Lili Bouton collection. Its name is “Jardin D’hiver” (Winter Garden). It will be the first of an annual offering of six sets of gem-set timepieces by the Swiss watch brand, which specializes in highly crafted and artistic gem-set women’s timepieces.
The first offering includes two Lili Bouton pieces with dials crafted from rare fire opals and fanta opals from the Chiapas region in Mexico. The set is rounded out by four Lili Bouton pieces with dials crafted from Yellow Brazilian opal, Australian chrysoprase, Arizona topaz and Peruvian amethyst.
All the colored gems are invisibly set on the dial and housed in a 33mm 18k rose gold case, adorned with diamonds. The watches are completed with a colorful satin-finished strap and are powered by a Swiss quartz movement.