The Top Brands at Geneva Watch Days 2024

With two major fairs of almost equal size and importance every year, spaced just five months apart, it feels like we’re never too far away from the next spate of releases. It’s fair to ask, therefore, if one can have too much of a good thing. However, rather than overwhelm the watch-curious public, brands seem to be settling into the groove, choosing one fair to release their showstoppers, and the other to consolidate whatever came before or preface what is soon to come.

While Geneva Watch Days, which will take place in Switzerland’s most dynamic city between August 29^th and September 2^nd , is still the smaller of the two (with Watches and Wonders remaining the most prestigious in the minds of many), it is, for most journalists, the high-point of the watch world calendar.

It is smaller and more manageable, less because of its relative size and more because of the area over which presenting brands are spread. A huge number of brands (more than fifty, usually) are showcasing their wares in the lakeside Beau Rivage Hotel, with several more just a stone’s throw away in the Hotel d’Angleterre. The furthest one would have to walk for an appointment might be Geneva’s Old Town — a pleasant 15-minute hop over one of the bridges to the charming cobbled streets that many of the industry’s most exciting artisans call home. It is a relaxed and joyous time to see old friends and study new watches. But aside from the conviviality of it all, which brands am I looking forward to seeing most? Below are my top five brands exhibiting at Geneva Watch Days 2024 in no particular order (but starting with the brand that made the watch I happen to be wearing while writing this article).

The Grenchen-based watchmaker has never attended Geneva Watch Days officially before, so this bow is one I’m most excited to see. An historic brand (founded in 1912), Fortis has had a potted but continuous history. In its early years, it was renowned for producing the world’s first commercially available automatic wristwatch thanks to a partnership with the now ubiquitous mechanism’s inventor, English horologist John Harwood.

A petition to rename the street upon which the Fortis workshop still stands in honour of the brand’s overseas collaborator met with success, meaning the next time you visit Jupp Philipp (the company’s owner, CEO, and — let’s be frank — saviour) and co., you’ll be stepping out onto John Harwood Straße, which adds to the historical import of this extremely relevant watchmaker.

When Jupp bought the brand in 2017 he inherited a neglected icon. He and his team have reshaped the collection into a tight and easy-to-understand range that was, last year, buoyed by the release of the reimagined and renamed Novonaut collection, designed for space travellers of all nations as they look towards Mars as humanity’s next port of call. Exciting things await and I for one am keen to see what’s coming next unveiled to the world.

Watchmaking’s second oldest brand was due for a redo. Under the experienced eye of former Ulysse Nardin top man Patrik Hoffmann, Favre Leuba, founded in 1737, promises great things. With a succinct and focused collection due to launch, this storied maker looks set to reestablish itself as a serious player in an accessible price bracket.

For fans of high-end watchmaking, there’s very little to dislike about Marco Borraccino’s output over the past seven years. He continues to wow audiences with his unique take on watch design, creating masterpieces that are horologically challenging but visually delightful. If you’ve only ever seen Singer Reimagined watches on-screen before, it’s worth travelling to get one on your wrist. The relatively new 1969 collection bursts into life on the wrist in a way that belies even the best pack shots.

The company headed by one of the industry’s most beloved executives Xavier de Roquemaurel had a mightily impressive Watches and Wonders, releasing a couple of deliciously commercial models in its revered Antarctique line. It heralded a barnstorming return to form that many were thrilled to see. Despite the warm reception for the Antarctique updates (especially the all-gold Mount Erebus models and a stunning green meteorite version in stainless steel), the main talking point was an entirely new model family christened the Promenade collection, with the Goutte d’Eau model stealing headlines thanks to its beautiful ripple effect dial.

The summer saw the announcement of a new CEO for HYT. Vahe Vartzbed steps in to steer a company that’s experienced more than its fair share of financial woes towards a brighter future. A soft relaunch of the brand’s aesthetics and a hard repositioning of the price point (with “entry-level” pieces now starting around 50k) makes for an enticing combo. Whether the hydromechanical horologists will see concrete results this time around is anyone’s guess, but I’d wager any fans of truly revolutionary watchmaking will be pulling for them to do just that.