“What if?” The only thing that stands between wanting a watch and owning a watch are those six letters and a punctuation mark. It’s a line easily crossed, particularly when you have made that special trip to your favourite watch dealer.
An event such as Geneva Watch Days is something else. You don’t see three watches; you see three hundred. You don’t stay for quarter of an hour; you stay for a day. Or two or three. The temptations are endless; the amount of money you have to spend isn’t. Gazing at six-figure monuments from Bulgari, De Bethune and Louis Moinet, you can either force yourself to stay cool (or run the risk of dropping an entire year’s salary) or wait for the end of the show and, no longer in the heat of the moment, consider what you could realistically put on your wrist.
Iconic Avenger
Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that we have CHF 5,000 to spend. It’s a small amount, or a huge amount, that’s not the point. It’s the price of a good Swiss-Made watch, and the latest Geneva Watch Days proved that there are plenty of excellent options within that range. At Breitling, for example, hidden among the 140th anniversary releases was the new Avenger series, which starts from EUR 4,600. It’s pure Breitling with its four rider tabs and all that history. With a blue dial and Cordura strap, who could resist.
300 metres beneath the waves
From high in the sky to under the sea, with Doxa. The independent brand, led by the unstoppable Jan Edöcs, revealed its first destro dive watch. Doxa has named it the SUB 300T Aristera, which is Greek for “left”. Left-handed dive watches are a rarity – only Officine Panerai occasionally releases one, but you have to be quick off the mark to beat the Paneristi. Doxa is making just 300 of the Aristera, with orange dial and the signature rice grain bracelet for EUR 2,490. What are you waiting for?
Forever Aikon
For sport-luxe, it has to be Maurice Lacroix. The eternal Aikon has propelled the brand to unforeseen, and well deserved, heights. The two new versions extending the line-up are the first in titanium. There’s the at CHF 2,700 and the Aikon Automatic Chronograph 44mm at CHF 4,150. As well as wearing lighter on the wrist, thanks to titanium, these new additions introduce some unusual and punchy dial colours, with a steely grey but most of all vibrant purple and golden yellow. Not something you see every day!
For a few francs more...
“You can’t put a price on love,” so the saying goes. Not if you want to gift a Claude Meylan to the woman in your life. Believe me, the game is worth the candle. With many of the new releases at Geneva Watch Days billed as unisex, there were actually very few specifically for women. A little extra effort (CHF 6,2000) brings you Claude Meylan’s eclectic, but always carefully studied, vision in the form of the Ondine. The master of skeletonization has crafted a beautiful and original bracelet, composed of large circles which can be set with hardstone or mother-of-pearl discs. The bright and airy aesthetic is matched by an on-trend Seventies feel. Creative watchmaking at its best.
