For Exhibition Only
An (often unsaid) word before Watches & Wonders. Also: Universal Genève and 'most watches are mid.'
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A few thoughts on the Universal Genève releases:
They don’t seem too thick, which is the biggest plague on modern watches (12.5mm for the Compax, 9.5mm for the Polerouter).1
Compax dimensions seem wearable (39.5 x 12.5mm). Daytona-like, which pretty much every other brand fails on. A solid mass-market chronograph.
Not offering the “Nina” on a bracelet is a miss—leaning a bit too hard into the Nina-Wore-It-On-A-Bund thing (see also Watches Are Too Literal). In reality, the list of people who can pull off a bund strap is: (1) Nina Rindt, (2) Paul Newman.
Compax price isn’t bad (Chf 17k on bracelet), but the Polerouter doesn’t make sense next to it (starting at Chf 14k).
I wish they had the Polerouter Date in 37mm—one of the few watches that’s better with a date window.
The three-quarter rotor calibers look nice enough, and distinguished from Breitling. Prices are approaching Chopard, but L.U.C watches have Geneva Seal and better finishing. I haven’t seen any external certifications or accuracy guarantees for these new UG calibers (did I miss?).
Can any brand resist stone dials?
Except for these short clips from Watch Advisor, I’ve only seen renders. I assume we’ll see the real stuff in Geneva next week. I know others have seen the collection, dating back to Dubai Watch Week, but heard UG was strict about taking photos. I would’ve figured out a way to make sure some media had live photos for launch day.
I think about this quote from tech reviewer MKBHD a lot:
“Most products are mid, which means they don’t get a review. If something is really good, that’s interesting. If something is really, really bad, that can also be interesting.”
Based on renders, that’s basically how I feel about these—mid. But computer renders rarely make me feel anything. Still, I’m looking forward to seeing them.
That transitions us to today’s main event—
A (usually) unspoken word before Watches & Wonders.
I think about this watch way too often:
In 2023, Hermès introduced an H08 Monopusher Chronograph at Watches & Wonders. It was kind of interesting, and the H08 is a good-enough sports watch, even if it is just Birkin bait for most Hermès clients.
I even wrote a hands-on for the Mothership. But here’s what we didn’t mention at the time:
That sample had a blocked caliber—that is, a non-functional, dummy movement.
So perhaps it shouldn’t have been surprising when two years later, I still hadn’t seen or heard anything more about that monopusher. Look around the internet, and you’ll see there’s nothing after that initial release.
Last June, I reached out to Hermès about the H08 Monopusher. Relax Tony, I was told, it’s coming out later this year. And in October, Hermès did release an H08 Monopusher, but it wasn’t quite like that first one: It’s yellow and has a larger 45mm case (not 41mm). [4/9 update: It’s now offered in orange, but that watch is also 45mm.]
I’ve seen a few of these yellow Monopushers hit the secondary, and it’s also listed on Hermès’ website ($13,300), so I guess it’s real this time.
Showing watches with dummy movements is somewhat common, especially at a trade show (that Polerouter above seems to have one). The first time I saw a Berneron Mirage, it had a paper movement, printed to look like the caliber. Some of the Cartier Tank a Guichet samples last year weren’t gold.2 Et cetera.
It’s fair enough: Why let all these media members get their grubby hands on a shiny new watch to make a Reel for their 2,000 followers? Still, it’s not ideal, even if a dummy watch can give the reviewer some sense of fit and finish.3
Exhibit of the Moment
I use this anecdote as a reminder: Watches & Wonders is a trade show. Brands have “exhibits.” It’s a chance for the watch industry to put its best foot forward. The most complications, the shiniest diamonds, the stoniest stone dials.
But so many of the watches we’ll see covered next week are just that: exhibits.
They aren’t made for you or me or really anyone. Extremely limited or complicated—which is to say expensive—more statements about what a brand can do than what it spends most of its time actually doing. A few, like that Hermès chronograph, might not even reach production. (Often, I get most excited about the ones that are for us, say last year’s Nomos Worldtimer or Lange 1815.)
This will be my fourth Watches & Wonders, and it feels like it’s drifting further away from the world we actually live in. Perhaps that’s more of a commentary about the world we live in than on the Watches and the Wonders. Luxury is meant to be an escape; still, there’s no escaping the fact that every discussion begins and ends with, as Jack Forster calls it, the “Unpleasant Matter of the Bill.”
Last year, I mentioned that I have complicated feelings about Watches & Wonders. Some of this come from seeing the show more like a shopping mall than a trade show. From thinking more in dollars and cents than gears and springs.
I’ve found it helpful to remember that these are often exhibits as much as they are products. Whether that’s a million-dollar perpetual calendar minute repeater, an impressive new flyback chronograph, or even just an Hermès Monopusher.
Then, the high prices, the fact that I can’t have it all, or really any of it, hurts a little bit less.
On Exhibit
At Watches & Wonders, brands try to dictate the narrative. They send us press releases about watches, shoehorn them into their heritage, explain why they matter.
But all they can do is try. We’re the ones who get to decide what sticks.
Collectors kept Universal Genève alive for all those years. Georges Kern, Partners Group, and their advisory board can go on all they want about Le Couturier de la Montre, but it’s up to us to call bullsh*t if UG, or any brand, is more marketing than substance.
It’s one reason I come back to the old stuff. Once all the Instagram posts are buried and the ad budgets are spent, the watches are what’s left. We’ve had time to sit with it, to see what lasts. Watches & Wonders is the beginning of that process, not the end.
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UNPOLISHED STORE
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They’re the best leather straps you can find—and they’re 100 bucks. Shop the Unpolished Matte Calfskin Strap in the Unpolished Store:
A few more links to get you prepared for Watches & Wonders
The Unpolished Guide to Geneva
Arrive in Geneva by train, and you’ll breeze past half a dozen HORLOGERIE shops as you walk down the hill towards Lake Geneva, all trying to sell you a Tissot, Mondaine, or a brand called Jacques du Manoir. One has Victorinox Swiss Army knives in the window, and cheap cuckoo clocks hung on a pegboard in the back.
Arrive by plane, and you’ll be smacked with glowing Richard Mille or Patek Philippe Twenty~4 ads. It’s where I finally caved and bought my first Airport Swatch—the MoonSwatch 1965—exactly 1,106 days after the original release.
Geneva is the epicenter of Swiss watchmaking. In the fairy-tale version, watchmakers spent winters working in mountain workshops before descending to Geneva each spring to show what they’d made.
And watches are everywhere. Public trolleybuses remind you that Tudor is “Born to Dare.” Rexhep Rexhepi has an impressive presence in the city’s historic Old Town. Geneva has experiences you can’t find anywhere else, which is what I’ve aimed to highlight in this Unpolished Guide to Geneva:
Full of practical recommendations like:
“Don’t get fondue on your first night in Geneva. If you’re coming from the States, you’ll already be jet-lagged, and you don’t need to add fondue-lag. Also, don’t drink cold water with fondue, it’ll make the cheese congeal in your stomach like a rock.”
“I once peed in the urinal next to F.P. Journe at this bar at 1:42 a.m. I was leaving, he was arriving. During busy weeks, more watch execs here than there is leopard print.”
I even made a map: 🇨🇭 Unpolished Guide to Geneva | Google Maps
WATCHES AND WONDERS 2025
Funny enough, I wrote in last year’s preview that “Thus far, I’ve avoided the airport MoonSwatch, but eventually it comes for us all—and I do like the new 1965.”
Perhaps it was fitting that I bought one on my way out of the Geneva Airport during one of my trips last year (above).
If you want to step into the wayback machine, here’s more from Watches & Wonders 2025:
THE ROUNDUP
He Got Rich Buying and Selling Luxury Watches. Was It a Ponzi Scheme? “You’ve paid that money? You’re crazy or what?” HYT co-founder Vincent Perriard, upon learning someone had paid $191,000 for an HYT worth ~$22,000. (NY Times)
Sotheby’s has an insane collection of Cartier watches this year. 300+ watches from one collector, they’ll be spread across New York, Hong Kong, and Geneva. It starts in Hong Kong this month. In addition to watches, there are all kinds of cool Cartier objects: photo frames, drum-shaped alarm clock, keyring tires, magnifying glass, bulldog clips, envelopes, clip watches, and more. It starts in this month’s Hong Kong sale.
Get in touch:
tony[at]unpolishedwatches.com
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My favorite: Like this post or leave a comment:
This is one of the key attributes that differentiates Rolex from Tudor, and if this is what sets UG apart from Breitling—smart.
With gold prices what they are, I don’t blame Cartier.
Maybe one benefit of the social-video takeover is that it’ll incentivize brands to provide real, running watches.
I really puzzled by UGs decision to launch so many new releases all at once rather than trickle them out over months. And they also did this in the W&W window with hundreds of other new releases. A missed opportunity to gain better focused collector attention in my opinion.
"in October, Hermès did release an H08 Monopusher, but it wasn’t quite like that first one: It’s yellow and has a larger 45mm case (not 41mm)." You are right it is larger, and I had been wondering what happened to it as well as I watched that W&W video from a few years ago on its introduction. But, right on cue I found one on the secondary market in November and scooped it up. Now it's my favorite watch and it sits next to 2 other HO8's along with other Hermes in my collection. It's beautiful. It's different and way underrated. Thanks for clearing up the Monopusher mystery!