I arrived in Geneva on Friday morning. First stop, Phillips.
It’s busy. A temporary structure is built on top of the Hotel President Wilson’s pool deck for the auction preview, the hotel that’s also home to one of the world’s most expensive hotel suites (The Royal Penthouse Suite, $75k/night). Watches are only half of the preview, with glittering jewelry and earrings from Phillips’ Jewels auction dangling along the other half of the room.
I sat down at a table with a few European dealers and a woman who introduced herself as a personal shopper—mostly sourcing bags from Chanel and Hermès, according to her (and her Instagram)—but who said she wanted to get more into watches and jewelry.
I looked at a few of the highlights, watches that are as hypothetical to my life as an evening in the Royal Penthouse, but no less beautiful to hold. This Rolex 6062 Stelline was a standout, with a sharp case and the cool kind of oxidation, almost like the “Dark Star” (sold for CHF 2.3m, or 38 nights in the Penthouse):
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From there, I strolled the Quai along Lake Léman, where the Christmas market was being set up all weekend.
I grabbed a bitter flat white with Sébastien Chaulmontet, who runs Albishorn, and he showed me his new release, easily one of my favorite recent under-$5k releases. Sébastien’s day job is the head of innovation and marketing at Sellita, and it comes through in his own brand.
Albishorn’s tagline is “imaginary vintage,” and his contemporary take on a sector dial is his best design yet. It’s a multi-layer dial with an off-center seconds at 4 o’clock. Inside is an impressive COSC-certified manual movement. AND it’s 38x9.6mm and CHF 3,900 on bracelet (~$4,700).
The crown at 10 o’clock is goofy, but other than that, the Voisin is a winner. Sébastien told me Albishorn makes about 100 watches a year, assembled by two independent watchmakers.
I find Albishorn’s work more compelling than microbrands selling 10x the watches. The Voisin Aérosport sold all 99 pieces (produced over the course of 3 years) within a day of its release, so I suppose it’s only a matter of time.
Another theme that came up a couple of times this weekend: the difficulty of finding prototypers to develop projects. Generally, a new watch project goes through a few phases: design, prototype, then production. Prototypers are talented independent watchmakers who work out how to actually make what’s been designed on a computer in a process that’s more artisanal than the commercial production that will eventually follow.
With all the excitement around indies—we’ll get to auction results below—it’s more lucrative for talented watchmakers to start their own brand than it is to prototype for other watchmakers.
But Luc Monnet is one of those talented prototypers. Poke around his Instagram, and you’ll see work for Struthers, Simon Brette, or Breguet pocket watch restorations. He’s an expert at developing new techniques or finishes, then building machines that can consistently achieve those results. Check out the machine he made to polish Simon Brette’s famous concave screws (worth clicking through to see it in motion):
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE ESCAPEMENT
The watch event America’s been missing
Get 10% off tickets to The Escapement in Las Vegas, February 5–7
This February, the best of the watch world is coming to the United States. The Escapement will be in Las Vegas from February 5–7, 2027.
It’s a new show built for collectors, by collectors.
The Escapement will open on Friday with a VIP Night at Wynn Las Vegas, including cocktails and a charity auction with Phillips. On Saturday and Sunday, T-Mobile Arena will be filled with many of the world’s finest independent and heritage brands. Two stages will feature keynotes and panels, and there will be hands-on workshops and activations throughout the arena. Saturday night has a comedy act, and Sunday ends with the Rubis Awards and a Dreamhouse concert.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll go through the show in more detail, starting with who’s on the show floor. Get your tickets now:
Unpolished subscribers get 10% off any ticket, use code UNPOLISHEDESC2027 at checkout.
I (Tony) will be co-hosting a panel at The Escapement, and we’re also talking about some other fun ideas—I hope to see some of you there!
Hammer time
I started my Saturday morning at Phillips to get a proper look at some watches.
This is when I learned that the “lemon” Daytona from the Pucci Papaleo collection had been pulled. The lot listing was removed from the internet, but look at the photos I took from the catalog, and you can see why it raised some doubts for collectors:
Below the paywall: What I learned about AP’s certified-preowned program; how I’d improve Vacheron’s Concours d’Elegance; up-close with Journe, Lange, Pinaud, Patek Philippe; and the one GPHG winner I want.
