[Note: Today’s audio edition for paid subscribers is different from the newsletter below. It’s a travelogue of my 8 days in Geneva: Some auction talk, manufacture visits, and sights & sounds. Listen above or on Spotify / Apple. The newsletter below is a guide to Geneva focused on watches. But not only!]
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 in April—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.
First Things First
If you’re visiting Geneva for the watches, I recommend visiting during one of the major “watch weeks” every year: Auctions in May or November (and GPHG), Geneva Watch Days in August, or perhaps Watches & Wonders in April. I prefer auctions or Geneva Watch Days to Watches & Wonders, which are more laid back and open to everyone—auctions for vintage, Geneva Watch Days for modern and independents. But I’ve heard W&W plans to do more to engage the public in 2026, a pattern that has continued since its first public days in 2022. It’s fun to visit during Watches & Wonders for the parties and because everyone is there, but don’t expect to see any watches at the Palexpo.
While this Guide is focused on watches, you’ll also find some food, drinks, and other sites, as well as some friendly advice on how to eat fondue. I’ve also saved it all as a list on Google Maps:
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