This year was the first time I traveled to Watches and Wonders (W&W) in Geneva with more skepticism than anticipation. Much was written about the coming crisis in the watch industry, and the Morgan Stanley-Watch Charts, 1st Quarter 2025 Report highlighted that the secondary market price contraction continues (but at the lowest quarterly rate since 2nd Quarter 2022).

Given the glum news, I expected that manufacturers, brands, artistic makers, and independents to hold back in 2025. I was not expecting to see much spectacular horology this year.

However, I was wrong: Watches and Wonders 2025 featured great designs, complications, decorations, and new inventions. Rolex even unveiled their Dynapulse natural escapement in a wristwatch produced in high numbers: the new Land-Dweller

Below are my personal highlights from the fair, many of which I believe will retain their significance far beyond this year.

Patek Philippe Rare Handcrafts 2025 Desk Clock Reference 27000M-001

The Patek Philippe Rare Handcrafts collection just keeps getting better One of my favorites this year was the desk clock reference 27000M-001. It is inspired by the timepiece commissioned by James Ward Packard in 1923 (on display in the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva).

This perpetual calendar desk clock indicates the moon phases, week number, power reserve, day, month, and power reserve. Patek Philippe uses the caliber 86-135 PEND S IRM Q SE, a manually wound movement, for this super clock.

As part of the Rare Handcrafts collection, the clock case is decorated with American walnut veneer and green flinqué oven fired enamel with guilloché on 925 sterling silver and gold-plated silver appliques.

The historical timepiece made for James Ward Packard (1923) is part of the permanent exhibition in the Patek Philippe museum, Geneva, Switzerland. A third desk clock of this type was sold for 9.500.000 CHF at auction on November, 6, 2021.

For more information, please visit www.patek.com/en/collection/rare-handcrafts

A. Lange & Söhne 1815, 34 mm Case Size, the 75th A. Lange & Söhne Inhouse Caliber

Even though there were some extremely complicated, but also quite large watches from A. Lange & Söhne from Glashütte, Germany on show this year, the most wearable, beautiful and elegant watch for my taste was and is the wristwatch 1815 in a 34 mm case. I can’t imagine any other model from this manufacturer being more elegant, beautiful, refined and unobtrusive.

This small 1815 with the dark blue dial and red gold case was one of the most beautiful time only watches at the Palexpo 2025. Once again, A. Lange & Söhne has developed its own movement, the caliber L152.1, for this small and beautiful watch from the 1815 collection, which is the 75th movement from Lange.

For more information, please visit www.alange-soehne.com/us-en/timepieces/1815/1815/1815-in-750-pink-gold-220-037

Parmigiani Fleurier L’Armoriale Répétition Mystérieuse Minute Repeater

Every year, on 2nd of December, Parmigiani Fleurier presents an exceptionally precious example of an intricate and artistic watch decorated with the best possible handcrafts: engraving, guilloché, enameling. This time, a wristwatch, the L’Armoriale Répétition Mystérieuse Minute Repeater, was presented, of which a total of three pieces were produced.

The work of art is crafted by three golden hands master artisans: Yann von Kaenel for the guilloché, Eddy Jaquet for the engravings, and Vanessa Lecci for the enameling.

This extraordinary watch is made in three pieces with the enamel colors Dawn Rose (red), Midnight Fjord (blue) and Sage Green (green).

What an overload of talent and perfection. The best of the best. I can´t wait to see the 2025 edition due later in December.

Further reading: https://quillandpad.com/2024/12/03/new-release-parmigiani-larmoriale-repetition-mysterieuse-a-minute-repeater-striking-cathedral-gongs-no-dial-side-indications-and-packed-with-arts-and-crafts/

For more information, please visit www.parmigiani.com/en/the-house/expertise/pieces-of-exception/armoriale-repetition-mysterieuse/

Raul Pages RP2 White Agate

The pieces made by Raul Pages are perfect, the design is so well balanced, the movements of the (RP1 and) RP2 are so well constructed, either Pages uses a counter-balanced lever escapement (RP2) or a pivoted detent escapement (RP1) – they are beautiful and rare.

Even rarer is the dial of his new RP2 – it is made of agate stone in white – simply perfect and an execution, you do not see very often. Not to forget: Raul Pages was the inaugural winner of the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize 2023-2024.

Further reading: New Release: Raúl Pagès RP2 – White Agate follows Soberly Onyx. Independent Watchmaking at its Best!

For more information, please visit https://pageswatches.com/

Dann Phimphrachanh Prototype Wristwatch

You meet the nicest people and you find the most amazing creations at the AHCI in the L´Ice Bergues in the heart of Geneva. This year, I first saw the prototype watch from the watchmaker Dann Phimphrachanh from Yverdon.

This was the watch I least expected to see. I first became aware of the watch and Dann during a conversation in the L’ice Bergues AHCI exhibition, and since then it has been difficult to forget this unique prototype from this young watchmaker. It has a 39.5 mm stainless steel case and is 9.8 mm high.

The movement beats at a tradition 2.5 Hz/10,00 bph, and displays the hours, minutes and seconds jumping seconds “vive”, a type of deadbeat seconds). Parts of the movement are made of German silver and the surface is finished as corindon-blasted frosted plates.

The prototype of this watch is almost entirely handmade.

For more information, please visit www.instagram.com/dann.phimphrachanh/?hl=en

Kallinich Claeys Limited Edition Einser Hongkong Edition

”The Swiss make the world´s best watches. So do the Germans” This was once A. Lange & Söhne’s slogan a long time ago – and in my opinion it is still true today. And the coolest watches are also made by the coolest guys.

With every new independent small workshop that emerges in the Glashütte region, I see fabulous mechanical watches being crafted. In my view, this is especially true for the watch “Einser” by Johannes Kallinich and Thibault Claeys from Glashütte. Both worked together for some time at A. Lange & Söhne. I particularly like the very calm and elegantly designed dial of the watch with center seconds, the model “Einser”, now in the Hong Kong edition.

It has a guilloché dial and wonderful engravings on the bridges of the movement plus the characteristic power reserve indication window on the side of the watch case. This watch is full of amazing details and the hand finishing is sensational.

For more information, please visit www.kallinichclaeys.com/einser-hongkong-edition

Matthias Naeschke Fine Clocks Table Clock NT 14

I love large size clocks and I always will. This year, Sebastian Naeschke has built and presented a new table clock with an unusual calendar mechanism for us. The clock named NT 14 table clock displays the time, date, month and day of the week without using many separate displays.

The day of the week appears in a small window above the 6 o’clock position, the month is displayed from the center of the clock using the 12 hour markers, and the date from 1 to 31 is displayed with its own gold hand up to position 31 on the minute scale (before this hand then jumps back to position 1 on the first day of a new month).

This mechanism is new and fascinating – and I reckon it would cost a real fortune built into a wristwatch. This beautiful clock from Naeschke fine clocks once again confirms my personal fascination for clocks.

For more information, please visit https://matthias-naeschke.de/

Antoine Preziuso Tourbillon Imperial Unique Pocket Watch

The Villa Sarasin ((beside Palexpo) exhibited a wide range of watches and watchmakers this year as the location of the “Time to Watches”. Among them the AHCI member Antoine Preziuso and his wife and family have shown many watches from their collection. Mainly wristwatches and tourbillons.

But to my biggest surprise and joy the Preziusos also have shown the pocket watch “Tourbillon Imperial” – a unique piece as a true family project in the best sense. The Preziusos have worked on different aspects of this royal, bombastic, heavy pocket watch.

And by the way: the case of this pocket watch is made by Jean Pierre Hagmann (who passed away this year). Preziuso and Hagmann worked together many years and decades.

For more information, please visit  https://antoine-preziuso.com/site2018/

Patek Philippe Rare Handcrafts 2025 Dome Table Clock ‘Rade de Geneve’

If you feel that wood marquetry on a watch or as a watch dial, is a rare encounter – than: curved wood marquetry on a dome or table clock is ultimately rare. I have never seen this before and Patek Philippe has never made this before in the rare handcrafts collection.

The Rade de Geneve is the first ever dome clock adorned with wood marquetry. The clock is a unique piece showing the harbor of Geneva and the Jet d´eau. This rare handcraft piece is made from more than 1.900 veneer parts and 200 tiny inlays.

For the first time the wooden inlay parts have to be curved or domed with the help of hot steam for the case of the clock. The Patek Philippe dome clocks run with the Caliber 17´´´ PEND which are mechanical movements rewound by an electric motor. I admire wood marquetry in any form, any size, any motif, but – this dome clock is more than special – Mamma Mia!.

For more information, please visit https://www.patek.com/en/collection/rare-handcrafts

Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Tribute to the Tour De L´Ile Anniversary Pieces

Vacheron Constantin has both a rich history in the city of Geneva and in rare and beautiful handcrafts. This year the company shows three outstanding pieces of Metiers D´Art – the Tribute to the Tour De L´Ile watches and a tribute to Geneva: As one piece of engraving art and as two pieces showing beautiful guilloche and miniature enameling.

All three wristwatches are dedicated to the famous Tower in Geneva down by the Rhone River, the Tour De L´Ile. The watches are equipped with the caliber 2460 and all are made as three single unique pieces to celebrate the 270th anniversary of Vacheron Constantin.

Among so many insignificant watches on the Watches & Wonders 2025 the three Les Cabinotiers Tribute pieces are totally amazing.

For more information, please visit www.vacheron-constantin.com/ww/en/watches/novelties/cabinotiers-tour-de-l-ile.html

Louis Moinet 1816 Tribute to the World´s First Chronograph

Sometimes I pass by pieces that surprise me. Suddenly I notice a watch that I did not expect to see. My unexpected moment was the Louis Moinet Tribute Chronograph 1816.

It is said that the watchmaker Louis Moinet was the inventor of the first chronograph with his Compteur de Tierces (the super high frequency start – stop – reset thirds timer chronograph with 216.000 A/h) from 1816.

I have seen and admired the historic chronograph that  Louis Moinet and its owner Jean-Marie Schaller, bought at auction..

At Watches & Wonders 2025, Louis Moinet showed a wristwatch made under the inspiration of the historic chronograph made of titanium with a beautiful manual-winding old style column wheel chronograph movement.

To taste this watch looks really special – both from the dial side and from the movement side.

For more information, please visit https://louismoinet.com/

Historic Pocket Watch 1928 Jaeger LeCoultre, Caliber 17 (historic piece, not for sale)

Jaeger LeCoultre brought some private collection pieces to Palexpo to show their amazing history and tradition. Among them a beautiful skeleton pocket watch with an open worked dial with the caliber 17 (exact it is the caliber 17JSMCCRVO) inside – a complicated gold Lépine pocket watch displaying perpetual calendar, minute repeater, chronograph, indicating the hours, minutes, seconds, day, date, month, leap year and moon phases.

The beauty of this piece continues in the case decoration and the handcrafts that went into the watchcase. It is engraved and filled with blue translucent enamel. This pocket watch is not for sale, but many elements of this piece went into the modern limited edition watches of Jaeger LeCoultre for their perpetual calendar wristwatches.

For more information, please visit www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/

Final Thoughts:

I don’t feel that we have seen a lot of restraint and modesty this spring 2025. Rather, I have the impression that we have seen and will continue to see many fantastic and exceptionally expensive watches this year, watches that have been developed in the extremely successful years 2021, 2022, and 2023, and which are now ready to be shown – at a time when demand is noticeably declining across the board.

But perhaps this is also a favorable time to buy a watch, a metiers d´art piece, or you might even consider a clock.

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