6 of the most exciting independent watches of Geneva Watch Week 2025
Borna BošnjakOver the last few years, the interest in independent watchmaking has skyrocketed. As many big box brands have struggled to deliver actual novelty and uniqueness, watch fans turned to the world of small-batch, hand-made production to really set their collections apart from the rest. And yet, it’s still an incredibly niche world, and with a fair like Watches and Wonders, where conglomerate marketing budgets dominate the scene, it’s difficult for independents to break through. However, as satellite exhibitions pop up around the Palexpo, with brands gathering at the AHCI, Time to Watches and hotels like the Beau Rivage, Geneva Watch Week is also one of those rare times during the year when you can actually go and see some of these watchmakers in the same place. For the 2025 edition, here are the ones that caught my eye.
Dann Phimphrachanh Seconde Vive
Phimphrachanh has been working as an independent watchmaker since 2018, but the Seconde Vive is the first watch that he’s publicly announcing, writing about the prototypes being completed the night before being showcased at the AHCI. With a CV spanning the complications workshops at Bulgari and Greubel Forsey, as well as stints at Jaeger-LeCoultre and Parmigiani Fleurier, it’s no surprise that the Seconde Vive is an absolute stunner.
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Its main drawcard, apart from the drop-dead gorgeous finishing, is the deadbeat seconds complication housed in the lower right portion of the dial. The real treat is seeing the gear train and escapement slowly tick away, especially knowing that all of the components were made by hand – with lathes, hand saws and finished by filing. For such an exquisitely finished piece, though admittedly only in steel, the CHF 65,000 price tag seems like a bit of a steal in today’s market.
Krayon Anyday
Though Krayon has been around for a while, the independent brand is not one you’d call prolific, though Rémi Maillat & Co. certainly make up for it in innovation. The Krayon Anyday is the brand’s third release, following the ultra-complex, award-winning duo of Everywhere and Anywhere – good luck remembering which is which. Potentially convoluted naming schemes aside, there’s nothing wrong with Krayon’s watchmaking genius. The Anyday incorporates a mechanical weekly planner, where the movement will automatically adjust its perimeter date display to display the weekdays and weekends in any particular month.
It’s a genius upgrade of what would be a standard pointer date display, and sure, you’ll have to manually advance it via the crown for months that have 28 or 30 days, but that’s it. The entire month will automatically be laid out in front of you in a simple, digestible format.
This is thanks to the new Anywhere movement, featuring a double cam mechanism you can see nestled at the “bottom” of the movement in the pic above. The first builds energy over 24 hours to advance the crescent moon at midnight, while the other jumps at the end of the month. Of course, the movement is also wonderfully decorated, with the now-signature Krayon wavy striping of the bridges, making this unique complication all the more appealing.
Kudoke K5
I’ll be honest: when I first saw images of this watch, I thought it was a silly mockup celebrating April Fool’s Day by just enlarging the 24-hour indicator of the Kudoke K2. A quick look at the brand’s Instagram profile later, however, and I was pleasantly surprised that the Kudoke K5 is very much a real thing. As I mentioned, Kudoke took the day/night dome situated at 12 o’clock from their K2 and now made it large enough to fill out the entire dial, making the K5 into a truly unique, pseudo-one-handed watch. Mind you, this is hot off the heels of his GPHG 2024 win (the brand’s second), making me think it won’t be the last unique time display we see from Kudoke.
The level of hand-finishing is supreme, with the entire day/night dome and balance cock (yes, haha get the jokes in now) hand-engraved. The movement is still based on the Kaliber 1 that has powered the entire HandWerk series, but with the necessary modifications for the 24-hour display, including a zirconium ball bearing to lessen the need for lubrication. When talking about Kudoke, I also find it difficult not to mention just how good of a value proposition the brand represents. The German independent’s most basic three-handers can still be had for under €10,000 with a decent level of intricate hand-engraving, but even a complex model like the new K5 with an impressive array of hand-finishes is priced at “just” €17,900.
Raúl Pagès RP2
As a winner of Louis Vuitton’s inaugural Watch Prize for Independent Creatives, much was expected of Raúl Pagès’ future. The RP1 Régulateur à Détente was a beautiful display of old-school watchmaking made anew, and a set the bar high for the eventual follow-up. We finally saw it this past week with the new RP2, this time not featuring a detent escapement but still delivering on the design and finishing fronts. For starters, the ghostly white agate stone dial is a stunner and works really well when paired with the contrasting baby blue colour. The handset is the centrepiece of the dial for me, though, with that riveted hour hand and its multiple hand-finished elements.
On the movement front, Pagès had to pivot to a lever escapement as the RP2 is meant to be a more accessible production model (though still limited to 50 pieces), but he still made it his own by integrating counterweights into the pallet fork construction, a hallmark of fine pocket watches of old. Signatures like the oversized balance and skeletonised balance cock are still present, as is a meticulous level of hand-finishing.
Nicolas Delaloye Renaissance
When you consider just how many independent watchmakers have had illustrious careers at some of the world’s best-known watch brands, it really makes me think of the talent that’s still hidden behind those workbenches. Nicolas Delaloye was one of the ones that chose to break out on their own, introducing the handmade calibre ND 01 in 2003. This came after he had worked for Patek Philippe, developing high complications and restoring museum pieces, as well as collaborating with F.P. Journe on his grande sonnerie movement, which would lead him to offer servicing for chiming watches by Renaud et Papi and Genta. And that’s not all; he also worked on the assembly of Vianney Halter’s tri-axis tourbillons, among many others.
It’s really no surprise to learn that a watchmaker of his calibre (pun fully intended) decided to strike out on his own, though it wouldn’t last. After 13 years producing watches under his own name, Delaloye returned to Patek’s restoration workshop in 2016, but that wouldn’t be the end of his independent story, which leads us to the Renaissance.
With a reinvigorated passion for making his own watches, Delaloye went back to the ND 01 in 2024 and started work on a new series. That was the Renaissance, and it would end up being fitted with a 39mm tantalum case and beautiful enamel dials proudly carrying his name again. The star of the show is undoubtedly the movement, which uses the regulator and wheel train of an AS1130, but is otherwise completely built by Delaloye, with German silver for the bridges dotted with screwed chatons.
Nomos Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer
It should really be no surprise to find the Nomos here, as it easily offers the most bang for the least buck – though, as usual, Kudoke is pretty close in that regard. With a new, slimmer case and an array of colourful dials, a Nomos worldtimer is exactly what you’d expect it to be, minimal in all the right ways, while offering all the utility you’d ever need. The Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer measures in at just 9.9mm in thickness, thanks to the new DUW 3202 movement, displaying a 24-hour indicator at 3 o’clock, with a city ring circling the dial.
My favourite design detail is the small hour indications printed in the minute track, telling you how many hours to add or subtract from the city you’ve currently selected. I think it’s so good, actually, that I picked it as my watch of the fair.
Honourable Mention: Masahiro Kikuno Tourbillon Minute Repeater Monopusher Chronograph
As Masahiro Kikuno’s latest development is still in its prototype stages, I’ll only put it down as an honourable mention for now. Considering it combines a tourbillon, monopusher chronograph, and minute repeater, I certainly think it’s worthy of inclusion, even though the Japanese watchmaker himself admitted that the presented watch is not in perfect working order. Such an intense combination of complications is already so rarely undertaken by independent watchmakers, but more impressively, Kikuno managed to fit them all into a 39mm case. This is one that I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for…