Established in 2020, during the midst of the pandemic, Geneva Watch Days brings together brands, collectors and key industry figures in a multi-day celebration of watchmaking. What began humbly has grown into a large, decentralized fair spread across the Swiss financial capital, involving companies of all sizes, from LVMH-owned mega-brands to auction houses and high-end independents. Special experiences give the public access to watchmaking classes, panel discussions and get-togethers with executives, many of whom wouldn’t normally be accessible to those outside the industry. A boon for the watch-loving public, the fair has become an important event on the horological calendar.
As is the case with other more established trade shows, watchmakers are now molding their release schedules to include Geneva Watch Days, debuting new references or special editions in time with the fair. From a new TAG Heuer moon phase complication to a spectacular new take on Bulgari’s Octo Finissimo, here are a few of our favorite pieces.
TAG Heuer Carrera Astronomer
While TAG Heuer is mostly known for its racing chronographs, the Swiss marque has a long history of developing other complications, from the tide indicator of its Abercrombie & Fitch Seafarer to its triple-calendar chronographs from the 1940s. The new Carrera Astronomer turns its gaze to the moon phase indicator, rethinking its design completely: A rotating disc appearing behind seven illustrated moon phase cutaways combines with two arrows to indicate both the moon’s current state as well as its position within a full 29.5-day cycle. This precise display, powered by the brand’s automatic Calibre 7 movement, is contained in a round 39mm case available in steel or two-tone steel and gold, and is offered with your choice of a silver sunray dial with grey accents, black accents or with gold-plated accents. Paired to either a leather strap or a multi-link bracelet, the Astronomer is an exciting new development from a brand whose complications generally focus on the standard chronograph.
Movement: TAG Heuer cal. 7 automatic
Octo Finissimo Lee Ufan x Bvlgari
Bulgari’s Octo Finissimo, with its highly considered architectural design and series of award-winning movements, might not seem like the best candidate for aesthetically adventurous collaborations. However, these sorts of projects — undertaken with the likes of Tadao Ando, Laurent Grasso and others — have proven incredibly successful, turning the automatic, time-only Octo Finissimo into a canvas for intrepid designs. Teaming up with South Korean-born, Japan-based painter and sculptor Lee Ufan, Bulgari turned the artist’s signature work — which features a large rock sitting upon a mirror — into an inspired watch: While the mirrored dial is accented with black hands, the titanium case and bracelet are hand-finished with a special treatment to give it a rock-like appearance. Limited to 150 pieces and powered by the brand’s BVL 138 manufacture movement with micro-rotor, it’s easily one of the standout collaborative watches of 2025.
Movement: Bulgari cal. BVL 138 automatic
Zenith Defy Chronograph USM
Zenith is expanding its angular Defy collection with a series of chronographs — the first within the Defy lineup — inspired by the colorful designs of fellow Swiss brand USM Modular Furniture. Zenith pulled from the latter’s Haller furniture system from 1965 — a modular setup that uses chrome-plated steel tubes, collector ball joints, and colored metal panels to create distinctive arrays of shelving and other components — to inform the new sub-collection’s look and color palette, designing a 37.3mm stainless octagonal steel case with a 14-sided bezel to house the El Primero cal. 400 movement. Available in USM Green, USM Pure Orange, USM Golden Yellow and USM Gentian Blue, the dial features applied square hour markers, a triple-register chronograph layout, a 4:30 date window, and a luminous handset. Paired to Zenith’s beloved ladder bracelet, this distinctive, well-sized chronograph is sure to delight lovers of midcentury design.
Movement: Zenith El Primero cal. 400 automatic
Ulysse Nardin Freak X Crystalium
A limited edition of 50 pieces, the Ulysse Nardin Freak [X Crystalium] takes the original Freak’s groundbreaking design — no conventional hands, dial or crown — and adds in a rotating hour disc made of Crystalium, a material made by exposing ruthenium to a vapor-deposition process that results in unique crystal structures “growing” on its surface. Each Crystalium disc is PVD-treated in rose gold and black shading and then varnished, lending it an artistic quality and making each example unique. Paired to a black DLC-coated titanium case with a matching bezel, the watch is powered by the automatic Ulysse Nardin cal. UN-230 with flying carousel with a silicon balance wheel and escapement. (Time is told via a bridge that rotates around the dial and forms the minute hand, while the Crystalium disc indicates the hours.) Finished with a black rubber “ballistic” textured strap with rose gold stitching, the Freak [X Crystalium] pairs avant-garde design with advanced materials science in a distinctly compelling package.
Movement: Ulysse Nardin cal. UN-230 automatic
Meet your guide
Oren Hartov
Oren Hartov writes about watches — and occasionally menswear, design, travel and other things — for InsideHook and other publications. He tries to blend his deep love of history with a fascination with horology, focusing on military watches, tool watches and the beautiful dress watches of the mid-20th century. A gigging musician, SCUBA diver and military veteran, he has a particular love for purpose-built timepieces such as the Rolex Submariner or Omega Speedmaster — but feels just at home writing about an elegant Patek Philippe Calatrava.
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