Indie Highlights from Watches & Wonders
Some of the most exciting independent watches on show in Geneva.
What makes Indies special?
For many collectors, independent watches offer something that is rarely found in more mainstream brands. Not only do these low-production timepieces offer a perspective on timekeeping and horology that is as exciting as it is different, but they also offer a more personal relationship between the watchmaker and the watch wearer. Here are four highlights from Greubel Forsey, Laurent Ferrier, Ressence and Trilobe.
The Ressence Type 11
Ressence, based in Belgium and founded in 2010, has always had an incredibly strong identity. The brand's system of rotating discs is built off ROCS, short for Ressence’s Orbital Convex System. The brand’s latest release, the Type 11, is remarkable not just because of the bold design, but because it’s the first Rressence powered by the Werk RW-01, the brand’s debut proprietary movement. While earlier models were based on ETA calibres, this new movement sees the ROCS system integrated into the movement, offering plenty of technical and quality of life improvements, not least being the 60-hour power reserve shown on a power reserve of tiny coloured beads.
Laurent Ferrier Sport Traveller
Laurent Ferrier’s famous pebble-like case returns in the form of the Sport Traveller, a timepiece made for travel. Most obviously through the dual time indication on the left-hand side of the dial, providing a pleasant visual balance to the brand’s distinctive date aperture. But as we all know, there’s more to a travel watch than being able to keep track of two timepieces at once, which is calibre LF 230.02 allows for on-the-fly adjustment of local time backwards and forwards thanks to the two pushers on the left flank of the case. The titanium case, in addition to being supremely comfortable on the wrist, is water-resistant to 100 metres. Add to that the integrated titanium bracelet, and the Sport Traveller is ready for adventure.
The Trilobe Trente-Deux Secret Edition
Founded in 2018, Parisian brand Trilobe has had an incredibly strong start, capturing attention with its novel way of displaying the time, using a system of discs and fixed pointers instead of more conventional hands. The Trente-Deux is Trilobe’s sportiest expression of this aesthetic, and the model doesn’t just stand out because of its integrated bracelet, but also its accomplished debut in-house movement, the X-Nihilo, assembled in Paris and boasting a bold architecture. The latest Trente-Deux model is the ‘Secret Edition’, offered in steel or rose gold, and featuring a stunning dial in midnight blue, printed with a metallic star map. The best part about the watch, though, is that the star map is personalised to each owner, who can choose the stars based on a date, time and location. Definitely one for the amateur astronomers or romantics.
The Greubel Forsey Torubillon 24 Secondes Architecture
One of the shining lights of modern independent watchmaking is Greubel Forsey — renowned for its compelling combination of peerless finishing and technical mastery. Both these sides of the brand are on full show with the Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture, which was first introduced in 2022, and was always intended to have a production life of five years and only 66 timepieces. We’re now at the end of this cycle, and the brand has revealed the final edition, which stays close to earlier versions with its dramatic suspended movement. This edition amplifies contrast, and the watch relies on the architecture itself, rather than finishing to make its impact.
