New Brands Genus, Kross Studio, MeisterSinger

GENEVA — Joining the 60-strong lineup this year are a clutch of independent newcomers that have made their mark in the horological world thanks to technical innovations that underscore their unique approaches.

Genus

Right out the gate, Genus’ intention of offering timepieces that challenge convention by offering a dynamic and fluid vision of time caught the eye of the industry and collectors.

Fresh off its 2019 launch, this brand cofounded by watchmaker Sébastien Billières, who is also behind noted complication specialist Geneva Made Time Industrial, and entrepreneur Catherine Henry scooped up the Mechanical Exception Prize at the year’s Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie de Genève with its inaugural GNS1.2 WG Arrows.

For Billières, that high was compounded by the sale of a first timepiece straight after and “realizing that my original watch movement invention would ‘really work’ [meaning it] was technically viable, and that I was going to fulfill my dream of launching my own independent brand,” he told WWD.

Noteworthy creation: The Genus Dragon, where the mythical creature moves but most importantly tells the time. Its head indicates the tens of minutes while hours are indicated thanks to the brand’s signature rotating satellites display along the periphery, which become aligned with a stationary point at 9 o’clock.

New at the fair: Among the three pieces Genus is presenting is the GNS2 Infinity Blue, a timepiece meant for everyday that embarks the fully in-house caliber with its patented 8-path display complication, reminiscent of an infinity sign. Here, it is used to show the minutes in an hour, with the three arrows traveling along the path to complete the voyage every 60 minutes. The lead arrow points to the exact minute.

But don’t miss what Billières called the “fun” launch, the GNS Time 2 Race, “a nod to those who love nostalgia car racing and collecting, like I do,” he said.

Kross Studio

For Marco Tedeschi, founding Kross Studio in 2020 represented “the fulfillment of [his] personal vision, merging advanced watchmaking engineering with contemporary design and pop culture,” he told WWD.

An engineer trained at Geneva’s Haute Ecole du Paysage, d’Ingénerie et d’Architecture, Tedeschi cut his teeth in watchmaking at Hublot for over a decade as product director and creative manager before heading its Middle East and Africa business. After a noted two-year run as chief executive officer and at the creative helm of RJ Watches, a now-shuttered label known for its use of materials taken from the Titanic, he launched Kross Studio.

The five-year-old company has since made its mark with collaborations with entertainment heavyweights such as Lucasfilm, Warner Bros. Discovery and HBO, which resulted in designs inspired by Star Wars, Batman and Game of Thrones.

Noteworthy creation: The patented central floating tourbillon is hands-down the company’s most significant achievement. Entirely conceived and produced in-house, this movement was a world-first in luxury watchmaking. “Its distinctive central positioning, lightweight titanium cage, peripheral time display, and exceptional 120-hour power reserve epitomize my dedication to technical ingenuity and innovative design,” said Tedeschi.

New at the fair: The MT1 Chronometer Tourbillon 7 Days, the inaugural model of the Marco Tedeschi signature collection. Meant as an expression of the founder’s vision of contemporary high watchmaking, it features a skeletonized COSC-certified movement, a seven-day power reserve and an ergonomic case for a design that “embodies our pursuit of technical perfection and visual harmony,” he said.

Christiaan van der Klaauw

The history of Christiaan van der Klaauw is one of generations of lovers of astronomical timepieces.

First it was the namesake founder presenting a wall clock with astronomical complications in 1974, followed by longtime collaborators Daniël Reintjes and Maria Reintjes who were handed over control of the company in 2009 and most recently master watchmaker Pim Koeslag who acquired a majority stake in 2022, taking over as CEO a year later.  

Over the past five decades, the Netherlands-based high watchmaker has been known for its celestial-inspired complications, from accurate moon phase to night-and-day indicators. Its CVDK Real Moon Tides mechanical watch even accurately tracks sea tides.

Noteworthy creation: Part of the CVDK Real Moon Joure watch family recognized as “European Watch of the Year 2014” by an international jury in London, the Real Moon Joure Green Meteorite released in 2022 features a 3D moon phase indicator reproducing the movements of the Earth’s satellite every 29.53 days inlaid in the lower half of the textured emerald green meteorite dial engraved as to mimic the pattern of shooting stars. Its accuracy is such that the moon phase indicator requires correction only after 11,000 years.

New at the fair: The Grand Planetarium Eccentric Meteorite is a singular novelty watch crafted from a genuine meteorite fragment believed to have landed on Earth 50,000 years ago. The 44-mm case requested the use of about 1.09 kilograms of the celestial body off of the reported 70 kilograms available. Accurately displaying all eight planets moving in real time around the sun, as well as the moon on the aventurine glass dial, which reproduces a night sky complete with zodiac constellations. As its production depends on the availability and quality of the rough meteorite material, it was meant as a limited edition of just three pieces but so far, Christiaan van der Klaauw has been able to produce only two.

MeisterSinger

One could define MeisterSinger a purist of today’s watchmaking arena. The brand – German-based but Swiss-made – was established in 2021 by founder, designer and chief executive officer Manfred Brassler who sought to bring back in vogue the single-hand watch philosophy.

“They offer a different way of experiencing time — less rushed, more intuitive. This approach isn’t just a design choice; it’s deeply rooted in the history of timekeeping,” Brassler said, attributing his inspiration for the seminal N°01 watch, and those who followed, to clocks and portable timepieces from before the 18^th century.

Hitting Watches and Wonders for the first time this year, Brassler said that the fair is the ideal stage to display the brand’s philosophy of “offering a meaningful alternative to conventional watch design.”

Noteworthy creation: The inaugural N°01 watch, an ongoing bestseller, stands out for its clarity and minimalist design inspired by early time-measuring instruments, with its linear typography numerals and needle-shaped hour hand on the signature ivory dial. The hand-wound 43-mm watch set the foundations for following developments including the resurrection of the neglected complication known as the “sonnerie au passage,” or chime while moving, in its Bell Hora watch, producing a pleasant chime on the hour.

New at the fair: The integrated, 40-mm Kaenos steel sport watch boasts water resistance up to 10 bar, luminescent hour markers and numerals as well as single hand. The watch is available in open date and date at 6 o’clock versions, with four dial colors each. It retails at 2,650 euros. Through a collaboration with French watch designer Alain Silberstein, the brand is also unveiling a limited-edition design based on the Kaenos featuring a jet-black dial, contrasting red hour hand flanked by a small second hand in gold and additional golden accents including the recessed inner circle in the Grand Date model and the frame of the date window in the Open Date version. Retailing at 4,100 euros, the watch is available in just 225 pieces across the two iterations.