Often regarded as the cradle of watchmaking, Switzerland is home to many historic houses, including Blancpain, Vacheron Constantin… And while these two great names are still very much present more than 250 years (!) after their creation, the Swiss Confederation has never stopped seeing new brands emerge.
Just in the last few months, a multitude of new players have emerged in the market. So, if you enjoy making great discoveries, here are 3 Swiss watch brands born in 2024, that could well make a name for themselves in the future!
Renaud Tixier: Watchmaking innovation like a Monday
Renaud Tixier is not the man who gave his name to his own brand. Rather, it is the result of the meeting of two enthusiasts, Dominique Renaud and Julien Tixier.
The first, co-founder of Renaud & Papi, has marked contemporary watchmaking with major creations for brands such as Audemars Piguet, IWC, Richard Mille… Julien Tixier, on the other hand, is a young watchmaker whose talent dazzled Dominique Renaud. Working together seemed to be a no-brainer for these two men, who share the same vision and display a beautiful complementarity.
Between recognized experience and audacious innovation, the first Renaud Tixier watch carries the signature of its two creators. Named Monday, it appears very classic at first glance. However, this three-handed model challenges the traditional concept of the micro-rotor. Nicknamed the “dancer,” it optimizes the energy of movement in a revolutionary way, allowing it to transform the slightest shocks and movements into energy. This is enough to give this watch more than 60 hours of power reserve.
In terms of style, the Monday is equipped with a 5N+ rose gold or gray gold case, 40.8 mm in diameter, whose subtly worked flanks demonstrate a real concern for detail. This is confirmed at the level of the dial, openworked at 9 o’clock and allowing to glimpse the famous mechanism. The view is even more impressive on the back of the case, where one never tires of admiring the ballet of the dancer and the multiple gears.
Offered at 79,000 CHF (approximately 80,000€), this first watch should enable Renaud Tixier to impose his long-term vision, between art, tradition and watchmaking innovation. And with such a name (Monday), we can’t wait to see what the other days of the week have in store for us.
Guebly: The Collector Turned Creator
It is often said that watchmaking is a field for enthusiasts. The birth of the Guebly brand is a perfect example of this. Its founder was immersed from a young age in the world of watches and developed his vision of watchmaking through a personal and intimate experience with timepieces. It’s this vision he wanted to translate when unveiling his Prologue Chapter 1 at the Geneva Watch Week. Somewhat like Renaud Tixier, this watch combines sophistication and simplicity, standing out for the quality of its assemblies and finishes.
Betting on a timeless design, the first Guebly watch sports a highly detailed 42 mm Grade 5 titanium case, where curves meet more angular lines. Imposing and yet very light, this case pairs with an equally fascinating dial: deep blue, it hosts titanium hands and appliques, with a retrograde second indicator at 6 o’clock across 120 degrees.
Technically as well, this Prologue Chapter 1 stands out: the 21.31 automatic winding calibre is equipped with 215 components, including a gold micro-rotor. A real rarity in the industry, it contributes to enhancing the aesthetics of the movement while optimizing its energy efficiency, Guebly announcing a power reserve of about 70 hours.
Even the grained blue calf leather bracelet receives special attention, with its original Easy Fit titanium buckle and its two screws at the attachment point.
The production of Guebly is deliberately limited, with only about fifteen pieces produced annually. This exclusivity makes each watch a work of art, a piece designed by a collector for collectors. In any case, this Prologue Chapter 1 leads us to believe that we are only at the beginning of a great horological story!
ALTO: temporal and artistic objects
Thibaud Guittard, too, has passed through Audemars-Piguet. Not in creation but in the marketing department. This did not prevent him from following up on his ideas, he who admits to having been inspired by the great hours of industrial design from the 1970s to design his first watches. Or rather his first “artistic and temporal objects”, according to the acronym ALTO (for Art and Limited Time Objects).
In a broader sense, Thibaud Guittard seeks to blend art, architecture, cinema, music, and automobiles to give substance to his projects. For this, this passionate collector has called on designer Barth Nussbaumer, who has managed to transform the simple drawing into a real object.
This is how the ART01 watch combines multiple inspirations and captures our attention. First with its octagonal titanium case (should we see a link with the Royal Oak) topped by a faceted sapphire glass, whose development alone took three years of work. Then with the matte black lacquered brass dial, whose horizontal stripes evoke shutters and offer a very nice play of lights.
This first ALTO watch is not just a beautiful object, it’s also a real piece of horology. At the heart of the case lives the A01 movement, a calibre equipped with a micro-rotor designed by the Circle of Watchmakers at La Chaux-de-Fonds under the supervision of Barth Nussbaumer. Visible through the transparent back of the case, this mechanism recharges itself thanks to the second hand, which travels around the dial in an anti-clockwise direction.
Produced in only 25 copies, the ART 01 sees its price climb to 18,450 CHF (about €19,000). A final way to demonstrate that it is not a simple watch, but indeed a work of art, a temporal object unlike any other.
If we broaden the spectrum further, how not to quote the exceptional watches of TAOS, unique pieces that are authentic works of art? In a completely different vein, the brand Amida also announced its return (or rather its rebirth) in 2024: it is certainly not a “new brand”, but 45 years after going bankrupt, its reappearance with its iconic Digitrend has already stirred emotions among the most nostalgic!
💡To go further : These Swiss watch brands that you should also know about (because there’s more to life than Rolex!)