April, as always, proves to be a bumper month for the watch community. All eyes were on Geneva as the watch world looked out for huge new releases from brands exhibiting at Watches and Wonders at Palexpo, in addition to independent brands like Rexhep Rexhepi, Fleming and even Universal Genève making splashes outside the main fair this month.

Timothée Chalamet takes his relationship with Urban Jürgensen to the next level, while early May saw other stars descend on the Met Gala with wearable art on the wrist as well as on their outfits.

Despite this, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows as independent watchmaker Romain Gauthier encountered arguably a watch owner’s worst nightmare …

Watches and Wonders returns

All eyes were on Geneva as an entire globe of collectors, retailers, watchmakers, enthusiasts and more waited with bated breath to see what would be released from the 66 brands exhibiting at Watches and Wonders this April.

The Style team was on the ground during the fair, which saw brands like Audemars Piguet join this year’s festivities, new releases and collaborations that rethink the way a watch can be worn or operated, and yet more pieces showing how gems and watches can seamlessly exhibit craftsmanship.

Independents go wild with releases and launches

Outside Watches and Wonders, independents shone with releases in April. Mathieu Cleguer launched his independent brand Cleguer Horology with the 38.5mm titanium Inspiration One Souscription, which contains a movement with a proprietary innate escapement, deriving elements from natural and Fasoldt escapements to increase accuracy and efficiency.

Meanwhile, Rexhep Rexhepi released the Chronograph Flyback, a first-ever release of the complication for the brand, coming in at 38.8mm in diameter and under 10mm in thickness. The subdials are laid out in a striking position at 12, four and eight o’clock, showing chronograph functions underneath.

In just over two years after its acquisition by Breitling in December 2023, Universal Genève relaunched – not with a single piece or collection, but an immediate full range of products. In addition to new production variations of the brand’s legendary Polerouter, an early design from Gérald Genta, Universal Genève also unveiled gemset Couture Creations alongside the Compax chronograph.