It’s already been about one full week since the end of Geneva Watch Week 2026, and I’m still sitting here parsing all the info I took in during my visit. This was one of the best, and most inspiring city wide watch events I’ve ever been to. The week long event consists of multiple watch events combined, from the famous Watches & Wonders, to smaller and more quaint events such as Chronopolis, Time to Watches, and the beautiful multi-level setup at Beau Rivage Hotel.
Not only are there many dedicated watch events happening at the same time, but the city is vibing with smaller meetups, such as those happening behind closed doors at brand boutique stores, and celebratory after-hour dinner parties at restaurants and bars across the city. It reminded me a little of our local Grand Prix de Montreal, but instead of cars, it’s watches – everywhere in Geneva.
Instead of your generic “best watches from Watches & Wonders 2026”, I thought I’d do something a little bit different over here on the WRB. This is a list of not the best watches, but rather the most inspiring, off the beaten path away from the hype of Rolex, Patek, and AP. Two watches that really struck me as innovative, perhaps pushing the boundaries in technical watchmaking skill, and one that is more accessible and simply creative. The honest truth that you may not read elsewhere is that even though I – along with many other industry journalists, were present at this years Geneva Watch Week, there is absolutely no way that any of us were capable of seeing and handling every single watch, new release, or even all the brands – there’s simply too many. So with that said, here is a quick checklist of some of the coolest watches I personally managed to get my hands-on at W&W, try on wrist, and was able to take some photos of.
Ulysse Nardin Super Freak
I know for a fact that this one has been reported on heavily, but it just needs to be on this list as it blew me away. Ulysse Nardin was the last booth I visited on opening day for Watches & Wonders, and I was pretty knackered at that point to say the least – but I was woken up with the strength of two espresso shots and completely wowed by the Super Freak during my one on one personal tour. This is a high horology time only watch, consisting of 511 parts, of which only 13 of those parts are actually stationary, the rest are moving. It’s a display of extreme watchmaking prowess, and I’d assume the most complex time only wrist watch in existence.
The watch is an incredible work or modern art, but it is quite large and heavy actually, and its presence was felt when I placed it on wrist at Watches & Wonders. The case is 44mm of white gold, with an overall thickness of 16.54mm mainly due to its protruding super-domed crystal. Despite the sizing on my 6.5 inch wrist, its impossible to not be impressed with the exposed dial of the watch and its extreme manner of displaying the seconds, minutes, and hours of the day. The Super Freak movement, which is essentially also the dial, is called the calibre UN-252, and it displays the seconds using a rotating cylinder near the tip of the minute hand, the minutes are displayed using a wing-shaped pointer on the rotating carousel, and the hours are shown using a light-blue Nanosital disk. The price on this one being set at $393,600 USD.
Cyrus Geneve Klepcys Jasper
Cyrus was the first brand I had on my appointment list on the morning of opening day, April 14, 2026. I was just starting to get acquainted with my camera gear, and fumbling around with my tripod, before I even realized there was a vertical Tourbillon sitting gracefully in-front of my face. While Cyrus Geneve is a relatively small independent brand, that also had a pretty small booth presence at W&W, the watch was absolutely a standout offering from the event.
The veritical Tourbillon on the Klepcys is situated directly in the center of the dial, and it operates like a ferris wheel as it spins vertically. The magic of this one is the manner in which it displays the seconds, which are actually visible on the rotating Tourbillon cage, and because of its vertical orientation can be read quite easy when looking at the dial, and at the back of the watch through the rear exhibition window. The case of the watch is made of grade 5 titanium and the dial is made from Lapis Lazuli stone.
Of course there’s more to it than just the cool way the watch looks, on a high horology piece like this. The philosophy behind the watch dives quite a bit deeper than one would expect, with its roots originating from Leonardo Da Vinci’s design principles – more of which you can read about on the Cyrus official website should you wish. Overall, for a watch like this capped at a small production of 5 pieces, its price tag of 150,000 CHF is understandable.
Norqain Freedom Chrono Enjoy Life “Sprinkles”
Moving away from high horology absurdity for a moment, we have here the also kind of crazy but in a tamer way, Freedom Chrono “Sprinkles” from up and coming independent Norqain. After playing with serious watch after serious watch at W&W, it was refreshing to sit down and take a look at this fun watch, that’s designed for you to sit back and just enjoy life casually without regulation or constraints. As you’re observing in the photos here, and by the name of the watch, yes it has candy sprinkles scattered over the entire dial of the watch, all of which are also fully lumed.
The watch is offered in two colorways, my favorite being the predominantly soft pink dial, but it’s also offered in turquoise if you feel that suits your skin tone more. What’s cool about this watch, aside from its dial, is its retro chronograph case shape, complete with old-school pump pushers. The watch measures in at 40mm case size, with a thickness at 14.9mm due to the Sellita SW510-a chronograph movement taking up extra room. In person, the watch looked and fit great on my small 6.5 inch wrist, and despite its playful appearance it still packs much needed specs such as its water resistance of 100 meters.
The dial layout of the watch is excellent, with the white sub-dials placed in classic 3-6-9 triangle positioning, and displaying seconds, minutes and hours. Comically, the date window displays a colorful ice-cream cone every 7 days, so if you buy this watch, be prepared to shut off your brain and take it easy at least one day per week – which in my opinion we all need. Prices for the Chrono Sprinkles are set at $6,290 USD.
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