5 interesting watches from Geneva Watch Days 2022 

First launched in the late 1960s, Doxa Army was purpose-built for the Swiss Army’s diver units.

Doxa Army

Flipping through the back catalogues is always a top idea, especially if you come up with something as appealing as the Doxa Army. The tool watch, first launched in the late 1960s, was purpose-built for the Swiss Army’s diver units. The production run was apparently limited, and over the years watch enthusiasts picked up the scent and turned it into a much sought after classic. The reissues, in stainless steel, get a sand-coloured dial and a black ceramic bezel insert, or a bronze bezel with a hunter green ceramic insert. Strap options include FKM rubber straps in black or hunter green. Powered by an ETA movement and featuring a screw-down crown at 3 ‘o’clock, deliveries for the 42.5mm watch will begin in October.

H Moser & Cie Streamliner Tourbillon Vantablack

If you have a thing for streamlined shapes and Art Deco aesthetics, along with a massive bank balance – the watch costs over a crore – you’d want to take a good look at Moser’s Streamliner Tourbillon Vantablack. Moser’s Streamliner range – chronograph, automatic 3-hander, and a perpetual calendar – which commenced dropping in 2020 now gets a tourbillon that regulates the calibre HMC 804. The other highlight is the use of Vantablack, the darkest coating ever synthesised, on the dial. The applied red gold hour markers are fixed from the back and the visual starkness of the dial is set off against the rich red gold integrated bracelet.

Tudor Pelagos 39

The Pelagos has mostly flown under the radar, despite being an accomplished dive watch. But now, with a new downsized case, it looks like it could hit the sweet spot – for divers and non-divers alike.

Like the 42mm version, the Pelagos 39’s case is made from titanium and the black dial sports a sunray finish. The unidirectional rotating bezel is finished in ceramic and there’s no date window, which is great if you are a dial minimalist.

The Pelagos 39 is powered by the calibre MT5400, which Tudor shares with other watchmakers such as Breitling, and the watch ships with a titanium bracelet and a complimentary black rubber strap.

De Bethune DB25 Perpetual Calendar

The independent Swiss watchmaker De Bethune blends classic watchmaking with technical innovation, and in Geneva this year, it boosted its classical DB25 range with the 40mm Perpetual Calendar. There’s a lot to admire, and savour, in the downsized timepiece: the bi-colour silver and blue dial with a radiating guilloche pattern adorning 12 sectors, integrated lugs, and that spherical moonphase. The case is made from titanium and and the watch is powered by the calibre DB2324V2, which has been adapted to fit the smaller case. The annual production run is limited to 15 pieces, and the watch is priced at over a crore.

Bulgari Octo Finissimo Sejima Edition

Bulgari launched a bunch of watches at Geneva Days, including the Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days that took centrestage with its 40mm, 5.95mm thin, rose gold case that boasts of a remarkable 8-day (192-hour) power reserve. But the Octo Finissimo Sejima Edition, designed in collaboration with Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima, also deserves a big hand. The watch, limited to 360 pieces, riffs off on the Pritzker Prize-winning Sejima’s signature style (read highly reflective surfaces that often feature in her work). The case is made of stainless steel and the mirror-polished sapphire crystal dial features seemingly innumerable metallic dots.

The watch is equipped with an ultra-thin automatic movement – BVL138 – and is water resistant up to 100 metres.