Geneva Watch City Travel Guide

KV: first time seeing a KV watch in the metal, and it was absolutely spectacular.  It did not disappoint.  The finishing was unlike anything I have ever seen.  It is not able to be compared to anything non-independent, at any level.  Overall, the watch was gorgeous.  The shape looks a little funny off the wrist, with the teardrop lugs, and I was wondering what it would look like on the wrist - but it makes a ton of sense once it was laid on my wrist.  One interesting takeaway - before trying the watch on, I thought the 39mm would wear large, given the lack of bezel.  However, it actually wears extremely nice on my wrist.

LB: this one was the surprise for me.  I saw the LB "Upside Down" in platinum with two dials. I've always thought this watch was a bit gimmicky, but in real life I found it extremely convincing.  The instantaneous change of the numerals, the fact that a dot appears under the numeral that is the current hour, the finely decorated movement and watching the jump hour in action, the fact that your reflection is upside down. Just a really, really cool watch.  It also had a very nice presence on the wrist, and the finishing was lovely but not ostentatious.  In summary, I have not been surprised by a watch like this, perhaps, ever.  Pictures do it zero justice.

LF: the design on these watches is really, really lovely.  They have a very nice feel, and I think they are one of the better time-only options.  I really like the cushion shape and the color on my wrist.  I do not plan to buy a Laurent Ferrier in the near future, but I could see adding one to my collection at some point.  The styling is 100% on point.

De Bethune: have to say, it was really cool but it did not win me over.  I am glad it exists, but I am not the customer DB is looking for.  Maybe I just have a bias against titanium watches.  I don't know, I am happy I saw it, and it was very cool to see, but I will leave this one for the others!

My one big takeaway from these independents - each of them seemed to be rather special, and a labor of love.  I appreciate that all of these watches had a very distinct perspective.  Some may consider independents overdesigned, or perhaps a bit over the top, but I do not agree with that take.  Like fashion, I think that the yearly or biyearly release cycle with the major watch brands perhaps takes something away from purposeful design.  I think a lot of designers get design fatigue pushing out novelty year after year.  Separately, I have previously been discouraged by the size of some of these watches on paper.  I typically steer clear of 40mm+ dress watches.  But all of them wore extremely well on my 7" wrist.  And all of them felt very balanced on the wrist - the wearability of a watch is something I do not think is always considered, but each felt very nice.

Finally, I really enjoyed by visit with Bilal.  Really, really nice guy, and was patient with me as we looked through the watches.  It was nice talking to someone who is as passionate as I am, in a context where I was not pushed to purchase anything.