Independent watchmaking is the clear protagonist at Phillips Geneva Watch Auction XXIII, where small-production, creator-led horology sits alongside more than 200 watches spanning three centuries.
The sale, held by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo on 9 and 10 May 2026 in Geneva, brings together several of the names that have defined modern collecting, including Rexhep Rexhepi, François-Paul Journe, Roger Smith, Urban Jürgensen and the collaborative Time Æon Foundation project behind Naissance d’Une Montre 1.
Akrivia AK-06 and the appeal of visible architecture
Lot 36 is a stainless steel Akrivia AK-06 from circa 2018, estimated at CHF 350,000 to 700,000, and it captures the more restrained side of Rexhep Rexhepi’s early independent work.
Introduced in 2017, the AK-06 places its manually wound movement architecture on the dial side, with a symmetrical layout, a zero-reset seconds mechanism and an integrated power-reserve display.
This example belongs to a run of just 25 stainless steel pieces with a dark grey movement plate, a configuration that has become especially attractive to collectors who value the watch as much for its construction logic as for its finishing.
Naissance d’Une Montre 1 preserves watchmaking by hand
Lot 65 is Naissance d’Une Montre 1, number 01 of 11, estimated at CHF 400,000 to 800,000, and it stands apart even in a sale rich with independent watchmaking.
The project brought together Robert Greubel, Stephen Forsey and Philippe Dufour, with watchmaker Michel Boulanger spending six years learning and applying traditional methods before completing the tourbillon wristwatch by hand.
Every component was shaped, finished and assembled without modern automated production, and this first numbered example is uniquely cased in fully handmade 18k white gold.
Early F.P. Journe pieces anchor the modern market
F.P. Journe is represented by several important early watches, beginning with Lot 128, a 38mm platinum Octa Chronographe from 2001 with a brass movement and an estimate of CHF 150,000 to 300,000.
The watch is thought to be among the earliest delivered examples of the model, and its combination of brass movement, straight Côtes de Genève and shiny 18k yellow gold dial is believed to have been made in only three pieces.
Lot 149 is the Chronomètre à Résonance “Pisa” from 2009, estimated at CHF 450,000 to 900,000, one of five watches made for the Milanese retailer Pisa with dark grey ruthenium-plated subdials over an 18k white gold dial base.
Lot 208 adds a 2003 Tourbillon Souverain à Remontoir d’Égalité in a 38mm platinum case with a brass movement and an estimate of CHF 350,000 to 700,000, highlighting the constant-force remontoir mechanism that helped define Journe’s technical identity.
Roger Smith and Urban Jürgensen broaden the independent field
Lot 126 is a Roger Smith Series 3 in 18k pink gold from 2019, estimated at CHF 300,000 to 600,000, and it represents one of the clearest links between contemporary British watchmaking and the legacy of George Daniels.
Smith produces roughly 15 watches per year on the Isle of Man, and the Series 3 combines a hand-engine-turned silver dial, hand-engraved movement components and Smith’s single-wheel interpretation of the Co-Axial escapement.
This example is notable as the first Series 3 in 18k pink gold to appear at an international auction.
Urban Jürgensen brings a very different form of rarity with Lot 34, a Reference 6 in 18k yellow gold with a lapis lazuli dial, estimated at CHF 40,000 to 80,000.
Produced in very small numbers during the 1990s, the tonneau-shaped watch departs from the brand’s more classical visual language, and this example is believed to be making its first auction appearance.
The Geneva Watch Auction XXIII takes place at the Hôtel Président Wilson, with viewing from 6 to 10 May 2026, and its independent highlights underline how deeply collector attention has shifted toward authorship, handcraft and genuinely limited production.
