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The world’s biggest watch festival welcomed hundreds of new releases, but that doesn’t mean they were they only celebration around! Here are five amazing timepieces that also dropped around the same time!

Watches and Wonders 2025 is officially done and dusted, and what an incredible week it was! Watch lovers from around the world gathered in Geneva to marvel at some of the year’s most impressive horological creations. From shocking debuts and unexpected surprises to subtle refinements and thoughtful evolutions, the world’s biggest watch festival delivered a little bit of everything.

But that doesn’t mean the Watch Advice team is packing up just yet. Over the past two weeks, we’ve worked hard to bring you coverage of the biggest and best releases — but naturally, a few standout timepieces slipped through the cracks. Don’t worry — we’ve made the executive decision to keep the momentum going, shining a light on the releases you might’ve missed! Starting with this article on five of the very best hidden gems, and continuing with more coverage from the luxury brands you know and love, we’re here to make sure you don’t miss a beat from Watches and Wonders 2025.

However, while Watches and Wonders is by far the biggest event of the week, it’s not the only game in town. With April 1 to 7 colloquially referred to as ‘Geneva Watch Week,’ several other exhibitions, independent showcases, and microbrand festivals take place neighbouring the big event. While they might not have the bombast or scale of Watches and Wonders, these smaller fairs only serve to bolster the independent and enthusiast-driven side of the industry. Some may view them as competitive distractions, but in reality, help broaden the modern horological landscape, giving us watch lovers even more to be excited about!

In that spirit, I’ve decided to turn my attention to the lesser-known – but no less impressive – side of Geneva Watch Week. Join me as I dive into the other fairs, exhibitions, and showcases that made waves this year — and count down five of the best releases they had to offer.

Studio Underd0g x Sartory Billard SB05 ‘Sunfl0wer’

If you didn’t expect me to talk about the latest release from British watchmakers Studio Underd0g, then I’m afraid you don’t know me very well! One of the industry’s most popular leaders in the microbrand space, Richard Benc and Co. have shaken up the watch world with a fun-oriented, non-serious approach to watchmaking! While they certainly stand on their own with amazing timepieces like the 01SERIES Mint Ch0c Chip, it seems that their contagious joy has caught on within the independent space. Esteemed brands like  H. Moser and Fears have enthusiastically leapt at the opportunity to collab with the perennial underdogs (pun intended) of horology. For this year’s Geneva Watch Week, Sartory Billard becomes the third brand to proudly add themselves to that list.

Founded by Armand Billard in 2015, this French independent brand specialises in creating bespoke timepieces for its clients, offering a wide variety of base collections that customers can customise to their liking. This unique business model, where no two watches are ever quite the same, makes Sartory Billard a perfect partner for Studio Underd0g, a brand that often treats the watch dial as a vibrant canvas to express its colourful love for horology!

Blending Sartory Billard’s masterful craftsmanship with Studio Underd0g’s playful creativity, the two brands unveiled their first collaboration with the SB05 ‘Sunfl0wer’. It’s a refined timepiece that combines technical artistry and light-hearted design. Debuting at the Hotel Beau-Rivage watch exhibition, the Sunfl0wer is housed in a steel case with incredibly wearable dimensions: 38.5mm wide, 45.5mm long, and just 8.5mm thick.

The dial features the fine art of guilloché, specifically a technique called ‘grand grain,’ to capture the natural beauty of the sunflower. Sartory Billard has cut a delicate, petal-like pattern into the yellow and brown surfaces of the dial, allowing the motif to radiate with brilliant warmth. Additional green accents on the hands and strap — representing the bud and stem — only further add to the charm. Combined with the exclusive La Joux-Perret 7380 movement, the Sunfl0wer has been thoughtfully crafted into a whimsical yet technically impressive watch that reflects the spirit of both brands.

Reference & Specifications:

International RRP: €12,700

Availability: Limited to 10 pieces, sold out. Visit Sartory-Billard.com to find out more.

Baltic Scalegraph Tour Auto 2025

Related Reading: 5 French Brands to Discover for the 2024 Olympic Games

Speaking of dominance in the microbrand space, Etienne Malec’s Baltic has been making significant waves ever since it burst onto the scene in 2016. The Besançon-based brand combined heritage aesthetics, contemporary design principles, and reliable third-party movements to create some of the best value propositions in modern watchmaking. In that time, they’ve also collaborated with respected names both within and beyond the watch industry, further cementing their place in the lexicon of budding watch enthusiasts.

One such collaboration was with the historic Tour Auto, a competitive rally that dates back to 1899 and celebrates France’s automotive spirit. Baltic officially became the event’s timekeeper in 2023, commemorating the partnership with a limited run of their coveted Tricompax model — a release that sold out swiftly. As the brand’s profile continued to rise, however, the time came for a refresh. The Bicompax and Tricompax names have since been retired, replaced by the more cohesive and official-sounding Scalegraph collection.

Related Reading: The Art of Complications – Chronographs (With TAG Heuer)

A chronograph timepiece measuring 39.5mm wide, 47mm long, and 14.1mm thick, the Scalegraph Tour Auto 2025 continues Baltic’s premier chronograph line while also reinforcing the brand’s ongoing role as the official timekeeper of the prestigious Tour Auto rally. While it carries over a similar color scheme from last year’s Tricompax — light blue paired with vintage cream, accented by red and blue details — the Scalegraph Tour Auto 2025 introduces a few key differences.

The chronograph layout has undergone a notable shift, now featuring a big-eye bicompax configuration not seen in the previous Tricompax or Scalegraph models. The stick indexes have also been reoriented to encircle the subdials, creating a more dynamic and balanced dial. Completing the look is an aluminum bezel in a vibrant shade of blue, paired with a classic beads-of-rice bracelet and powered by the reliable, manually wound Sellita SW510-M movement.

Specifications:

Australian RRP: AU$3,115

Availability: Limited to 400 pieces. Available at Baltic’s New York/Paris/London showrooms, authorised dealers, or online at Baltic.com.

Favre-Leuba Chief Tourbillon

Oh, boy, I’ve been waiting to talk about this brand for quite a while! Though Favre-Leuba might seem like a relative unknown in the modern watchmaking landscape, it wasn’t always that way. In fact, the brand dates all the way back to 1737, when Abraham Favre was officially registered as a watchmaker. If you’re keeping score, that makes them the second-oldest watch brand in existence — just two years older than household veteran Blancpain.

So why the obscurity? The answer, unsurprisingly, is the Quartz Crisis. Like many other historic names, Favre-Leuba struggled during this era, leading the Favre family to sell the rights to the brand. Over the years, it was passed around between various conglomerates — including India’s Titan and even LVMH — with each revival finding only limited success.

That is, until Geneva Watch Days 2024. Under the leadership of Patrik Hoffmann (formerly of Ulysse Nardin), Favre-Leuba unveiled three bold and beautiful collections: the Chief, the Deep Blue, and the Sea Sky. It was a proper comeback—modern, confident, and worthy of the brand’s long legacy. At Time to Watches 2025, however, the Grenchen-based brand took yet another massive step in the right direction with the unveiling of the Chief Tourbillon. Building on the retro styling of their newly reinvigorated Chief collection, Favre-Leuba has teamed up with none other than Jean-François Mojon to produce their first-ever tourbillon timepiece.

Related Reading: The Art of Complications – Tourbillons

If the name doesn’t ring a bell, know this — Mojon is one of the modern era’s greatest horological masterminds, with movement development credits across a who’s who of haute horlogerie. With his help, the Chief Tourbillon debuts the FLT-01 movement, proudly developed in-house and stylized with a blued seconds hand and a bridge design reminiscent of Girard-Perregaux’s classic aesthetic. The tourbillon itself sits atop a striking geometric backdrop of interlocking triangle motifs, adding a contemporary edge to the otherwise vintage-inspired piece. All of this is presented in a 41mm wide, 11.45mm thick stainless steel case with a unique silhouette — neither quite tonneau nor cushion-shaped, but something refreshingly in between!

Reference & Specifications:

International RRP: CHF 24,800

Availability: Limited to 25 pieces. Available to order from FavreLeuba.com, shipping August 2025.

Haute-Rive Honoris I Lagoverde

In the independent watchmaking space, making a name for yourself is no easy feat—and honestly, it’s not hard to see why. Independent watchmakers often represent the pinnacle of what the industry has to offer. Unburdened by corporate committees or mass-market targets, their only audience is the purest (and often wealthiest) watch lovers, which raises the bar for exceptional craftsmanship and mechanical ingenuity sky-high.

So when watchmaking savant Stéphane von Gunten launched Haute-Rive in 2023, he didn’t just aim to make a great watch—he set out to create one of the most ambitious timepieces ever designed for the wrist. In August of that year, Haute-Rive would unveil the Honoris I — a record-setting timepiece that didn’t just make a splash in the industry, but rather a veritable explosion. Featuring a flying tourbillon and powered by a single mainspring barrel, the Honoris I boasts a jaw-dropping 1,000-hour power reserve.

If you’re keeping track, that’s roughly 41 days without needing a single wind! The way it achieves this is nothing short of extraordinary, too: instead of a conventional crown, the Honoris I is wound via the bezel — a clever solution perhaps inspired by the original Ulysse Nardin Freak line, and especially necessary when the mainspring is three metres long!

This spectacular horological package is housed in a substantial 42.5mm-wide, 12mm-thick case crafted from 18k white gold, and it debuts an all-new dial introduced at Time to Watches 2025. Known as the Lagoverde, this version of the Honoris I is limited to just eight pieces. The name refers to its deep green grand feu enamel dial, finished with an intricate, wave-like pattern that shimmers in the light.

Related Reading: Métiers d’Arts: Enamel Dial Creations

Beyond the stunning detail on the dial — featuring both the flying tourbillon and the openworked “wheel of time” section at 12 o’clock — the caseback is remarkable in its own right. While it doesn’t showcase the movement directly, it does feature one of the most beautifully executed power reserve indicators in the industry. A rotating outer ring, engraved with 100-hour intervals, lets the wearer track the remaining power with surprising precision. That said, with a power reserve of 41 days, I wouldn’t be shocked if some owners completely forget they ever needed to wind it in the first place!

Specifications:

International RRP: CHF 188,000

Availability: Limited to 8 pieces. Inquire at Haute-Rive.com for more information.

F.P. Journe Chronomètre Furtif

F.P. Journe is one of the most respected names in horological history—not just because of the brand’s reputation, but also due to the legacy of its founder. If Jaeger-LeCoultre is known as the “watchmaker’s watchmaker,” then François-Paul Journe should rightfully be considered the “master watchmaker’s master watchmaker.” His eponymous brand proudly reflects his microengineering genius through its motto, Invenit et Fecit (Latin for “he invented and made it”). And if you’ve ever had the privilege of seeing or handling one of his masterpieces in person, it becomes immediately clear why that phrase holds so much weight.

While F.P. Journe produces a wide array of timepieces, from masterful works of mechanical art to refined, dressy classics, the brand also explores the high-end sports watch segment with its LineSport collection. For 2025, that collection welcomes a bold new addition: the Chronomètre Furtif, an all-black timepiece whose stealthy looks belie the sheer presence it commands on the wrist. At a sleek 42mm wide and just 9.5mm thick, it wears effortlessly on a variety of wrist sizes. But the moment you pick it up, you’ll instantly realize: this is unlike any other timepiece you’ve ever handled.

You see, instead of relying on traditional or expected luxury materials, F.P. Journe has constructed the Chronomètre Furtif entirely from full-black tungsten carbide and tantalum. Both materials are not only incredibly durable, but also surprisingly dense — each weighing roughly twice as much as standard stainless steel. The result? A sports watch that looks sleek and refined on paper, yet feels like a heavyweight champion on the wrist. It’s a uniquely tactile experience — one that makes the act of wearing the Chronomètre Furtif feel drastically different from anything else in the industry.

This all-black design is only further enhanced by a nearly invisible grand feu enamel dial, which reveals its numerals and minute track only when the light hits it just right. Despite its stealthy look, legibility isn’t sacrificed — the contrasting hands ensure the time remains readable in a range of lighting conditions. Aside from the hands, the only true splash of contrast comes from the case back, where the Calibre 1522 awaits in brilliant rose gold, framed perfectly behind the dark exterior. I’m certain that if Mr. Journe were to read this article himself, he’d probably scold me for glossing over so many fine details. But if he asked me to go full ‘watch nerd’ on this piece? I’d do so happily, and without hesitation. Also because I’m terrified of him, but who isn’t?

Reference & Specifications:

International RRP: CHF 85,000

Availability: By inquiry only. Visit FPJourne.com for more information.