Last week, we were delighted to take seven Club Members on a multi-city trip to Switzerland. We visited watch manufactures, had private appointments with brands, received the VIP treatment at the Geneva Watch Days show, and had an amazing exclusive evening with Piaget at their Geneva boutique. It was a huge amount of fun and we learned so much more than we expected. Friendships both began and deepened with Club Members new and old.

This was the first time the Club arranged visits to the watch Manufactures and Atelier in Switzerland. We've done boutique events in London and been to Bremont's HQ and assembly facility The Wing, but it was a totally different level doing this in Biel/Bienne, only 90 minutes from Geneva. The city is home to Horage, Armin Strom and Formex, which are three brands with a similar back story but completely different approaches to watchmaking.

At Horage, we were fascinated by the incredible quality control process of componentry for their in-house movements, including how they scan and sort their silicon components by eye and hand. Armin Strom dedicates 75% of the space at their manufacture to finishing their components and we saw many different machines and some of their watchmakers in action. The time taken over each watch was mind-blowing. Their designers took the time to talk to us in their offices, covered in technical drawings and 3D printed prototypes.

At Formex, we saw the assembly and dispatch areas, before getting a tour of the areas where they make the cases, bracelets, clasps, etc, for themselves and many famous brands across the industry. Watching bars of metal start out at one end and buckles or cases emerge at the other was fascinating. Seeing all these steps up close gave us all a much better appreciation of the hard work and dedication that goes into these watches, and a better appreciation of their value.

A personal highlight was visiting the Swatch and Omega Museums in Biel/Bienne, both chock full of amazing watches and fun facts from the history of the brands. The Swatch Museum has 5,000 models, which is fewer than half ever made! The CEO of Glycine welcomed us to their boutique and museum to talk about the brand's history, its current strategy and their best selling models.

The train back to Geneva flew by, and we'd barely had time to drop our bags off at our hotel before meeting for dinner and then drinks with other enthusiasts from around the world. One of the best things about these trips are the meals we have together, talking about collecting, what we've seen and what we think, what we're hoping to get next, and much more.

It was my first time to Geneva Watch Days and I was really excited to see how it worked. We started very strong at Lederer to see watchmaking of the highest craft, both in movement design and construction. That led to a full day of meetings and an enjoyable panel discussion on the future of watch journalism. Let's just say not everyone agreed with each other either on stage or on reflection afterwards! Appointments with Trilobe, Fears, and Linde Werdelin led to some fantastic conversations with brand founders before we headed to the gallery of Europe's oldest watch magazine, Europa Star. There we got to see original Piaget adverts from the archives and learn more about the history of the magazine and the brand.

The team from Piaget took us down to their fantastic boutique to see watches from the current range and the heritage collection. We were able to handle cuff and necklace watches from the 1970s at the same time as see horological marvels like the Altiplano Ultimate Concept, the world's thinnest tourbillon watch. None of us were left in any doubt of Piaget's commitment to excellence in both design and fine watchmaking. Following that was the opening party for the show, which was big, buzzy and had plenty of free-flowing champagne!

Despite our late night, we were up early for an exclusive breakfast with TAG Heuer CEO Antoine Pin, who talked eloquently about their brand values and innovation. It was interesting to hear his beliefs on consistency and clarity underpinning their success in mass luxury watchmaking. His pride in the success of the new Formula 1 range was clear. Given the huge number of TAG Heuer enthusiasts in the Club, including myself, it was good to see the brand in good hands!

Our meetings then took in the unusual watches of Louis Moinet, brunch with Breitling and then the high tech tourbillons of David Candaux. All three create eye-opening timepieces, and it was great fun to consider the fine details. After lunch we visited the Atelier of Urwerk, Singer Reimagined and Ulysse Nardin, who really couldn't have been more different in style and approach. What made such a busy day so fun was being warmly welcomed at every point, getting hands-on with incredible watches, and discovering so much about the design and craft that goes into each watch. I finally held one of my grail watches, the Ulysse Nardin Free Wheel, which I liked as much as I hoped. It'll be a while before I can afford one though!

While many of the watches we saw on this trip were out of my budget, it was great to meet the makers and designers and learn more about their motivation and how they do things. Nothing compares with hearing about a watch directly from the person who designed or made it. Going with a group of enthusiasts and collectors means you get to hear more questions, see many different reactions to the same watch, and share the joy of learning and exploring these wonderful timepieces.

We're already planning more adventures to explore the world of watches. They're an easy way to discover more brands, learn a lot about the watch world in a short space of time, and develop your own taste further. Our next trip is to the Dubai Watch Show in November, then it'll be to the great Watches and Wonders extravaganza in April 2026. If you register your interest on our website, we'll make sure you hear our plans. In 2026 we hope to hold at least 4 trips abroad to meet brands and visit Manufactures. If there is anywhere you'd like to visit, please let us know!