Article | An Accessible Path Into Independent Watchmakers Phillips Geneva Fall 2026 Online Auction

Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo is pleased to present The Geneva Sessions, Fall 2026, an online auction running from 4–11 September. Featuring more than 90 exceptional luxury timepieces from leading makers including A. Lange & Söhne, Audemars Piguet, F.P. Journe, and Patek Philippe, the sale includes all seven watches featured in this story.

Independent watchmaking is one of the most exciting areas of collecting today. Small teams, singular visions, and boundless creativity have produced many of the most desirable watches of the past few decades.

Yet for many enthusiasts, that world can seem out of reach. Production numbers are limited, waiting lists stretch for years, and prices – whether at retail or on the secondary market – can be eye-watering. But independent watchmaking isn't only about chasing the unobtainable.

Whether you're drawn to the pioneers who helped define the movement, the final watches produced under a founder's leadership, the first chapter of a new era, or tomorrow's rising stars, these seven watches below show there are many ways to build an independent-focused collection without needing deep pockets or decade-long relationships with brands or retailers.

Own a Pioneer

Independent watchmaking has produced many celebrated names, but only a handful can claim to have helped create the movement itself. Vincent Calabrese belongs in that group.

After creating the revolutionary linear movement for Corum's Golden Bridge, unveiled in 1980, Calabrese joined Svend Andersen five years later to set up the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI), providing independent watchmakers with a common platform, helping to launch the careers of many of today's best-known makers.

And the 82-year-old remains as active as ever, most recently collaborating with MB&F on its M.A.D.3.

The Calabrese Power reveals another side of the Switzerland-based Naples native's work. Introduced in 1992 as the first watch in his Techniques collection, it reflects what Calabrese described as "extraordinary watches with ordinary movements." Based on the ETA 2892 automatic caliber, its patented power-reserve mechanism used fewer components than conventional designs, resulting in a slimmer construction.

Housed in a 35mm steel case with flared lugs, the watch balances a date display at 12 o'clock with 120-degree power-reserve indicator at 6 o'clock, creating a clean, symmetrical dial.

More than three decades later, the Power offered in The Geneva Sessions, Fall 2026 represents an opportunity to own the work of one of independent watchmaking's founding figures.

Collect the Founder’s Era

For the first decade and a half of its existence, Speake-Marin was inseparable from its founder. Established by British watchmaker Peter Speake in 2002, the brand reflected his interpretation of classical watchmaking and strong sense of craftsmanship.

That personal imprint is evident throughout the Spirit line. Introduced in 2011 as the 68-piece Spirit Pioneer, it combined familiar Speake-Marin signatures – including the Piccadilly case and his heart-shaped “Foundation” hands – with a more casual aesthetic and accessible price point than his earlier creations.

Inspired by a military watch he had restored years earlier, and by the resilience he witnessed following the 2008 financial crisis, Spirit took its name from what he believed people retained in the face of adversity: the determination to "Fight, Love & Persevere." Engraved on the caseback of every Spirit, those words became the collection's enduring motto.

The Spirit Mk II refined the original concept while retaining its steel case and matte black dial with luminous Roman numerals and hour markers. The latter’s success paved the way for the stealthier DLC-treated version consigned in The Geneva Sessions, Fall 2026 – a watch from the period when Peter Speake still led the brand that bore his name.

Follow the Family Tree

Founded by Dutch brothers Bart and Tim Grönefeld, Grönefeld has earned a stellar reputation – and three Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève awards – for producing some of independent watchmaking's finest timepieces.

Yet the brothers recognized that their low production and five-figure prices placed them beyond the reach of almost everyone, including their own children, friends, and fellow watchmakers.

To address that, they launched Grøne in 2024 as a sister brand – or perhaps, more fittingly, a "brother" brand – to distill the essence of Grönefeld into watches many more people could own.

The first model, the Manueel One, carried over the brothers' design language through its 1941-inspired case architecture, conical crown, layered dial, manual winding, and references to their hometown of Oldenzaal. While the movement became simpler, the philosophy and identity remained very much Grönefeld.

The Moment Meter develops that idea further by exploring what a Grøne chronograph should be, pairing a layered dial, bold colors, and hand-wound column-wheel movement with the "Home Sweet Home" engraving that pays tribute to Oldenzaal.

This 300-piece limited edition, included in The Geneva Sessions, Fall 2026, shows how Grøne, as a younger branch of the same family tree, carries much of the Grönefeld DNA into a price bracket that many more collectors can reach.

Buy the Blueprint

Unlike the founders of many independent watch brands, Ming Thein did not build his reputation at the workbench.

Trained as a physicist and engineer before pursuing careers in photography, business, and design, he approached watchmaking from a different perspective. When he co-founded Ming with five others in 2017, the ambition was to develop a design language that could evolve over decades.

Launched to celebrate the brand's first anniversary, the 17.03 Ultra Blue already displayed many of the characteristics that have since become unmistakably Ming. The sculptural flared lugs, architectural dial with its recessed center and raised outer ring, floating numerals suspended beneath the sapphire crystal, and rounded hands reflected an approach in which every design decision contributed to a single visual identity.

Its individually hand heat-blued Grade 2 titanium case – each developing unique shades of blue, cyan, and purple – extended that thinking to the material itself, ensuring that no two watches in this 25-piece limited edition look exactly the same.

Featured in The Geneva Sessions, Fall 2026, the 17.03 Ultra Blue represents a blueprint – quite literally – for one of contemporary watchmaking's most distinctive visual identities.

Embrace a New Beginning

All independent watch brands eventually reach a moment when their future depends on someone other than their founder. For collectors, those transitions can offer a rare opportunity to acquire the first expression of a new creative direction.

After establishing his eponymous Dutch brand's reputation for astronomical complications, Christiaan van der Klaauw passed the company to Daniël and Maria Reintjes, who refined its visual identity, focused the collection on astronomical watches, and led the brand to Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève success.

Their successor is master watchmaker Pim Koeslag, whose career spans movement development, technical leadership, and brand-building at Frederique Constant and Ateliers deMonaco before returning to the Netherlands to lead CVDK into its next chapter, acquiring a majority stake in the brand.

The Ariadne automatic chronograph marks an important milestone in that story. Released as the first new model under Koeslag's leadership, it refreshed an established design with a reworked dial, new textures, and improved visual contrast while leaving its underlying architecture untouched.

The 2024 Ariadne, offered in The Geneva Sessions, Fall 2026, gives collectors the opportunity to get their hands on the first expression of Koeslag's stewardship of Christiaan van der Klaauw and experience how he has built on the brand's established strengths.

Choose Value… and Values

Many collectors discover Habring² because of its value. However, the better reason is arguably its values.

Austrian watchmaker Richard Habring could easily have followed the conventions of haute horlogerie. Having developed IWC's groundbreaking industrialized split-seconds chronograph and worked under Günter Blümlein on complications for the LMH manufactures, he had every credential to build exclusive, high-priced watches.

Instead, Richard and his wife Maria founded Habring² around a different philosophy: thoughtful engineering, long-term reliability, straightforward servicing, and honest, accessible prices that place independent watchmaking within reach of more collectors.

The Monochrome Montre de Souscription 1, a 33-piece limited edition created with the online watch publication Monochrome in 2021, distills that philosophy. Based on the brand's Chrono-Felix, it is powered by a hand-wound monopusher chronograph developed from Richard Habring's decades of experience refining the Valjoux 7750 architecture.

The two-tone salmon sector dial, telemeter scale, and blued chronograph hands draw inspiration from the elegant monopusher chronographs of the 1940s, while the compact 38.5mm case and stepped bezel give the watch timeless, wearable proportions.

Part of The Geneva Sessions, Fall 2026, the Monochrome Montre de Souscription 1 is an opportunity to own a watch whose value stems from the very values on which Habring² has been built.

Back the Next Wave

The most rewarding discoveries in watch collecting are rarely the ones everyone is already talking about. More often, they come from recognizing originality before it becomes consensus.

Founded in 2012, Behrens has become one of the hottest names in contemporary independent watchmaking, building its reputation through daringly designed in-house calibers and highly inventive display mechanisms.

What began as an emerging independent has entered the wider conversation through GPHG nominations, appearances at Watches & Wonders, and collaborations with AHCI stalwarts Konstantin Chaykin and Vianney Halter.

The Master Collection Kung Fu exemplifies that trajectory. Created in partnership with Chinese independent talent Qian Guobiao – known to many collectors as the "Tourbillon Doctor" – it combines Behrens' engineering and manufacturing expertise with the signature asymmetrical layout of one of China's most accomplished watchmakers.

The titanium-cased Behrens Master Collection Kung Fu, featured in The Geneva Sessions, Fall 2026, is a collaboration between two independent creators whose originality reflects the energy and ambition of watchmaking's next generation.

You can learn more, place a bid, and view the entire Geneva Sessions, Fall 2026, catalog here.