After four years with Deployant, this is only my second Armchair Pick and my first for Geneva Watch Days (GWD). I cannot help but feel a little FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), having usually been on the ground alongside our Chief Editor at events like these.

GWD26 Armchair Picks: Stanley’s Top 3, Watching Geneva from Afar 

The FOMO is real! Sitting here in Singapore, reading the updates from our Chief Editor, Peter, as well as my colleagues from other publications, certainly made me feel a little left out of the action in Geneva.

It did not help that the watches released during this edition of Geneva Watch Days were particularly fascinating. From the M.A.D.3 to the Bulgari × Vianney Halter Octo Finissimo, there were more than a few releases that really knocked my socks off.

Without further ado, here are my top picks from Geneva Watch Days 2026, along with my thoughts on each. The watches are presented in ascending order of price.

Ba111od Chapter 7 Skeleton

My first choice comes from an independent brand that has been doing a rather good job of democratising independent watchmaking: BA111OD. When Thomas first showed me the Chapter 7, it was an instant head-turner. At USD 1,160 for an integrated-bracelet sports watch with chronometer certification, I almost had to slap myself awake to make sure I had heard the price correctly.

This time around, the team at BA111OD has released a skeletonised variant of the Chapter 7. Usually, I am not the biggest fan of skeleton watches, but the Chapter 7 Skeleton managed to pull at my heartstrings. There is quite a lot going for it: the price point, the overall design of the integrated-bracelet sports watch and, perhaps most importantly, the clear contrast between the hands and the skeletonised dial. Legibility can sometimes become an afterthought with skeleton watches, but that does not appear to be the case here.

Fit it onto the baby blue strap and I can easily see the Chapter 7 Skeleton becoming a proper GADA (Go Anywhere, Do Anything) watch, accompanying its wearer on whatever adventure is thrown its way.

Kerbedanz 65’27’’  

Second on my list is the latest release from Kerbedanz: the 65’27’’. The rather romantic name is inspired by a mathematical phenomenon: every 65 minutes and 27 seconds, the hour and minute hands overlap. When they do, a circular opening incorporated into the minute hand allows the hour marker beneath to remain visible, rather than being completely eclipsed by the hand.

Now, some of you may be asking: “Stanley, are you nuts?” After all, the watch starts at CHF 30,000 for the titanium variant and climbs to CHF 55,000 for the rose-gold version with diamond-set bezel and lugs. All that for a two-hand watch where you cannot even admire the movement finishing from the back?

Hear me out: less is more. My favourite combination is the titanium variant with the jet-black dial. The 65’27’’ represents a complete departure from the watches we typically associate with Kerbedanz, which tend to be far more extroverted, often with a giant central tourbillon rotating prominently in the middle of the dial.

The 65’27’’, on the other hand, whispers rather than shouts. A subtle diamond serves as the hour marker, while the restrained 38mm case diameter and extremely short lugs give the watch the proportions of an elegant dress watch. It is precisely the sort of watch I can imagine disappearing neatly beneath the cuff of my favourite double-breasted suit. Understated, unusual and perhaps only truly appreciated by the person wearing it, which is exactly part of its charm.

Greubel Forsey Balancier GMT Convexe

From the quiet-luxury end of the conversation, we immediately jump to something considerably louder: the Greubel Forsey Balancier GMT Convexe. This is a watch that Michel, Greubel Forsey’s CEO, showed me when I visited him in April. Earlier iterations of the Balancier GMT Convexe measured 43.5mm in diameter, but for the latest iteration, the Maison has reduced the case to 42.9mm.

A difference of 0.6mm may not sound like much on paper, but for someone with my 6.25-inch wrist, every fraction of a millimetre counts. Suddenly, there was hope assuming, of course, that I could first find CHF 380,000 to hand over to my friend.

Lo and behold, when I finally put the watch on my wrist, it fitted remarkably well. What really helps here is the absence of conventional lugs, allowing the case and bracelet to wrap more naturally around the wrist. Once you get past the surprisingly wearable dimensions, however, it is the extraordinary finishing and the intricacy of that three-dimensional globe that command your attention. This is the sort of watch you can genuinely get lost in, discovering another tiny detail each time you look at it.

And despite all the horological theatre, there is genuine practicality here too. The inclusion of a GMT function is something I certainly welcome, particularly as I regularly need to keep track of multiple time zones in my day job. It is extravagant, complicated and unmistakably Greubel Forsey but underneath all of that, it is also a watch I could actually see myself using.

Special Mention

L. Leroy Vox Temporis Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon

On top of the three watches I would definitely buy if I suddenly found myself with a rather serious amount of disposable income, there is one more I would keep for those truly special occasions: the L. Leroy Vox Temporis Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon. Let’s face it: most people are not going to wear a minute repeater every day. And when that is the reality, conventional time-telling almost becomes secondary. So, no, I really do not mind the single-hand time display.

In fact, that is precisely part of the reason I fell for this watch. I love its intricacy. The hand-guilloché pattern is beautiful, while the rotating disc and arrow appliqué immediately capture the eye. There is an old-school sense of theatre to the entire execution that seems entirely appropriate for a watch of this nature.

Flip the watch over and open the hunter caseback, and you are greeted by the beautifully finished movement beneath. It is the sort of view that would put a smile on my face every time I opened it. And that, basically, is what I am getting at with the L. Leroy. It is a little treat, an unapologetically special watch that would probably become my safe queen, emerging only when an occasion is important enough to justify it.

So, which one would I choose? Definitely the platinum variant with the blue dial and silver arrow. No hesitation there.

Concluding Thoughts

And there we have it: my top picks from this year’s Geneva Watch Days. I suppose it will come as little surprise that every watch on my list comes from an independent watchmaker. That does not mean, however, that releases from the likes of De Bethune or the Bulgari × Vianney Halter collaboration did not make my broader list of favourites.

Quite the opposite.

This edition of Geneva Watch Days brought with it so many fascinating watches that narrowing everything down for this article was far more difficult than I had anticipated. There were technically impressive pieces, wonderfully eccentric creations and more than a few watches that I would happily put on my wrist. Perhaps that only makes the FOMO worse. Watching Geneva from afar this year has reminded me of what makes events like GWD so enjoyable in the first place. It is not simply about seeing the latest watches. It is about handling them, speaking to the people behind them and sharing those discoveries with friends and colleagues in the industry. So, while this year’s picks may have been made from my armchair in Singapore, I am already hoping that the next one will be written from Geneva.