Chronopolis: We Went Treasure Hunting at Geneva's New Microbrand Watch Fair

Geneva has Watches and Wonders. But tucked nearby, something else is happening — and it might matter just as much to the future of this industry: Chronopolis, a new, massive microbrand watch fair that runs alongside Watches and Wonders. And Time+Tide's Andrew McUtchen and Meighan Johnson (straight from the Time+NewTide New York Discovery Studio) went treasure hunting. The mission? Find the next household name before it becomes one. Because here's the thing — so many of the brands that now pass through our studios started exactly like this: a trestle table, a dream, and a watch worth discovering. Here's some of what stopped us in our tracks: Hegid Paris — The Build-A-Bear Workshop of watchmaking. A modular platform where you choose the case, the dial, the strap. Square DLC with a Bond NATO? Done. All from a base of €4,200, with case accessories starting at €700. Genuinely nothing else like it. Arsène Lippens— A linen and bamboo fabric dial that has absolutely no business looking this good. The kind of watch that calls your name from across the room — and across the watch box. Depancel — Sporty, French, aggressively priced at €495, with automotive detailing that punches well above its weight. Yema — Founded in 1948, built the first dive watch with a 200m depth rating, innovative bezel lock, CMM.20 manufacture calibre with COSC-equivalent specs... and a dress watch side that nobody saw coming. Spoiler: a retail partnership conversation happened on camera. Atelier Wen — Andrew's next New Watch Alert. A tantalum-cased watch with a Girard-Perregaux base calibre that has a rotor shaped like the Chinese character for wind. He watched his own footage of it more times than any video he's ever shot. Then he bought one. Nivada Grenchen — Penguins. That's all we'll say. Watch the B-roll. That is just some of the brands we saw. This is how the magic happens. Come with us. ------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 01:02 Hegid 02:42 Arsène Lippens 04:20 Depancel 05:34 Yema 09:43 Serica 10:23 Atelier Wen 12:49 Maen 13:12 Nivada Grenchen ------------------------------- https://www.chronopolis.ch ------------------------------- Read more articles: https://timeandtidewatches.com Shop: https://shop.timeandtidewatches.com ------------------------------- MB01OTIXZLPJ5VH INSTAGRAM @timetidewatches TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/search?q=timeandtidewatches T+T Shop Instagram https://www.instagram.com/timetideshop/