Beyond the Hype: Independent Watchmaking Shines at Beau Rivage

While most eyes in early April go straight to the shiny booths and velvet ropes of Watches & Wonders, something different (and way more relaxed) is happening not too far away. Over at the Beau Rivage hotel, right on the edge of Lac Léman, a bunch of independent brands meet up for what honestly feels like a secret horology hangout.

No big billboards. No armies of influencers. Just watch nerds, collectors, and makers chatting over espresso (or wine, depending on the hour). You can try on a prototype straight from the founder’s bag and ask stuff like “how thick is it with the dome crystal?” without getting a side-eye. It’s low-key, it’s friendly, and yes—it’s also about guacamole, apparently.

If there was one brand that made everyone smile at Beau Rivage this year, it was Studio Underd0g. Richard, the founder (and very much the face of the brand), used to be a designer in London with zero watch industry background. Now? He’s dropping collabs with Moser and somehow still managing to sneak avocado jokes into serious horology conversations.

He told me he didn’t even know that the watch industry is a thing until after university. Then COVID hit, and like many of us, he started doing weird creative stuff. One of his first watch sketches looked like a watermelon. It became real, people went nuts, and just like that, Studio Underd0g was a thing.

Today, they’re still keeping it playful—but the watches are getting fancier. Like “Project Passion” with H. Moser & Cie.—a collab that sold out in under an hour and made the indie watch community lose its collective mind. Richard said it felt like “being knighted by the Swiss.” Very fair.

That collab led to others. One coffee turned into a sunflower—the Sunflower watch made with Sartory Billard. It’s the most refined Studio Underd0g yet: fancy guilloché dial, super limited, big step up in quality and price. Richard admitted he was nervous. “But it worked. People got it.” They more than got it—it sold out the same day.

And just as things were getting serious, something ridiculous happened: a Chinese brand cloned the Watermelon. And then made an Avocado version. One Studio Underd0g had never made. Richard could’ve freaked out. Instead? He decided to copy the copycat by designing his own avocado. And then a Guacamole.

“The only way to get revenge,” he said, “was to get our own back.” Honestly? An iconic move. Ever since Richard spoke those copycat watches into existence, the hype has been building. Sometimes, the story matters more than the rules - and this story? It’s just too good not to tell through actual watches.

Tutima brought a lot of watches to Beau Rivage, and honestly, I didn’t realise how diverse their lineup was until I got there. Like yes, we all know them for the serious pilot and diver watches—the M2 Seven Seas S is a beast (500m water resistance, chunky case, super readable). And yeah, it’s built like a tank.

But then I saw the Lady Sky with that sage green dial and Asanoha pattern—and I was like, wait, this is also Tutima? It has the same solid specs as their rugged stuff but looks totally different. Kind of graceful, even.

And it didn’t stop there. They had complications, chronographs, even dressier pieces that I didn’t expect. There’s clearly a lot going on behind the scenes with this brand. You think you know them for one thing, and then bam—they surprise you with something else. I probably spent way too long at their table, but that’s what Beau Rivage is for, right?

Okay, I’ll be honest—I’m a bit of a Furlan Marri fan. The brand is still pretty new (2021!), but it feels like they've been around longer just because of how fast they’ve become a big name in the indie scene.

Their first hit was the Mechaquartz chronograph range. Yeah, I know, quartz—but trust me, these had serious style. And the price? Super fair. That combo got people hooked. Then came the GPHG award. And more cool models. And more fans.

Now they’ve got things like the Disco Volante and those Cornes de Vache dressier pieces, and they all just look right. They’re romantic, but also wearable. And what I love is how they feel thought-out without being pretentious.

At Beau Rivage, their booth was always buzzing. I even had to wait in line. Worth it, though—I got to try on a couple new pieces (can’t say much yet, but yeah, they’re cooking). You get the sense these guys really care about details. The proportions, the dials, even the packaging. They’re not trying to impress the industry. They’re making watches they’d actually wear—and it shows.

Delma doesn’t scream for attention, but when you stop and look, they hit hard. Their Blue Shark IV? Goes down to 5000 meters. That’s submarine territory. Completely bonkers. But at Beau Rivage, the watch that got people talking was their new 1924 Tourbillon.

It’s a watch with a proprietary movement—a hand-wound, Swiss-made tourbillon with 105 hours of power reserve. The salmon guilloché dial is ridiculously nice, and the finishing on the movement is straight-up haute horlogerie. Perlage, Geneva stripes, blued screws... all there.

Only 25 pieces made. Not cheap, obviously, but still kind of humble. Like “hey, we’ve been doing this for a century and just wanted to show you what we can do” energy. And honestly? Respect.

Beau Rivage isn’t trying to be the cool kid. That’s why it is the cool kid. There’s no red carpet, no brand armies. Just space to actually talk and try things and enjoy watches without pressure.

You meet the people who designed the watches. You get to ask them weird nerdy questions. You talk about lug-to-lug while sipping on a cappuccino. Nobody’s trying to sell you something with a limited-time code. It’s just… real.

And the best part? You can still find amazing watches for under $1,000. Watches with stories. Watches that surprise you. In a world where everything feels more expensive and more exclusive, that kind of magic is rare.

So yeah—skip the hype. Skip the velvet ropes. The real fun? It’s probably hiding in a quiet corner of Geneva, over by the lake, with a guy wearing an avocado on his wrist.