Openwork: Inside the Watch Industry
Openwork: Inside the Watch Industry
Collective Horology
The Sleepers of Watches and Wonders 2026 – Our Favorite Releases from Geneva – Episode 77
58 minutes Posted Apr 21, 2026 at 7:15 am.
Intro & Hosts
Collective Horology & Geneva Recap
Watches & Wonders — Overwhelm and Approach
Unsung Watches — Format & Plan
NITON — Striking Jump Hour
Zeitwinkel 173 — Smaller Signature Piece
Sylvain Bernerand — Quantiem & Mirage
Armin Strom — Minute Repeater Resonance 1259
Dominique Renault & Renault-Tixier — Pulse 60
Singer Reimagined — Dual Track GMT/Travel Watch
Gaga Laboratorio — Aqua Lab (affordable standout)
Fears — Brunswick 40 Filton (pilot’s watch)
Honorable Mentions & Neo-Vintage Finds
Outro — Support, Contact & Closing
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58:24
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Show notes
Gabe and Asher are back from Geneva, lightly jet-lagged after roughly 30 meetings across three days at Watches and Wonders. Rather than rehash the releases everyone already covered, this episode is dedicated to the watches they think didn't get the attention they deserved. The rule: hands-on only. Four picks each, plus a few honorable mentions.
The list spans a revived historical brand delivering a striking jump hour in a Geneva-sealed movement, a sophomore release whose gearing is literally re-cut so the date numerals sit evenly on the dial instead of bunching up at the double digits, a beloved grand date finally scaled down to wear properly on a smaller wrist, and a half-million-dollar resonance minute repeater with a second chiming mode designed, essentially, to show off. Elsewhere: a cushion-cased diver that wears nothing like its spec sheet, a brand that took everything in-house and cut its average price by 30 to 40% — a direction almost no one else is moving — and a pilot's watch that refuses to follow the obvious template, with a gradient dial lifted straight from RAF aircraft livery.
Honorable mentions include a chaotic mainstream release neither of them can stop thinking about, and a side quest into neo-vintage territory.
Openwork is a weekly podcast about how the watch industry actually works. An unfiltered look behind the scenes — no press releases, no hype, and no sponsored takes. Hosted by Asher Rapkin and Gabe Reilly, co-founders of Collective Horology. Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.
You can find us online at collectivehorology.com. To get in touch with suggestions, feedback or questions, email [email protected].