Rolex Watch U.S.A., Inc. filed a US trademark application for ROLEX CAFÉ on September 30, 2026, covering café services under international class 43. A separate filing for The 1908 New York also concerns dining services. The filings coincide with work on Rolex’s new Manhattan headquarters but do not constitute an opening announcement.
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The Day in Watchmaking
Rolex’s US filings for ROLEX CAFÉ and The 1908 New York coincide with development of its Manhattan headquarters, but neither constitutes an opening announcement. Alongside those dining-service applications, plans by MCH Group and Informa Markets for the Basilia watch and jewellery fair in Basel in April 2027 put industry venues in focus. Manufacturing depth provides a contrasting theme: Rexhep Rexhepi’s RRCHF has a fully in-house, integrated flyback chronograph movement, supported by seven workshops and a 54-person team producing approximately 50–60 watches annually across the business. In the secondary market, November’s Geneva auction catalogues span 1,239 lots, while Joe DiMaggio’s Patek Philippe carries a $1.2 million asking price through Wind Vintage—a price sought, not a sale result. Among releases, Sinn marks 65 years with the 300-piece 140 A S Anniversary chronograph. NOMOS adds the larger Club 38, while WM Brown and Timex offer a non-limited $349 dress-watch set. Girard-Perregaux’s regular-production rose-gold Laureato Fifty Three Gold Bridges extends its skeletonised offering.
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Rexhep Rexhepi’s RRCHF flyback chronograph uses a fully in-house, integrated movement. The manufacturer operates seven workshops within four blocks of Geneva’s Old Town, covering functions including case production, enamelling and assembly. Its 54-person team produces approximately 50–60 watches annually across the business.
Sinn has introduced the 140 A S Anniversary chronograph to mark its 65th anniversary, limiting production to 300 pieces. Inspired by the brand’s spaceflight history, it continues a model line associated with demonstrating the reliability of an automatic mechanical chronograph in zero gravity.
Joe DiMaggio’s Patek Philippe watch is available through Wind Vintage with an asking price of $1.2 million.
Sinn has announced two 556 I FAZ II editions with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, limited to 100 pieces per colour and priced at $2,370. Each has a 38.5mm satinised stainless steel case, 11mm thick, and an SW200-1 movement visible through the caseback. Electroplated silver dials feature green or orange accents, with a date at six o’clock.
New Releases
NOMOS Glashütte has introduced the Club 38 as a larger variant of its Club watch. The Club collection offers a sportier alternative to the brand’s emblematic hand-wound Tangente and is positioned among its more accessible watches.
Timex and Matt Hranek’s WM Brown have launched a non-limited $349 dress watch set with a steel bracelet and brown leather strap. The tank-shaped stainless steel case measures 26.5 × 41.3mm, housing a Miyota 1L40 quartz movement. Its light grey Arabic-numeral dial has small seconds; water resistance is 50m. It is available now through both partners.
Girard-Perregaux’s Laureato Fifty Three Gold Bridges features a 41mm steel case, 10.85mm thick, with a white-gold bezel and integrated H-link bracelet. Its skeletonised display exposes three rose-gold bridges, a tourbillon with a lyre-shaped cage and a platinum micro-rotor. Luminous hands and hour markers aid readability, although the gold hands can blend into the bridges.
Frederique Constant’s 2026 Elements Collection is limited to 88 box sets, each containing three Manufacture Classics watches. The collection returns with onyx, heliotrope and turquoise dials, assigning a different mineral to each of the three watches.
Girard-Perregaux introduced the Laureato Fifty Three Gold Bridges on October 27, 2026, as a regular-production rose-gold model with a white-gold octagonal bezel and integrated bracelet. Its skeletonised GP9620 calibre features 418 hand-polished angles, a titanium tourbillon cage and a platinum micro-rotor. It follows the 50-piece anniversary edition released in 2025.
Moritz Grossmann is launching a black-enamel-dial Hamatic to mark the 200th anniversary of founder Carl Moritz Grossmann’s birth. This is the second celebratory Hamatic edition, following seven anniversary models released this year. The watch uses a pendulum-style hammer weight for winding.
Vulcain added regular-production Skindiver Chronograph Red & White 590176B57 and Red & Black 590176B07 models on October 20. Their white or black dials have red accents. Both feature 39.7mm 316L steel cases, 50m water resistance and automatic ETA 7753-based C088 movements running at 4Hz with 42-hour power reserves.
Elka Watch Co. has launched the vintage-inspired Tour des Chavannes series. Founded by Hakim El Kadiri, the young microbrand revives a defunct Dutch watch name while drawing on Swiss heritage.
Auctions & Secondary Market
Christie’s, Antiquorum and Sotheby’s have published catalogues for their November 2026 Geneva watch auctions. The selection spans 1,239 lots, including F.P. Journe, A. Lange & Söhne and vintage watches, as attention around Journe continues ahead of the autumn auction season’s start in Monaco.
Monaco Legend Auctions will offer a steel Rolex ref. 6062 Oyster triple calendar moon phase at its month-end sale. The watch has had just two owners in roughly 80 years and features gold-tone hands and indices. Its apparently original condition includes legible case-back engraving, strong case lines and preserved dial textures.
Worth Reading
MCH Group and Informa Markets are preparing Basilia, a new international watch and jewellery trade fair scheduled to open in Basel in April 2027. Roman Imgrüth outlines plans to attract buyers, support emerging brands and make Basel a more welcoming destination.
Alto’s ART 02 enters its permanent collection with an initial run of about 150 pieces in Grade 5 titanium and a matching bracelet. The 10.2mm-thick watch features a faceted sapphire crystal, backward-running seconds hand and ridged, microblasted anthracite brass dial. It debuted at Geneva Watch Days 2026.
Collectors, dealers, media and Swiss executives reportedly valued USD 130 Chinese watches in the thousands. A comparison involved two Specht & Söhne watches and one Daniel Gorman, including a USD 119.99 Specht & Söhne with a 37mm stainless steel case, salmon dial and Miyota 8215 automatic movement. The broader argument calls for tighter Swiss Made rules.
A. Lange & Söhne marked the 32nd anniversary of its 1994 relaunch with a retrospective at New York’s William Ziegler Mansion, also known as Academy Mansion. Displays ranged from antique pocket watches to modern complications, including the original 1994 releases and dozens of movements. An on-site engraver demonstrated hand engraving.
Chopard’s Happy Sport The First is a watch in the brand’s Happy Sport collection.
The Tudor Pelagos FXD and Seiko Turtle have different military dive-watch histories and occupy different price tiers. Their comparison centers on hands-on performance, heritage and whether the Tudor warrants its higher price.
The Casio Edifice EFK-200 is an automatic wristwatch priced below €300, offering a mechanical option within the Japanese brand’s Edifice range.
Citizen’s Eco-Drive AW1900 series comprises four lightweight, sporty watches priced below €250. The range is positioned as an affordable everyday option within the Japanese brand’s collection.
Rado’s Captain Cook x Cameron Green limited edition pairs a 42mm case with a green gradient dial and cricket-inspired details celebrating the Australian cricketer and brand ambassador. On-wrist comfort earns praise, while fiddly strap changes and a bracelet clasp lacking micro-adjustment are drawbacks.
Chef Buddha Lo’s watch collection includes two Cartier watches and a Rolex Datejust inherited from his late father. His father’s enthusiasm for timepieces inspired Lo’s own interest in collecting, with the inherited Rolex forming the collection’s anchor.