Why You Should Catch the 2026 Bucherer Masterworks Days Roadshow
The retail powerhouse’s new ongoing event series provides watch enthusiasts with an unparalleled opportunity to build familiarity and personal connections with the exquisite watchmakers offered in its exclusive Masterworks retail experience. We asked some participating brands for the inside scoop on how these events go – next in Zurich, but with more coming down the road.
By Mike Espindle
Executive Editor
Leading global watch and jewelry retailer Bucherer introduced its innovative Masterworks retail concept, focusing on creating a special, conversation-friendly in-boutique space and platform dedicated to showcasing outstanding, hyper-creative artisanal watchmakers (to their current and potential admirers), in 2022. This established the retailer as one of the most finely curated destinations in haute horologie. Now, Bucherer has decided to start taking that show on the road, hosting intimate Masterworks Days events at its boutiques.
Generally invitation-only (with some select “open” days), these activations continue to grow into one of the watch world’s best and rarest opportunities to spend time with these important timepieces and create a more meaningful connection with those brands’ CEOs, designers, and senior management face-to-face.
The exact recipe can vary from location to location, but you can expect not only a like-minded group of watch enthusiasts to chat with, but also exclusive presentations, client lunches and dinners, and unparalleled one-on-one access to the participating watchmaking luminaries.
In the exclusive video below, Bucherer’s Global Associate Director of Haute Horlogerie/Masterworks Olivier Gantenbein aptly explains that the event series is “part showcase, part conversation, part obsession.”
Looking Forward to Zurich
After a successful launch of this year’s “touring season” in Vienna in June, Masterworks Days’ next stop is in Zurich on August 26 to 28. You can expect to spend some very rare quality time with people like sage industry veteran Jean-Claude Biver, De Bethune’s newly minted CEO Antoine Pin, and Chopard’s Chief of Staff Karl-Fritz Scheufele, among many, many others.
As that event approaches, we spoke with some of the notable brands participating in the program this year to learn more about what makes Masterworks Days so special and unmissable. Why go? Read on.
You Can Decipher the Imaginative
Certainly, the opportunity to handle, review, and experience some of the watch world’s most exquisitely avant-garde mechanisms and stand across a table from the fertile, creative minds behind them has abundant appeal. More than just seeing them “in the metal,” Masterworks Days allows you to delve into the pieces and the profound ideas behind them.
For L’Epée CEO Arnaud Nicolas, “[Masterworks Days events] give us the time to share the craftsmanship, history, and countless details behind our unconventional creations. In this intimate format, every conversation goes deeper, allowing people not only to discover our kinetic pieces but to truly experience the passion and the savoir-faire that bring them to life.”
“People don't simply discover our watches; they experience our philosophy and our different way of thinking about time,” echoes Hautlence’s Brand Manager Cedric Joos on the events’ unique possibilities for discovery and connoisseurship. “It gives us the opportunity to show not only what we create, but why we create it. The most rewarding moment is seeing someone's reaction when they encounter our timepieces for the first time.
“For us, Masterworks Days is more than an event. It is a platform that gives independent brands the confidence to keep challenging conventions and pushing the boundaries of what watchmaking can be.”
For a brand as conceptually driven as the outré Urwerk, how important is it to have a forum to explain the “why” behind the watch, face to face? “It is absolutely essential,” Urwerk co-founder Felix Baumgartner comments. “Because, for us, time is not only about precision; it is about precious moments, personal experiences. The room, the shared table, the conversation, the presence. Face to face, we can explain not only how the watch works, but why it exists in the first place.”
You Will Discuss Heritage and Craftsmanship, Deeply
For more traditional watchmakers, Masterworks Days can provide some much-needed focus on intimacy, shared passion, and relationship-building in a sophisticated environment, without having to rush from meeting to meeting.
Master watchmaker Laurent Ferrier tells us, “The intimate setting allows us to sit down with collectors, take our time, get to know them, understand what they appreciate in watchmaking, and share the philosophy and craftsmanship behind Laurent Ferrier. These conversations are never rushed – they become genuine exchanges between people who share the same passion.”
Ferrier (and his head of sales Robert Bailey, as well) also credits Bucherer’s frontline customer/collector expertise with the events’ success. “Their team knows both the collectors and the brands exceptionally well,” he says. “This creates natural introductions and encouraging conversations that might never happen elsewhere.”
Exploring watchmaking heritage in a more meaningful way seems to be the attraction for Girard-Perregaux Managing Director Marc Michel-Amadry: “At Girard-Perregaux, we have cultivated haute horlogerie for more than two centuries. This is both a posture and a method: We create through measure and discernment, attracting those who recognize it. This is exactly what Masterworks Days is all about, and this is why we are happy to be part of it.
“Haute horlogerie should foster a private dialogue with collectors and watch lovers... a dialogue that beautifully expresses a confident and cultured choice.”
The Day is Coming
If you can’t make it to Zurich next week, no worries. Additional Masterworks Days events are scheduled to run in Frankfurt on September 19th, followed by London, New York, and Munich in October. Keep an eye on Bucherer’s Instagram page for dates and information on more “open house” sessions, as well.
Of course, you can always visit a Masterworks “lounge” whenever you’d like (there are currently 10 permanent locations across Europe and the U.S. (Geneva, Lucerne, and Zurich in Switzerland; Berlin, Frankfurt, and Munich in Germany; Vienna, Austria; London in the UK; and Las Vegas and New York in the US).
(Front image © Bucherer)