Sandra‘s Closet

Noon at Globus Zurich, first floor, and the beauty department has a beautiful centre of gravity: two counters standing side by side, Memo Paris and its more secretive younger sister, Floraïku Paris. Waiting to welcome us was John Molloy, the Irishman who built both maisons with his wife Clara, a glass of something chilled in hand and a story ready for every bottle.

I could have listened to him all afternoon. Somewhere between the neroli and the vanilla we discovered that John shares a birthday with my daughter, one of those small coincidences that makes a conversation feel like a reunion. He had come bearing gifts, too: salt from Menorca, gathered on the island where he and Clara keep a house and spend a good part of the year. The timing was perfect, because Menorca is also the name of Memo Paris’s newest fragrance.

Memo Paris, founded in 2007, has always treated perfume as a form of travel, each scent the memory of a place. Menorca, composed by Sophie Labbé, is that island at first light.

Menorca, Memo Paris
Top: bergamot, lemon, ginger
Heart: neroli, iris, carrot seed
Base: salty musk, mineral notes, sandalwood

It opens bright and sunlit, then settles closer to the skin: neroli warmed by iris and earthy carrot seed, before a salted, mineral musk arrives like seawater drying on the arm after a morning swim. Knowing that John and Clara truly live that landscape of salt flats, dry stone walls and limewashed houses made the scent feel less like a launch and more like an invitation into their summer.

The second house, though, was the one I had really come to understand. Floraïku Paris is the Molloys’ quieter masterpiece. Born in 2017 after a journey to Japan, it takes its name from the haiku, and Clara writes a short poem to accompany every scent. Where Memo carries you across the world, Floraïku slows everything to the pace of a tea ceremony. The collection is organised into three rituals: Enigmatic Flowers, Secret Teas and Spices, and Forbidden Incense.

Each bottle hides inside a lacquered bento box, its sculpted cap lifting away to become a travel spray. John’s years in fashion, including a long chapter at Kenzo, show in this almost obsessive attention to object and gesture, while Clara, who spent a year learning Japanese, gave the house its soul. I had the pleasure of meeting her on another occasion, when she passed through Zurich. You can read about that afternoon at Odéon here.

The fragrance at the heart of the day was Sand and Skin, revisited this season as a Limited Edition.

Sand and Skin Limited Edition, Floraïku Paris
Top: Lysylang and Mahonial (luminous ylang and soft mimosa facets)
Heart: amyris, sandalwood, cedar, patchouli, ylang-ylang
Base: Madagascar vanilla, benzoin, labdanum

Warm, golden and unmistakably sensual, it is Madagascar vanilla and benzoin melting into ylang-ylang, wood and resin, the scent of skin that has spent a whole day in the sun. Here the afternoon closed a beautiful circle.

The artist quietly sketching our portraits, Mauro Carraro from Geneva, is the very illustrator who dressed this Limited Edition, his signature midnight blue and gold leaf drawn into sinuous ropes that move like sand across the cap. To be drawn by the same hand that shaped the bottle, on the day of its Zurich debut, is exactly the kind of detail Floraïku does so beautifully.

We ended where every good story should, upstairs at Roofgarden Globus, lunch above the rooftops of the city, the light long and the conversation unhurried.

Menorca, CHF 275. Sand and Skin Limited Edition, CHF 320. Both now available at the Memo Paris and Floraïku Paris counters, Globus Zurich, Beauty Department, first floor.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht and Andrea Monica Hug for Memo Paris
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An Evening of Leather and High Jewelry: YVY x Bvlgari in Zurich

Stepping into the YVY showroom, I was immediately reminded why Yvonne Reichmuth is one of the most exciting names in Swiss design. The evening brought together two worlds that, on paper, could not be more different: the sensual, handcrafted leather universe of YVY and the Roman glamour of Bvlgari. In reality, the pairing felt effortless, bold, and refreshingly new.

Wonderful Yvonne Reichmuth with me

Yvonne has built her reputation on leather, above all her signature corset belts, sculptural statement pieces that have become true collector’s items. What surprised me most that evening was discovering how far her vision reaches beyond accessories. Her showroom revealed a whole range of beautiful garments, each one carrying her unmistakable signature: precise craftsmanship, a strong silhouette, and that perfect balance between edge and elegance.

What made the collaboration with Bvlgari so compelling was the courage behind it. Instead of following the usual event formula, both houses dared to try something different, to walk a new path and to let their aesthetics speak to each other. Supple leather next to a gleaming mix of white and yellow gold creates a tension that is impossible to resist, and the guests clearly felt it too.

Culinary surprises were part of the evening as well. Star chef Ralph Schelling treated us to a completely unexpected menu, entirely vegetarian and absolutely delicious, proving once again that plant-based cuisine can be every bit as luxurious as the setting it is served in. Paired with generously flowing champagne, his creations added yet another layer of indulgence to the night and kept the conversations sparkling until late.

The crowd itself was one of the highlights of the night. Loyal YVY clients mingled with Bvlgari devotees, quite a few of whom I was delighted to see again, while I also met wonderful new faces. This kind of mix is exactly what makes an evening memorable: genuine conversations, shared passions, and the feeling that everyone in the room truly appreciates craftsmanship.

With beautiful Christa Rigozzi and Yvonne Reichmuth

For the occasion, I put together an outfit inspired by Yvonne’s aesthetic, the world of Bvlgari, and, with a wink, the current football fever sweeping the country. All the details on my look will follow very soon in a separate post, so stay tuned.

The evening’s mastermind Christelle Huwiler.

I have to confess that my arrival was slightly more dramatic than planned. Shortly before the event, I found myself quite literally stuck in a dress that refused to let me go, and in the end it had to be cut open to free me. Not every evening starts with a pair of scissors, but it certainly makes for a good story, and it made the glamour that awaited me at YVY all the sweeter.

Evenings like this one prove that Swiss design and Italian high jewellery share more common ground than one might think: a love of beauty, a devotion to craft, and the confidence to break new ground. Grazie, Bvlgari, and merci, Christelle and Yvonne, for a truly special night in Zurich.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht/ Zosia Prominska
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Sephora Turns 10 in Switzerland: Join Me at the Beauty Party of the Summer

Ten years ago, Sephora arrived in Switzerland and changed the way we shop for beauty. On July 9th, the brand is throwing a birthday party worthy of the occasion, and the best part? You are all invited.

Sephora Switzerland is taking over the Soluna Beach Club on Lake Zurich for one glamorous summer evening, bringing together press, creators, brands and the entire Swiss beauty community. Expect interactive brand activations, surprise moments and plenty of product samples from favourites such as MAKEUP BY MARIO, TATCHA, tarte, OLE HENRIKSEN, AESTURA, ghd and Sephora Collection.

The celebrations will continue beyond the party. Together with its long-standing partner Manor, Sephora is planning a series of exclusive summer apéros in Manor stores across the country in August, so keep your eyes open for details.

The event is open to the public (18+) and admission is free. Simply reserve your ticket here.  ​

WHEN | Thursday, July 9th, 2026  ​
TIME | From 5pm onward​
WHERE | Soluna Beach Club​
Bellerivestrasse 264, 8008 Zurich

A decade of beauty deserves a proper toast, and where better than at the lake? See you there, my loves!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht and Courtesy of Sephora and Soluna Beach Club
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Walking into the John Madejski Garden on Wednesday evening, you could feel that this one was special. The V&A Summer Party was turning ten, and the museum had pulled out all the stops, throwing open its courtyard for what has quietly become the most coveted night in London’s summer calendar.

With interior designer Pernilla Bennet of House of Bennet

A decade ago the museum turned its annual fundraiser into something far cleverer than a gala. The concept is simple and rather brilliant. Every summer the V&A invites a committee of leading creative voices to shape the evening and, crucially, to bring emerging talent into the room.

One of my favorites and definitely one of the most outstanding talents at the moment: Harris Reed, who officially stepped down as the creative director of Nina Ricci in March 2026, after a three-and-a-half-year tenure, is now focusing entirely on his eponymous namesake demi-couture label that is to die for!

Another designer I adore is London-based Molly Goddard, who is a real sweetheart, and truly deserves the title «Queen of Frill».

This year that committee included Harris Reed, David Furnish, Grayson Perry, Sandy Powell and Yinka Ilori, and the result is a guest list where a fresh Central Saint Martins graduate might find themselves deep in conversation with the patron who goes on to change their career. The party raises vital funds for the museum, but it also does something money cannot buy. It keeps British creativity alive, connected and celebrated.

Opening speech by Tristram Hunt, Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Returning this year carried its own meaning, because the party had taken a break in 2025. In the past the evening often doubled as the curtain raiser for a major new show. When I last attended in 2024, the night marked the opening of Naomi: In Fashion, the museum’s glorious tribute to Naomi Campbell. This year there was no exhibition opening to coincide with the celebration, which personally speaking I missed. Half the thrill has always been stepping into a brand new world the moment the doors open.

The weather, for once, played its part beautifully. Glasses of Nyetimber caught the last of the evening light, Jessie Ware took to the stage, and the garden hummed with that particular energy you only find when fashion, art, music and a little British eccentricity collide all at once.

Performance by Jessie Ware.

I will be honest with you. I did not see everyone. The garden was so full of wonderful people that I spent most of the night lost in the kind of conversations you simply do not want to walk away from. That, for me, is the real luxury of an evening like this. Not the spectacle, but the company.

Photos: @gettyentertainment

The room held its share of icons, too. Mick Jagger, effortless as ever. Ellie Goulding, radiant. Maya Jama, Akshata Murty, Edie Campbell, Olly Alexander and Munroe Bergdorf were among the faces moving through the candlelit garden, alongside what felt like the whole of London’s fashion and art world gathered in one glorious place.

Always fun seeing my friend Mark-Francis Vandelli, who stars in «Ladies of London».

Ten years in, the V&A Summer Party has lost none of its magic. It remains a love letter to creativity, a celebration of one of the great cultural institutions of our time, and proof that the best nights are the ones spent among brilliant people under a perfect summer sky.

Here is to the next ten.

LoL, Sandra

So nice seeing Juergen Teller again with whom we worked so much at Marie Claire Germany many years ago. He is one of the best photographers I know that has a very special language.

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
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Portrait Hotels: Where the Ferragamo Legacy Meets the Art of Personalised Living

Some hotel collections are built on amenities. The Portrait Hotels are built on something far rarer: the belief that true luxury is not a standard to be met, but a life to be lived.

The Ferragamo S/S 2023 fashion show was held in the open-air courtyard of the Portrait Milano

Born from the Lungarno Collection, the hospitality arm of the Ferragamo family, Portrait is the brand’s most refined expression yet. Three iconic addresses, three Italian cities, one guiding philosophy: that a hotel should feel less like a destination and more like a home you never knew you had.

At the heart of each Portrait property is a dedicated Lifestyle Team whose sole purpose is to dissolve the distance between guest and city. Personal recommendations, curated experiences, and an instinctive attentiveness to individual preference transform every stay into something entirely one’s own. As proud members of the Leading Hotels of the World, the Portrait addresses occupy some of the most storied corners of Rome, Florence, and Milan.

Portrait Roma unfolds across 14 magnificent suites on the Via Condotti, Rome’s most distinguished address, steps from the Spanish Steps and the eternal theatre of the Dolce Vita. The crown jewel, the Penthouse Trinità dei Monti, opens onto a private terrace with views of one of the world’s most iconic monuments. A rooftop lounge completes the picture: breakfast as the city stirs, cocktails as it glitters.

Portrait Firenze is a suite-only sanctuary poised above the Arno, a quiet remove from the energy of the Ponte Vecchio and the boutiques of the Via Tornabuoni. Florentine architect Michele Bönan designed interiors that feel at once personal and timeless, translating the city’s Renaissance sensibility into the language of contemporary elegance. Here, the hotel does not surround the city. The city surrounds the hotel.

Portrait Milano, the collection’s most ambitious chapter, opened in 2022 within a magnificently restored former archiepiscopal seminary on Corso Venezia. Architect Michele De Lucchi oversaw the building’s meticulous transformation, while Michele Bönan furnished 73 rooms and suites with his signature blend of warmth and precision. At the heart of the property, the Piazza del Quadrilatero, a sweeping open courtyard of over 2,800 square metres, creates a new promenade connecting two of the city’s most elegant streets. The property also houses Longevity, a pioneering urban spa that fuses biohacking technology with the holistic principles of Blue Zone philosophy, a first of its kind in a major European city.

Across all three addresses, the Portrait spirit remains constant: craft over convention, intimacy over grandeur, and the quiet confidence of a family that has always understood that the finest things in life are made, not manufactured.

I had the privilege of experiencing this world first-hand at an intimate dinner in Zurich, hosted at Ornellaia alongside Valeriano Antonioli, CEO of the Lungarno Collection. The evening was a culinary journey through Italy in miniature: sparkling Bollicine from Trentino to begin, followed by a menu that moved gracefully from Milan to Florence to Rome, mirroring the very cities where the Portrait houses reside. To sit next to the man who steers this remarkable collection, and to hear the story of the brand told with such passion and conviction, was a reminder that behind every great hotel is a great vision. I left the evening with a deep appreciation for what Portrait Hotels represents and a genuine excitement to experience the properties themselves.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Portrait Hotels and © Sandra Bauknecht
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Last Thursday felt like the perfect start to Art Weekend in Zurich. With Art Basel about to begin, the city was already buzzing with collectors, artists, curators, and friends arriving from all over the world. There was a special energy in the air, the kind that only comes once a year when the art world gathers in Switzerland.

With General Manager Mandarin Oriental Savoy Dominik G. Reiner and German Artist Paul Schrader

My evening started at the Mandarin Oriental Savoy Zurich, where I attended an intimate reception for German artist Paul Schrader, whose works are currently on display throughout the hotel. I was particularly impressed by how naturally his pieces fit into the elegant surroundings of the Savoy.

His work has a quiet confidence that immediately draws you in without demanding attention. Just as enjoyable as the exhibition was meeting Paul himself, warm, approachable, and refreshingly down-to-earth.

With Christoph Niemann at Tao’s

Later, I joined Galerie Gmurzynska for a dinner at Tao’s celebrating the opening of Christoph Niemann’s exhibition. Niemann is one of those rare artists whose work manages to be clever, playful, and sophisticated at the same time. His ability to transform everyday ideas into visual stories has earned him international recognition, and the exhibition is a wonderful reflection of that creativity.

What made the evening truly special, however, were the people. The conversations flowed effortlessly, old friendships were renewed, new connections were made, and there was a shared excitement for the week ahead.

Tao’s Zurich

A wonderful evening, a beautiful reminder of why Zurich becomes such a captivating place every June, and the perfect beginning to what promises to be an inspiring Art Basel week.

LoL, Sandra

With wonderful Galerist Isabelle Bscher of Galerie Gmurzynska

Friends for a long time: Marco Diemer 

Handbag designer Peter Nitz with whom I hosted an event for Patek Philippe a few years ago.

Photos: Courtesy of Mandarin Oriental Savoy and © Sandra Bauknecht
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Where Fashion Meets Wallpaper:
A Morning at Annabel’s with Martin Brudnizki and de Gournay

Few interiors in London stop me the way Annabel’s does. As a member of the Membership Committee at the club, I spend a fair amount of time on Berkeley Square, and yet Martin Brudnizki’s work hits differently every single time. His studio MBDS created something genuinely unique here: a universe of controlled fantasy, English eccentricity and absolute attention to detail. The kind of space that makes you want to dress up just to be worthy of it.

Last Tuesday, I was at the club for breakfast with Martin Brudnizki and Hannah Cecil Gurney of de Gournay to see a new installation celebrating the English summer, which London, with its characteristic sense of humour, chose to mark with a day of horizontal rain. Inside, none of that mattered. The new de Gournay panels are breathtaking: a sweeping floral composition alive with birds, painted in that unmistakable hand that de Gournay has made its signature. Lush, layered, luminous. The moment I saw them, my mind went immediately to the Erdem collaboration, and for very personal reasons.

Those who have followed my interiors journey over the years will know that my previous home was conceived as a love letter to fashion. I dedicated each room to a different designer, with de Gournay as the connective thread running throughout. My study was entirely devoted to the Erdem x de Gournay collection: chinoiserie of birds and blossoms, handpainted in watercolour, in a design that Erdem Moralioglu and Hannah Cecil Gurney brought into being with a shared obsession for the handmade, the romantic and the rare. I lived inside that collaboration, quite literally. And I dressed to match it.

So when I sat down for breakfast last week, I wore my Erdem x de Gournay Giudita tie-neck belted floral-print silk-voile dress. The only possible choice. It felt like a small homage, and it was received as such.

Over breakfast, Martin and Hannah spoke about something that I think many people do not fully understand about the de Gournay design process: the role of the client. The vision, when it is strong and specific, is not a constraint. It is the starting point from which something truly singular can be made. My own vision for that home was fashion, always fashion. With de Gournay, we translated it into walls, into rooms, into an entire way of inhabiting a space. A collaboration in the truest sense of the word, unfolding slowly, with intention.

I will write more about this process another time, because it deserves the space to be explored properly. For now: a dress that was exactly where it needed to be, a room that understood it completely, and a conversation at the table as beautiful as everything else around it.

LoL, Sandra

With my beautiful girlfriends Marijana Matthäus and Monica Perlman.

Photos: Courtesy of Annabel’s / © Sandra Bauknecht 
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Yesterday in London was one of those days that remind me why I love this city so much.

TABAYER

Two invitations, both about jewelry, both in the hands of houses that understand beauty as something more than surface. First, lunch at Hide in Mayfair with Tabayer hosted by The Floorr.

With the loveliest hosts Lupe Puerta (The Floorr) and Nyree Tanielian

Founded in 2021 by Nigora Tokhtabayeva, it is one of the most quietly compelling jewelry brands to emerge in recent years. Each piece is rooted in the ancient symbolism of protection, reinterpreted through a modernist, sculptural lens and crafted in Italy using Fairmined certified gold and ethically sourced diamonds. The signature Oera collection draws on Inanna’s Knot, a Mesopotamian symbol of fertility and guardianship, distilled into forms that feel both elemental and entirely of the moment. Jewelry that carries weight, in the most beautiful sense of the word.

With my dear friend Lupe Puerta, founder of The Floorr.

With my dear friend Anouschka who flew in from Frankfurt for the occasion.

BVLGARI

Lupe and I on the steps of the Bvlgari store on New Bond Street.

Later in the evening, I headed to Bvlgari for a truly special night filled with champagne, whisky tasting, and inspiring conversations. The event celebrated the latest creations presented during Watches and Wonders, including the stunning new Bvlgari Octo Finissimo timepiece, which once again showcased the brand’s incredible innovation and elegance.

With Catherine Eberle-Devaux, Bvlgari Watch Communication Director, and Dr. Bill Lumsden, who heads up Glenmorangie’s innovations and has been with the company for more than 25 years. I had met him before at an event in Zurich and it was lovely to see him again.

But beyond the jewelry and watches, evenings like these are always about something even more meaningful to me,  reconnecting with friends in London, sharing conversations, exchanging ideas, and simply enjoying the atmosphere of being surrounded by beautiful things and inspiring people.

With lovely Akram from the Bvlgari London team. We have been knowing each other from Valentino.

It was one of those rare days that felt effortless from beginning to end, and I went to bed feeling genuinely grateful.

LoL, Sandra

With fashion designer Olga Vilshenko.

Beautiful Bvlgari handbags designed by Mary Katrantzou.

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
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A Return to Time: Notes from Watches and Wonders Geneva

There are few places where time feels as tangible as at Watches and Wonders Geneva. For one day, everything revolves around it, interpreted through craftsmanship, design, and an almost obsessive attention to detail.

This year, the fair revealed more than technical innovation. It signaled a shift in mood, subtle, but unmistakable.

Patek Philippe New Models 2026

BVLGARI celebrates old-school glamour with its newest Serpenti watches.

There is a clear return to old-school glamour and with it, a strong retro influence. Not nostalgia in its simplest form, but a deliberate reinterpretation of the past. Vintage codes are everywhere: softened silhouettes, intricate bracelets, and, most notably, the reappearance of the secret watch.

These pieces conceal their dials beneath decorative covers, blurring the line between jewelry and timekeeping. They are intimate, almost private objects, designed to be discovered rather than displayed. It is a language that echoes the elegance of earlier decades, yet feels entirely contemporary in its execution.

At the same time, craftsmanship is moving back to the center of the conversation. Not just as a technical necessity, but as a form of artistic expression. The level of detail, the patience, and the human touch behind these pieces feels more important than ever.

One example that stayed with me came from CHANEL. A chess set, already sold and therefore no longer on display in its final form, was presented through prototypes. Each figure was meticulously crafted, with the Gabrielle Chanel silhouette wearing a tweed jacket, entirely set with diamonds, that emphasized the effect of the material. It was less an object and more a demonstration of what true craftsmanship can achieve: intricate, precise, and deeply intentional.

Audemars Piguet Etablisseurs Galets

At the same time, a structural shift within the industry is becoming increasingly visible. The market is stretching apart.

Van Cleef & Arpels is expanding its Jour Nuit collection with a new timepiece in honor of the Moon. Within the Midnight case, the watch features two overlapping complications: the first one animates the Jour/Nuit display, while the second one illustrates the actual Moon phase. 

BVLGARI

On one end, brands are leaning heavily into haute horlogerie, producing exceptional, highly complicated, and often extremely limited pieces. These watches are not simply products; they are statements of craftsmanship, created for collectors who value rarity as much as technical mastery. Prices reflect this shift, reaching levels that position these timepieces firmly within the realm of art and investment.

Celebrating 100 years of the Rolex Oyster with this beautiful and affordable Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36 «Jubilee Edition».

On the other end, the more accessible segment remains present, but quieter, almost overshadowed by the spectacle of high-end innovation. The middle ground is thinning, and the contrast between the two extremes is becoming more pronounced.

A Testament to Métiers d’Art: Van Cleef & Arpels, with its latest Perlée Extraordinaire Fruits Enchantés collection, is capturing the ruby-red intensity of perfectly ripened raspberries.

Yet within this high-end focus, creativity is flourishing. Freed from the need to appeal to a broad audience, brands are allowing themselves to be more expressive, more daring, and more niche. Watchmaking, in this sense, is becoming increasingly cultural. These are no longer just instruments or even luxury goods, they are narratives, identities, and statements.

Collectors today are not simply buying watches; they are engaging with meaning.

Walking through the fair, it quickly becomes clear that the experience goes far beyond the watches themselves. Some booths are consistently extraordinary, fully immersive environments that tell their own story. Officine Panerai, known for its diving heritage, brought that world to life with a stand that felt like stepping into the depths.

Van Cleef & Arpels created something entirely different, a poetic garden, complete with a swing, where time seemed to slow down.

And Audemars Piguet offered a more introspective atmosphere, with a library-like setting that invited you to pause, reflect, and look closer.

I leaned into the spirit of the fair with a Moschino look, complete with a watch-shaped bag and a hat featuring a clock detail. A subtle nod to the theme of time, and one that, quite unexpectedly, drew a lot of attention throughout the day. I was frequently stopped, photographed, and even interviewed, an unusual but fitting part of the experience.

Yves Piaget with me (click here for a previous post from 2012).

Amidst all of this, it is often the quieter, more personal moments that stay the longest. Seeing Yves Piaget again was one of them. Having been for many years an ambassador for Piaget, it made the encounter feel all the more meaningful.

Relaunch of the Piaget cocktail ring collection, for which I hosted an private garden party in my house in 2013.

There was something genuinely special in being recognized, in that brief moment of familiarity within such a fast-moving environment. A small exchange, a shared memory, and somehow, it stays. I still have the Piaget rose.

Ulysse Nardin

And perhaps that is what defines the fair as much as the watches themselves. It is not just an industry event, it is a cultural moment, where craftsmanship meets storytelling, and where timepieces become part of a larger narrative.

I predict a huge success for the BVLGARI Octo Finissimo Watch in satin-polished 18 kt yellow gold case.

What remains after a full day is not simply a memory of products, but a clear impression:

The future of watchmaking may well lie in its past.

In craftsmanship over scale.
In rarity over ubiquity.
In intimacy over display.

And in the enduring desire to make time feel, once again, timeless.

Trying on Cartier‘s latest Bagnoire collection, that I am completely obsessed about.

Some of the most remarkable pieces deserve a closer look, and I’ll be returning to a few of them in more detail over the coming weeks.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
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When Time Meets McDreamy: A TAG Heuer Moment in Geneva

Surrounded by some of the most extraordinary watches in the world… and yet, meeting McDreamy might have been the real highlight.

At Watches & Wonders in Geneva, where every brand competes to redefine time through design and innovation, it’s easy to get lost in the details, movements, materials, complications.

But some moments cut through all of that.

Meeting Patrick Dempsey, forever McDreamy from Grey’s Anatomy, was exactly that kind of moment. Effortless, charismatic, and completely at ease, he represents the spirit of TAG Heuer in a way that feels natural rather than staged.

And fittingly, the brand itself delivered one of the most compelling statements of this year’s fair. In a year dedicated to the chronograph, TAG Heuer revisited its most iconic model: the Monaco.

The new Monaco Evergraph feels bold and forward-looking, built around a completely reimagined movement that replaces traditional components with flexible structures, pushing precision and performance into new territory. It’s technical, architectural, almost futuristic. Co-developed with Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, it brings a distinctly experimental edge to contemporary watchmaking.

Operating at 5 Hz with a 70-hour power reserve and COSC certification, it reflects a clear focus on precision and long-term reliability. Co-developed with Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, the movement adds a layer of serious watchmaking credibility to its experimental edge, while the open-worked architecture reinforces its technical character.

Alongside it, the Monaco Chronograph takes a more restrained approach. Rooted in the original 1969 design, it refines the icon with sharper lines and improved ergonomics, now housed in a 39mm Grade 5 titanium case that feels both modern and wearable. Inside, the in-house Calibre TH20-11 delivers an 80-hour power reserve and a bi-compax layout inspired by the historic Calibre 11, while signature elements like the left-side crown remain intact.

Together, they capture what TAG Heuer does best: balancing heritage with innovation, without ever losing its identity.

And maybe that’s what made the moment with Dempsey feel so aligned. In a space defined by exceptional watches, it was presence, not just precision, that made it memorable.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
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