Sandra‘s Closet

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
DISCLOSURE: We may also earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.

During the launch party of PIAGET‘s new POLO S watches in New York City, I had the pleasure to meet one of my favorite authors, award-winning Joël Dicker, as we have been both ambassadors for the brand.

Born in Geneva on June 16, 1985 to a bookseller and a French teacher; he is of both French and Russian descent and has literature in his blood thanks to his parents. Dicker spent his childhood in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. At the age of 19, he decided to move to Paris to take acting classes. A year later, he returned to his hometown to study law at the University of Geneva, obtaining a degree in 2010.

His early beginnings as a writer were not the easiest. However, they show that passion and persistence can overcome all odds. With his first work, the short novel «The Tiger», he participated in a youth literary contest in 2005. In this competition he was disqualified because the main judge presented doubts about his authorship. However, this didn’t stop Dicker and today, he sees it as a milestone in his career.

In 2009, Dicker completed his first novel called «The Final Days of our Fathers», based on the UK Secret Intelligence Service. After not raising interest in any publisher, in 2010 he decided to enroll her in the Prix ​​des Ecrivains Genevois for unpublished works. The writer was the winner of this important award, to finally achieve its publication a year later with Éditions de Fallois.

His style to structure and write a book is different and therefore addictive. Throughout his work, fates and different worlds will cross, and some stories will be parallel all along to meet at the end, as the reader finally will discover the outcome.

Dicker has a very special way to come up with an intoxicating plot mixing shady past and shifting present while spicing it up with suspense and crime. The outcome? Thrilling, delightfully twisted, continually shocking, literary and intelligent novels that all kept me eagerly turning the pages.

My first Dicker book was «The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair» (2012), the story of an American novelist with writer’s block who begins to investigate a murder of which his former university professor is accused. You could say that this thriller took the world by storm. In summer 2013, the title displaced Dan Brown’s Inferno from the top of bestseller lists all over Europe. It has been translated into more than 40 languages ​​and has sold more than 4.000.000 copies worldwide. In addition, the he won the Prix Goncourt des lycéens, the Prix de la Vocation and the Prix du roman from the French Academy. It has also subsequently been made into a 10-part television mini-series with Patrick Dempsey in the leading role.

Dicker’s third novel, «The Baltimore Boys», was released in 2015, followed by his fourth novel, «The Disappearance of Stephanie Mailer» in 2018, which is another one of my favorites by Dicker, a captivating thriller with a killer twist.

In bed with «The Disappearance of Stephanie Mailer».

After releasing his fifth novel «The Enigma of Room 622» in 2020, his fans were waiting impatiently for his new book … It’s now done! «L’Affaire Alaska Sanders» has been hitting the shelves… and I cannot wait to read it!

YOU CAN SHOP HIS BOOKS ONLINE HERE IN SEVERAL LANGUAGES.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht / Photo on bed: David Biedert Photography
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.

Last week during the Zurich Film Festival, I was guest of NESPRESSO to see the Swiss premiere of «Bridget Jones Baby», the continuing adventures of British publishing executive Bridget Jones as she enters her 40s, starring Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth and Patrick Dempsey. «What if» is a major question in this movie that is so much fun. I was laughing through the entire film. The good vibes of the evening continued after the screening with the delicious plates prepared with passion and originality by the young and talented chef Ralph Schelling.

My look: Lace-paneled stretch-silk cady gown by Alessandra Rich, palladium-tone, crystal and Plexiglas® necklace and earrings, both by Miu Miu, padlock mini studded leather shoulder bag by Alexander McQueen and cutout leather platform pumps by Saint Laurent, diamond ring by Vainard Fine Jewellery and Tonda 1950 Set Clarity watch by Parmigiani Fleurier.

Greetings from NYC where I am at the moment for a new amazing project coming up soon…

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Nespresso, © Andrea Monica Hug (event and me at the event) © David Biedert Photography (photos of me outside in color)  and © Sandra Bauknecht