Last weekend, I attended We Love Watches in Paris, an event organised by Ocarat, the Paris-based watch and jewellery retailer. I took the train from Utrecht, Netherlands to Paris — a journey of around four and a half hours — with the intention of spending a weekend in the city while also attending the fair, discovering new brands, meeting people from the industry and, of course, trying on as many interesting watches as I could.
The event took place over two consecutive days, and I had purchased tickets for both. However, due to personal circumstances, I had to cancel my plans for the first day and attend only the 10:00–14:00 session on the second day, Saturday, 10 October.
Fellow TimepieceNook contributor Sebastien Gorvel joined me for the event. The venue was right in the heart of Paris, not far from Notre-Dame Cathedral and many of the city’s tourist attractions. When we arrived, it was certainly busy, but thankfully never overwhelmingly so. There was still enough breathing room to move between the stands, take a proper look at the watches and have conversations with the brands without feeling rushed.
The fair occupied a single floor of the Maison de la Mutualité, bringing together an impressive number of exhibitors. Watches were naturally the main attraction, although a handful of companies specialising in straps and accessories were also present. The participating brands ranged from young microbrands and smaller independents to considerably larger names, including Casio, Citizen and Alpina. Naturally, my attention gravitated mostly towards the independent and microbrand side of the room.
I couldn’t possibly remember every brand we encountered, but French and Swiss watchmakers were particularly well represented. Familiar names included Serica, Baltic, Beaubleu, Pequignet, Yema, March LA.B, Atelier Wen, Vulcain, Sinn and Nivada Grenchen, among many others.
There was some representation from elsewhere in Europe too. Italy was represented by brands including Venezianico and Officine Tecniche, Germany by the likes of Sinn and MeisterSinger, while Norway was represented by Micromilspec. And then there was one brand that had come from considerably further than most: KUOE from Japan.
Watches, People and Conversations
My first stop was at Yema, one of the better-known French watch brands. I tried the black version of the Rallygraf Alpine Series, an affordable motorsport-inspired chronograph. I wasn’t particularly drawn to the watch when I first saw it in photos, but that changed somewhat once I had it on the wrist. It sat surprisingly well on my relatively small wrist and had plenty of visual character — perhaps a little extroverted in its styling, but certainly more appealing in person.
Sebastien was particularly interested in Auricoste, another French brand with an interesting history and some attractive watches in its current collection. The La Royal Blue seemed to have fully impressed him, while I personally preferred the Flymaster Type 20 chronograph. At €3,450, however, it is a little more than I would personally want to pay for a chronograph at this moment.
Sebastien was also rather taken by Atelier Wen and its Perception collection. The Chinese-French independent has become increasingly prominent among enthusiasts in recent years, particularly for its distinctive approach to Chinese watchmaking and traditional guilloché dials.
I also really enjoyed trying on a new variant of the Nivada Grenchen Chronomaster that, at the time of the event, had not yet appeared on the brand’s website. I won’t spoil the surprise, though — I’ll let Nivada reveal that one themselves.
Pequignet had a few nice watches that caught my attention. The Royale Paris Chronographe 39.5 mm was particularly handsome, especially with its rich blue dial. Speaking of chronographs, the latest variants of the Baltic Scalegraph were also great fun on the wrist, with their dial designs and colours adding plenty of character.
Another smaller French brand I encountered was Gustave & Cie. The young brand had a few relatively simple, dressier pieces on display that caught my attention. Its watches also sit at the more affordable end of the spectrum, and I thought they looked rather good for the asking price.
Of course, trying on watches is only part of the appeal of attending an event like this. I also had a number of enjoyable conversations with the people behind the brands.
One of those was with Emeric Delalandre of Hegid, whom I had previously met at another watch fair in Switzerland. He was just as friendly this time around, and Hegid remains an interesting brand worth checking out, particularly because of the unusual modular construction of its watches.
Another enjoyable stop was Officine Tecniche from Italy. The brand’s latest GMT looked better in person than it does in photographs, and once again, the people behind the company were very welcoming and happy to talk.
Would I Go Again?
I could continue listing every brand we visited and every watch we tried, but that would probably turn this into a catalogue rather than an account of the event.
The important part is that we had a good time.
We Love Watches offered a nice balance between established manufacturers, independents and smaller microbrands, with plenty to discover over the course of the day.
There is one thing I would like to see in future editions: a little more international representation. French brands understandably dominated an event held in Paris, and there was a healthy Swiss presence too, but it would be great to see more brands from Germany, Britain and elsewhere in Europe joining the mix.
Would I go back next year? Absolutely. It’s another perfectly good excuse to spend a weekend in Paris.
