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The fourth Geneva Watch Days and Phillips charity auction raised CHF 115,500 to support watchmaking students facing financial hardship. This year’s Geneva Watch Days concluded with an initiative dedicated to investing in the future of Swiss watchmaking. On Thursday, 3 September 2026, Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo held its fourth annual charity auction as part of the event, raising a total of CHF 115,500. All proceeds will be donated to the École d’Horlogerie de Genève, Switzerland’s oldest watchmaking school. Founded in 1824, it ranks among the world’s most prestigious institutions for horological education. This year’s result was lower than the record CHF 185,900 raised at the corresponding Geneva Watch Days auction in 2025, but brought the initiative’s cumulative total to CHF 519,400
The auction featured 16 one-of-a-kind objects and exclusive experiences donated by brands participating in Geneva Watch Days. Aurel Bacs conducted the sale, with spirited bidding driving the final total to CHF 115,500. The evening’s top lot was a unique watch design by Konstantin Chaykin, which sold for CHF 24,000.
The funds raised will be donated to the Pierre Amstutz Fund, a non-profit organisation named after the former director of the Geneva School of Watchmaking. The fund provides scholarships to watchmaking and micromechanics apprentices experiencing financial hardship.
Some of contemporary watchmaking’s most prominent figures have studied at the historic institution, including Christophe Claret, Roger Dubuis, Franck Muller and Rexhep Rexhepi.
Across four editions, the Geneva Watch Days and Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo charity auction has raised a total of CHF 519,400, providing tangible support for the next generation of craftspeople who will become the leading creators of tomorrow’s haute horlogerie.
