On June 10th, I was invited by a dear friend, let's call him Mr. A, to an evening at Bucherer in the heart of Geneva. It was one of those warm summer evenings where Geneva is at its best, and this time we were heading to the top floor of Bucherer for dinner, watches and cigars with a relatively small group of people from different parts of the industry.

Before Dinner

During the evening, Bucherer gave us a closer look at their Rolex Certified Pre-Owned collection. I knew about the programme already, but I hadn't really seen the depth of what they had available until that night. There were some seriously interesting watches in the selection and I was impressed by the overall stock. Buying through an official CPO programme obviously adds another level of confidence to the pre-owned experience, but what interested me was seeing the variety they had managed to put together under one roof.

Certified Pre-Owned is Rolex's own programme for second-hand watches sold through official retailers. The watch is certified genuine, comes with a Certified Pre-Owned guarantee card and carries a two-year international guarantee running from the date of resale. It opened at Bucherer boutiques across six European countries at the end of 2022, before other official retailers joined.

Jimmy Heneidy in a grey suit and dark sunglasses on the lakeside promenade in Geneva, the Jet d'Eau and the far shore behind him
Open Don Capa cigar boxes arranged on a draped cocktail table beside a banner reading proudly handmade in the Dominican Republic, a Bucherer Certified banner behind
Champagne being poured into a wine glass beside bottles and rows of glassware, with Bucherer Certified Pre-Owned signage behind
Gold Rolex Certified Pre-Owned signage on a dark marble wall above a framed image of a CPO tag and guarantee card, with the dinner table below

I hadn't seen the depth of Bucherer's Certified Pre-Owned selection until that night.

Early evening

The Room

We sat down for a three-course dinner which was honestly far better than I expected from an event dinner. Good food, good wine and enough time between courses to move around the table and actually get to know the people around you.

A long dinner table set beside tall windows, with white linen, rows of glassware and low greenery down the centre
The dinner table seen down its length before service, guests standing and talking at the far end of the room
Looking down from a top floor over the Geneva quay, traffic, trees, the lake and the far hills
A Ferris wheel on Geneva's lakefront seen from above, with traffic and Lake Geneva behind it
Silent video tilting down a Ferris wheel seen through the dining-room window, with Lake Geneva beyond

Good food, good wine and enough time to move around the table.

Half past six

Around the Table

What I probably enjoyed most was how relaxed the entire evening felt considering who was actually in the room. There were collectors, business owners and senior people from some of the biggest names in the watch industry, including chairmen from Audemars Piguet. Still, there was very little formality around the table. People were open, humble and genuinely interested in meeting each other, and the conversations continued long after dinner was finished.

A gold Audemars Piguet Royal Oak with a stone-set bezel, day and date subdials and a textured dial, displayed on a cushion behind glass
A multicoloured, grenade-shaped L'Epée 1839 table clock with two numbered drums, held in an open palm above the dinner table
A gold-coloured, grenade-shaped L'Epée 1839 table clock with two numbered drums, standing among the table greenery between forks and wine glasses

Very little formality, considering who was in the room.

Past seven

A Place at the Table

These are also the evenings where you realise how small the watch world becomes once you start spending more time in it. You meet someone for the first time over dinner in Geneva and a few months later you run into each other somewhere completely different. New introductions become new relationships, and for me that has become an increasingly important part of all the travelling I do around this industry.

A place card reading Jimmy Heneidy on the table beside a Don Capa card and green foliage
A printed three-course menu held above the dinner table, with the tomato starter on a plate behind it
The tomato starter, a glossy red sphere in a shallow pool of sauce on a white plate
A sea bass fillet served with carrots, peas and small potatoes on a white plate

A first meeting in Geneva often becomes the next one somewhere else.

Towards nine

Cigars, and the People

Later in the evening Don Capa joined us with a large selection of their cigars. I knew the brand, but hadn't explored much of their collection before, so having the opportunity to look through the range, speak with the team and choose what we wanted to smoke was a great introduction. I was surprised by how much variety they had, both in formats and character, and there are definitely a few I want to come back to.

Don Capa was founded in 2015, and the cigars are made at the brand's own factory in Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic, with production deliberately capped each year.

Jimmy Heneidy in a grey suit drawing on a cigar at the table, an espresso cup in front of him, watch displays on the wall behind
A cigar-shaped chocolate dessert with raspberries and chocolate crumble in a dark bowl, with two watches and Jimmy Heneidy's place card behind it
A gold Rolex Daytona with a stone-set dial, red gemstone hour markers and a baguette-cut stone bezel, worn on a wrist above the dinner table
Silent close-up video of a blue torch flame lighting the end of a cigar

My first proper introduction to Don Capa.

Around ten

Before the Next One

A big thank you to Mr. A for bringing me along, to Bucherer for hosting us and putting together such a great evening, and to Don Capa for a proper introduction to their collection. I left very impressed by both Bucherer's CPO selection and what I had discovered from Don Capa, but even happier about the people I'd met around the table.

I'll be seeing Bucherer again very soon. I actually have a small surprise from my latest trip to Geneva Watch Days that I'll share when I'm back home.

Don't miss that one.

See you around.