Rexhep Rexhepi has been quiet for the last few years. But a lack of news has done nothing to thwart the hype around this watchmaking prodigy.

Since the 39-year-old indie watchmaker’s last release in 2023 — the world’s first chiming chronograph, a collaboration with Louis Vuitton where all ten units sold out within a day despite each watch costing around half a million dollars — the resale value of Rexhep Rexhepi watches has regularly risen to over $1 million (around ten times their retail price) as they’ve been worn by everyone from Mark Zuckerberg to Timothée Chalamet. Now, Rexhepi’s finally unveiling his newest creation, a chronograph four years in the making. 

The Rexhep Rexhepi Chronograph Flyback is the third release from the watchmaker’s eponymous house, established in 2018 as an evolution of his previous brand Akrivia. Currently, he’s two for two: The first Rexhep Rexhepi watches both won the men’s watch prize at the Fondation du Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève, commonly referred to as "the Oscars" of watchmaking. 

Now the Chronograph Flyback, the first chronograph in the brand’s range (excluding that Louis Vuitton collab), is here to complete the hat-trick. It’s a solid demonstration of how Rexhepi’s work has evolved since 2023.

The watchmaker’s humble Geneva base competes with the craftsmanship of century-old industry titans, and it’s only gotten stronger as the company has brought everything from case-making to enameling and dial-making into its purview over the last few years. All these departments are contained within six facilities on one stretch of road in Geneva’s Old Town, the capital of watchmaking. 

This means essentially everything on the Chronograph Flyback is designed, built, and finished on that single street, even down to the nubuck leather strap which is hand-stitched in-house. Most impressive is the movement invented in Rexhepi’s mini watchmaking village.

Rexhep Rexhepi is fixated with his watch designs being symmetrical — even saying the symmetry of his name inspired the name-change from Akrivia — and the Chronograph Flyback’s open case back presents a symmetrical caliber. Every element is neatly split into two identical halves, instead of the confusing medley of movements typical of a chronograph. It’s a feature that only becomes more impressive after learning the caliber consists of 320 components, including 30 jewels, and that it’s housed in one of the thinnest cases on the market, measuring a mere 9.7mm high. 

This movement powers the watch’s inverted face, where the outside is reserved for the chronograph stopwatch. Hours and minutes, meanwhile, are on a separate register at 12, while the running seconds are on the bottom left opposite a 30-minute counter. The dial is signed “Hgers À Geneve,” French for “Watchmakers in Geneva,” hinting at Rexhepi’s recent expansion.

Rexhep Rexhepi’s exacting process means its 54-person team can only create an estimated maximum of 60 watches per year. Naturally, this means a lengthy waitlist. The Chronograph Flyback differs from its predecessors in that it’s not a numbered limited edition piece, but the 150,000 CHF (around $190,000) watch won’t be any less difficult to come by. 

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