Inside the world of ‘timepiece tourists,’ who spend tens of thousands of dollars on luxury watch-themed vacations

That assertion is hard to argue with. Opened in 1873, Bürgenstock Resort sits cantilevered 1,600 feet over Lake Lucerne. The Richards would celebrate with a weekend here every August. “It was a tradition,” Richard said. “I knew every waiter.”

So it was a full-circle moment when Bürgenstock approached Richard to curate a guest experience around Cyrus, the high-end watch brand he started with his father, Dr. Hans Peter Richard, and master watchmaker Jean-François Mojon, in 2010. Bürgenstock guests get a two-night stay, a roundtrip helicopter to Cyrus’s workshop to customize their own timepiece, and a return stay in six months to collect their finished watch.

The package starts at about $27,700—and given that Cyrus’s entry-level watch is $10,000, that’s not a bad deal for an ardent horophile. Industry insiders say there are more of these timepiece tourists than ever, willing to spend big for behind-the-scenes access to a storied craft and to rare and custom pieces.

Despite the malaise and (literal) pearl clutching in the luxury-goods market, timepieces have proved a bit stickier; Chase Travel reports year-over-year increases in its American customers spending on high-end watches in France (+13%) and in Switzerland (+18%) between 2023 and 2024.

“You can buy high-end commercial watches almost everywhere, but for anyone who’s a true connoisseur, they go to Switzerland,” said Livia Angelini of the luxury travel agency Scott Dunn.

Scott Dunn’s Watchmaker’s Switzerland itinerary is a nine-night romp (from $1,200 per person, per night) that includes a Phillips auction in Geneva, where a record-breaking F.P. Journe Platinum Tourbillon Souverain fetched $8.4 million last year; a master class at Patek Philippe in Zurich; and a behind-the-scenes visit to the Audemars Piguet workshop in the ancestral center of watchmaking, Vallée de Joux.

Audemars Piguet opened the Hôtel des Horlogers there in 2022. The hotel, which cuts a hill-hugging zigzag silhouette from the road down to the forest floor, occupies the site of the valley’s former post office, where 19th-century craftsmen would catch up while shipping their mechanisms to Geneva.

Prior to the hotel’s opening, general manager André Cheminade told me when I stayed there in 2023, collectors would come to the valley to pick up their pieces, then retreat to the palace hotels of Geneva and Lausanne. “Now they stay here,” he said.

Other brands in the valley include De Bethune and Jaeger-LeCoultre. GMT (Great Magazine of Timepieces) will bring 18 travelers there this fall during its second annual weeklong Watch Safari (from $5,045).

Several brands, including Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet, have opened museums showcasing their history and craft. And the Switzerlandbased Initium recently expanded into Paris with watchmaking experiences at its new atelier near Place Vendôme. “Paris is the main place of luxury in the world,” said the shop’s manager, Pablo Quaglia, whom I found sipping tea and sporting a salmon-face Baltic MR Classic.

Eight stations flank the petite workshop. A weathered pine apothecary cabinet conceals semiprecious gems in its tiny drawers. Bands and bracelets—coral crocodile, stitched leather, rose-gold mesh—rest one atop another, while crystals, dials, cases, and movements catch the sunlight in the front window. There are over a million possibilities you can put together during a half-day (from $2,890) or full-day (from $3,490) with one of Initium’s master watchmakers. The tourbillon class—named for the intricate mechanism that keeps a watch’s guts constantly in motion—starts at $19,190.

Courtesy of Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne

Back at Cyrus in Switzerland, in the watchmaking town of Le Locle, Richard held up the Klepcys Vertical Tourbillon encased in black titanium. An arched bridge ran down the center of the face, with a vertical wheel displaying the seconds perpetually turning in increments of five. “We just do crazy stuff,” Richard said, popping out the crown and winding the watch forward. When the hour hand and minute hand cross midnight, they simultaneously snap backward to their starting positions, a feature known as double retrograde. Cyrus produces only 38 vertical-tourbillon watches annually, which range from $120,000 to $250,000.

Michelle, a Cyrus technician, showed me how to polish tiny brass pieces under a microscope. She sat me down on a stool and handed me her micromotor, a tool that looks like a more complex version of what a manicurist uses to buff fingernails. After a few minutes of tentative strokes, I got the hang of it, grinding away the gritty surface until the brass was smooth and shiny as honey.

Cyrus blends the exquisite craftsmanship of a legacy house with the joie de vivre of an upstart, which is reflected in the exuberant shades of the strap and dial details. If you’ve got your gold watch, your platinum, your leather, Richard said, it’s time for your lime, your cherry, your tangerine.

I wear my dad’s Patek, but did wonder if I could pull off Cyrus’s fuchsia gator strap. Letting your individuality shine is part of the point, Richard said: “People traveling to see the watchmaker already have a Rolex, an Audemars, a Patek; for the fifth or sixth watch, they want something different—a watch no one else in the world has.”

This article appears in the August/September issue of Fortune with the headline “For the watch lover who has everything, a visit to the sources.”

Hands-on horology

Those seeking exquisite timepieces can now indulge in a range of luxe experiences exploring the craft of watchmaking

Bürgenstock Bespoke: Cyrus WatchesThe iconic Swiss Alps resort whisks guests by hekicopter to Cyrus’s workshop to design their perfect watch. (Packages start at $27,700).

Great Magazine of Timepieces Watch SafariThis weeklong tour, with 18 spots, sets off in October and stops at several renowned Swiss maisons. (The all-inclusive rate is around $5,000.)

Initium WorkshopsAt the Swiss brand’s Paris atelier, workshops with master watchmakers range from $2,890 for a half-day session to $19,190 for the tourbillon class.

Shinola Hotel Lending ProgramFor those who just want to experience a high-end watch, Detroit’s Shinola Hotel offers guests a selection of the brand’s top timepieces to wear during their stay.