Watch executives rarely get a second act this closely watched. When François-Henri Bennahmias left Audemars Piguet at the end of 2023, he left behind a manufacture whose annual sales had grown from CHF 500 million to CHF 2 billion across his eleven years as CEO. His answer to the inevitable what-now is a watch brand whose name reads like a stock ticker: N3W5.
What is N3W5?
N3W5 — pronounced “news” — is the timepiece venture of The Honourable Merchants Group, the luxury platform Bennahmias founded in 2025 around craftsmanship, authenticity and sustainability. The alphanumeric name compresses the four cardinal directions into five characters, matched by the tagline “We are our own compass.” The brand will launch at Dubai Watch Week 2027.
What will the first N3W5 watches be?
Two collections open the account: one built on a round case, the other on a cushion shape. Each runs its own dedicated calibre — developed for the brand, not sourced off the shelf — and one of the two movements is protected by patents. Entry pricing sits at about CHF 20,000, and the stated first-year ambition is several thousand pieces. Notable artisans are reportedly attached to the project, among them Anita Porchet, the Swiss enamellist whose dial work commands its own collector following.
Why does the production target matter?
Several thousand pieces in year one is the most revealing number in the announcement. It is far too many for an artisanal vanity project and far too few for a volume play — it is the footprint of a brand that intends to be allocated, not merely available. At CHF 20,000 and up, that volume implies a wholesale conversation with real retail doors around the world, and it positions N3W5 directly in the price band where independent brands have taken share from the established maisons over the past five years.
How does this affect Canadian retailers?
No Canadian distribution has been announced, and no Canadian retail partners are named at this stage. But the arithmetic is worth running early. A brand targeting several thousand annual pieces cannot live on boutiques alone; multi-brand retailers will carry much of it, and the retailers who open conversations before Dubai Watch Week 2027 will be the ones in the room when territories are drawn. Canada’s luxury watch market — anchored by strong AP, Rolex and independent-brand demand in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal — is exactly the kind of stable, high-trust territory a launch brand wants on its map.
What else is The Honourable Merchants Group building?
N3W5 is one spoke of a wider wheel. The group has previously disclosed involvement with Avalon Labs, a California-based collector-services company, and Viiala, a new Swiss electric bicycle and transport brand. The pattern is a curated ecosystem around the affluent collector — the watch, the services that protect the collection, and the lifestyle hardware beside it.
What are the risks?
Launch brands from star executives carry a specific hazard: the founder’s reputation sets expectations the first collection must immediately meet. A CHF 20,000 debut piece will be compared, fairly or not, to what CHF 20,000 buys from established independents with decades of secondary-market history. And a 2027 debut means two more years of market shifts — currency, duties, Swiss export dynamics — between announcement and delivery.
What should readers do next?
Watch retailers with an independent-brand strategy should put N3W5 on the 2027 buying calendar and track which markets get named first. Canadian Jeweller will report distribution details as they emerge.
FAQ (mark up with FAQPage schema):
Q: What is N3W5?
A: N3W5 is a new Swiss luxury watch brand from former Audemars Piguet CEO François-Henri Bennahmias, launched under The Honourable Merchants Group. The name is pronounced “news” and stands for North, East, West, South.
Q: When will N3W5 watches launch?
A: The brand debuts at Dubai Watch Week 2027 with two collections, one round-cased and one cushion-shaped, each powered by a dedicated movement.
Q: How much will N3W5 watches cost?
A: Prices start at about CHF 20,000, with a first-year production target of several thousand pieces.
Q: Who is François-Henri Bennahmias?
A: The former CEO of Audemars Piguet, who led the manufacture from 2012 to 2023 as annual sales grew from CHF 500 million to CHF 2 billion. He founded The Honourable Merchants Group in 2025.
Q: Which artisans are involved in N3W5?
A: Renowned Swiss enamellist Anita Porchet and other notable artisans are reportedly involved in the project.
N3W5 is a new Swiss luxury watch brand from former Audemars Piguet CEO François-Henri Bennahmias and The Honourable Merchants Group. Pronounced “news,” the name stands for North, East, West, South. The brand debuts at Dubai Watch Week 2027 with two collections — one round case, one cushion — powered by two dedicated movements. Prices start at about CHF 20,000, with a first-year target of several thousand pieces.
