The Watches Set To Dominate 2025

Like supercars and fine art, owning a luxury watch is more than just possessing a status symbol. Many buyers are drawn to the community they share with other collectors. That’s why brands, sellers and enthusiasts converge in Geneva, Switzerland every spring for Watches and Wonders (WWG). This horological trade fair is the equivalent of Paris Fashion Week, Wimbledon and the Oscars, attracting 60 Brands, over 55,000 visitors and guests, and big-name stars like Usain Bolt and Roger Federer.

This year the convention (which ran from April 1 to 7th) might have been the most eagerly anticipated edition yet. From jewel-encrusted platinum releases to colourful plastic pieces, Watches and Wonders celebrated excess and accessibility, meaning that there were plenty of opportunities to surprise collectors of every stripe. Here, we break down a few highlights.

The Most Buzzworthy Watch

Rolex is always the most talked about brand at the big show. Why? Because it’s the brand that everybody knows—even the horologically indifferent can spot a Rollie at 20 paces.

Before the show even started, the internet was ablaze after brand ambassador Roger Federer was spotted wearing a mysterious watch with a fluted bezel and a bracelet that recalled the look of the 1969 Oysterquartz model.

At WWG 2025, this watch was revealed to be a whole new addition to the Rolex family: The Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller. There are three versions in different sizes but all share a honey-comb textured dial and an integrated bracelet (a metal strap that’s directly connected to the watch case, creating a seamless and fluid look).

Even the mechanics of the Land-Dweller affect its aesthetics. Kitted out with a new calibre 7135 movement, the Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller is more than just a new face. This mechanism is thinner than most Rolex movements thanks to its innovative escapement—the mechanism that controls the advancement of hands—to keep the silhouette slim.

Record Breakers

The fair saw many record-setting introductions, most notably the world’s thinnest mechanical tourbillon watches at Bulgari, and the timepiece with the most complications at Vacheron Constantin.

According to Bulgari, the Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon is both a statement of innovation and a manifesto. Tourbillon movements were first invented to counteract the effects of gravity on timekeeping which is not a problem with today’s more sophisticated mechanisms. Modern-day tourbillons exist mainly to demonstrate the skill of the watchmaker—which Bulgari does quite well by integrating a skeletonized movement into the watch’s case resulting in a total thickness of just 1.85 mm, making it the thinnest tourbillon in the world.

But the award for the most “most” watch must go to the Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication–La Première.

With 41 complications (aka any feature on a timepiece beyond the basic display of hours, minutes, and seconds), including five astronomical functions that have never been combined in one watch, It tracks the sun’s position in the sky. It announces the time through the sound of hammers hitting four miniature gongs. All this wizardry is housed in a 45mm diameter white gold case with a thickness of just of just 14.99mm making a testament to the magic of miniaturization.

Ultra Luxe

In uncertain times, investors have always turned to precious metals as a haven when markets are volatile. Watchmakers have likewise embraced ultra-luxe materials, including platinum, for their 2025 offerings.

Chopard, no stranger to precious metals and gemstones, introduced the Alpine Eagle 41 XP CS Platinum—its first-ever platinum piece in this sport chic collection. This piece also debuted a new mark to identify its metal: a little bee symbol, hand-engraved between the lugs. The signature eagle’s iris gradient dial has a light blue “shades of ice” finish. The XP in the name indicates the watch is extra flat (it is only 8 mm thick), and the CS refers to the central seconds. The integrated bracelet is also made from this heavy metal, with links of varying heights and finishes—polished, satin-brushed, or straight-grained matte—adding volume and texture. The movement, calibre 96.42-L, is COSC-certified and made to Poinçon de Genève standards, with a platinum micro-rotor and twin barrels for a 65-hour power reserve.

Platinum also provides extra wrist presence to Panerai’s new Luminor Perpetual Calendar GMT Platinumtech. This edition marks the first time the Luminor has been paired with this watch complication that automatically displays the correct date, day of the week, and month, including leap years, without the need for manual adjustments. Plus it lets you track a second-time zone thanks to its GMT function. All of these options are displayed on layered, transparent blue sapphire discs to balance the heaviness of the 44mm case which is made of the brand’s trademarked Platinumtech—an alloy is 95 percent pure platinum (what makes up the other 5 percent is secret).

The Cartier Privé Tank à Guichets was another fan favourite at WWG. This tribute to a rectangular 1928 jump hour watch from the brand’s archives, this limited edition comes in an art deco appropriate 37.6 x 24.8 mm and 6mm thick platinum case. But this new model also features the jumping hour aperture at 10 o’clock and rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise with the wandering hour rotated and shown at four o’clock, to lend a driver-style layout to the watch, and a new hand-wound 9755 MC calibre mechanism.

Value Propositions Are In

Not every watch at WWG is for the Oligarchcore audience.

The Frederique Constant Perpetual Calendar has consistently been one of the best-priced models on the market. Originally introduced in 2016, the new Frederique Constant Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture has been upgraded with an in-house automatic FC-776 calibre with a 72-hour power reserve(meaning you can leave it on the night table all weekend without having to wind it). It also looks rich, with an attractive 40-mm diameter stainless steel case and salmon sunray dial. When it hits the market in the fall of 2025, it’s expected to be priced under $10,000 US, which is an absolute steal for this complication.

Last year, TAG Heuer reissued its legendary 1980s F1 model in collaboration with the lifestyle brand KITH. This year, as part of the brand returning to the racing circuit as F1’s official timekeeper, the colourful collection is back in the permanent lineup, but now with an increased 38mm size, a lightweight TH-Polylight composite case and a new solargraph movement. There are nine options available on either stainless-steel bracelets or brightly coloured rubber straps, and the price points have remained reasonable, too.

And sometimes, incremental change can deliver the most impact.

The new Tudor Pelagos Ultra wowed the crowds thanks to its upgraded 1,000 metres of water resistance, a bracelet with a proprietary micro-adjustment system, and an upsized 43-mm titanium case. Pelagos fans tend to be people who want a practical dive watch and this iteration delivers, even though very few people will be taking it 1,000 metres under the sea. It also features a satin-brushed case in grade 2 titanium (light on the wrist) with a unidirectional rotating bezel (easy to operate underwater) and matte ceramic insert with a combination of Grade X1 and glowing BGW9 Swiss Super-LumiNova, and a black dial with luminescent ceramic composite monobloc applied hour markers (for maximum legibility in the darkest depths). The micro-adjustment system allows for on-the-fly resizing when you change from a wetsuit to an on-deck wardrobe.