Watches & Wonders 2025: Best New Watches from the World’s Biggest Watch Fair

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time.

Palexpo, Geneva is currently the watch-world’s most bustling hotspot with Watches & Wonders 2025 underway (April 1-7). Returning in its sixth edition, the SIHH-replacement now serves as the premier annual Swiss Watch Show, hosting over 60 maisons. As a vantage point for participating brands, watch journalists, retailers, wholesalers, and VIP clients, Watches & Wonders is where records break, benchmarks are set, and icons are born.

For 2025, maisons have leaned into nostalgia hard, exploring their respective roots and reinventing classics to create future icons. Here’s every timepiece that had our attention.

Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication

It’s almost tradition that the 270-year-old Vacheron Constantin sets a new high at every Watches & Wonders. Last year, time stood still when the Berkley Grand Complication came forth with 61 complications, including Chinese and Gregorian perpetual calendars. Less than a year later, the Les Cabinotier division set a new world record for the most complicated ‘wristwatch’ – the Solaria Ultra Grand Complication, bearing 41 complications, comprising 13 potential patented inventions, five minute repeaters, Gregorian Perpetual Calendar, and a zodiac sky chart. While the Berkley Grand Complication was made on commission, the Solaria is a completely VC-driven project – demonstrating the maison’s sheer technical superiority and, well, “aiming for the stars”.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Duoface Small Seconds

The Tribute Monoface Small Seconds is a sparkling delight as it simply betters what’s already brilliant. As we inch our way closer to the Art-Deco icon, the Reverso’s 100th anniversary, JLC has refreshed its contemporary Monoface and Duoface layouts. The Monoface Small Seconds gets a matching pink gold case and dial with an intriguing, grained texture and a Milanese mesh-style bracelet. The Duoface, designed for globetrotters, gets a more functional refresh with a different timezone on each side/dial and small seconds at six o’clock. With a stainless-steel case measuring 28.3 millimetres, you get to choose between a black or blue ‘home’ dial and a secondary silver ‘local’ dial.

TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph

TAG Heuer just re-lit the F1 fuse. After 2024’s successful Formula 1 x Kith capsule and the industry-rumbling LVMH x F1 billion-dollar partnership with TAG Heuer as the official timekeeper, we knew the Swiss maison wouldn’t stay an inch from the fast lane. Channelling this spirit of adrenaline, ‘80s motorsport, and speedy vibrancy into 2025, we see nine new references in the all-new TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph collection.

Bumping up the case size from 35 to 38 millimetres, it retains its shrouded lug design and is cast in sandblasted steel or TH-Polylight – a new material based on composite material. The dial and bezels are a mix-match of iconic 80s racing hues with the TAG Heuer shield motifs being employed as indexes at twelve, six and nine o’clock. The ‘Solargraph’ badge on the dial refers to the light-powered calibre TH50-00, previously seen on Aquaracers. With just a minute of light exposure, the Calibre TH50-00 powers the watch for a full day. Once fully charged, it boasts up to 10 months of autonomy in total darkness. Strap options include steel or rubber.

Zenith G.F.J CALIBRE 135

Celebrating 160 years of Zenith, the maison introduces the G.F.J – a new collection honouring visionary and founder, Georges Favre-Jacot. Reworking the legendary calibre 135 (that predates the mighty El Primero), it builds upon the success of their 2022 Kari Voutilainen capsule, which was powered by restored original calibre 135-0s from the ‘50s. Revered as one of Zenith’s most exquisite time-only watches created in decades, it was a rousing success, bringing the maison’s chronometer heritage under the spotlight. The new G.F.J models, Zenith will pull the original 1962 blueprints once again. The central dial plate boasts a ‘brick’ guilloche while the inner and small seconds dials are draped in lapis lazuli and mother-of-pearl. These are adorned by faceted hour indexes and 40 white gold beads as minute trackers. Inside, the calibre 135 runs manually with a 70-hour power reserve, and yes, it’s COSC-certified. Limited to 160 pieces.

Bulgari’s Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon

Another Watches & Wonders, another record for Bvlgari – just like clockwork. The Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon is now the world’s thinnest tourbillon measuring just 1.85 millimetres in thickness. Marking the maison’s 10th world record in their pursuit of ultra-thin mastery – it interestingly isn’t their first tourbillon record. First, in 2014 (Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Manual Wind) at 5.0 millimetres, followed by 2018 (Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Automatic). However, last year, Piaget grabbed the trophy with the Altiplano Concept Tourbillon at 2.0 millimetres, setting a new mission for Bvlgari.

In pure skeletal glory, the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon is cased in 40 millimetres of titanium with an ultra-hard tungsten carbide baseplate. Swapping out the crown for two horizontal steel knobs on either side of the case (one for winding, the other for time setting), the hand-wound BVF 900 tourbillon calibre was co-designed with Concepto. Bvlgari’s guiding principle when creating ultra-thin wonders is to rearrange all functions on a horizontal plane instead of layering them atop each other. With the caseback employed as the movement’s baseplate, the tourbillon regulator rests at four while the hour and minute dial are at two o’clock.

IWC Schaffhausen Ingenieur Automatic 42 Black Ceramic

Combining the Gérald Genta-derived integrated bracelet design with a full ceramic execution is IWC Schaffhausen embracing their heritage with a pinch of playfulness. Ceramic, extremely tough and resistant to scratches is lighter than steel and better heat resistant. Interestingly, IWC Schaffhausen created the world’s first wristwatch with a black zirconium oxide ceramic case, which laid a path for innovation for decades to follow. Today, the case ring, bezel, crown, and caseback ring of the Ingenieur Automatic 42 are cast in black zirconium oxide ceramic – offering a hardness value of 1300 Vickers. The pitch-black dial boasts an Ingenieur hallmark ‘grid’ guilloche and is luminously contrasted by hands and indexes dipped in Super-LumiNova®. Inside, the calibre 82110 features a Pellaton winding system that efficiently converts oscillating movements into energy, delivering a 60-hour power reserve.