Anniversaries galore, feats of engineering, a surfeit of blue and the heart-racing appeal of Formula 1: congratulations and complications were in order at this year’s Watches and Wonders in Geneva.
Here, WWD’s editors name their favorites from a fair that offered watches in all shapes and sizes.
Best Instant Classic: Patek Philippe Cubitus
The first new watch family to be introduced in 25 years by the brand, the distinctive Cubitus became an instant classic at the fair. A hit among its variations was the medium-sized rose gold version that came in a polished and satin finish with a horizontally embossed sunburst brown dial.
Runner-up: Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds
Fairgoers couldn’t get enough of this all-gold iteration of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso watch. A key feature here was the Milano bracelet, which gave it immediate appeal thanks to the tactility of its links. According to one wearer, it also brought a surprising sense of balance on the wrist.
Best Complication Combination: Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication — La Première
It’s hard to beat a wristwatch that contains 41 complications, five rare astronomical functions and an innovative minute-repeater, all 1,521 components packed in a surprisingly wearable 45mm case. It also resulted in the filing of 13 patent applications.
And if you think the watch’s face is a feat of complexity, its back is a world premiere. It offers a representation of the celestial vault, to display the calculation of the time it takes for a given star or constellation to appear in your field of vision.
Runner-up: Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Quantième Perpétuel
While so many watches would deserve this spot for their complications, the elegance of the Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Quantième Perpétuel helped it stand out. Honorable mention for the Hautlence Retrovision ‘85, a watch that transforms into a robot and proves that a touch of fun is the ultimate must-have complication.
Best Technical Feat: Chopard Alpine Eagle 41 SL Cadence 8HF
Not quite as light as an eagle feather, but getting closer. This latest release by Chopard using ceramicized titanium for its case and bezel isn’t just a versatile take on a sports watch. It also has a fine COSC-certified caliber that beats at a high-frequency 8 hertz while keeping a 60-hour power reserve. All in all, an appealing feat of engineering.
Runner-up: Cartier Tank à Guichets
There were anniversaries galore but the launch of this rare design first introduced in 1928 — less than a decade after the Tank was launched — thrilled watch enthusiasts and collectors alike.
For 2025, Cartier maintains its striking aesthetic and crown at 12 o’clock. Inside is a new caliber, the 9755 MC manual movement with jumping hours and dragging minutes. The platinum limited edition of 200 is even more desirable thanks to its driver-style layout with hour aperture at 10 o’clock and the 4 o’clock positioning for the minutes.
Best New Shape: Piaget Sixtie
Referencing Piaget’s roots as the “watchmaker of shapes,” the Sixtie collection parlays the Swinging Sautoir necklace launched at the 1969 fair in Basel into a wristwatch design with a striking trapeze-shaped dial. This first new watch family for the brand in a decade comes in steel, bi-metallic and rose gold variations, with and without diamond. A turquoise dial is slated to come later this year.
Runner-up: Rolex Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller
Another once in a blue moon occurrence was the launch of this new family, already spotted on Leonardo DiCaprio. While the overall look is indubitably Rolex, it comes with plenty of newness — inside and out. There’s the Dynapulse escapement, tweaks to the fluting to catch the light even more, new hands and indexes, a honeycomb dial motif cut with a femtosecond laser and the novel Flat Jubilee bracelet. All in all, 32 patents for its design and movement.
Best Jewel That Gives Time: Cadenas by Van Cleef & Arpels
This one-of-a-kind Cadenas is a gem-filled stunner with the kind of pedigree that impresses across the board. Marking its 90th anniversary, this secret watch with an angled dial that’s as distinctive as it is discreet was originally designed for the Duchess of Windsor. This iteration comes with 1,486 snow-set diamonds and 14 blue sapphires, with an Art Deco flavor that’s very of-the-now.
Runner-up: Hermès Maillon Libre
Strong contenders for jewels that tell the time came from Hermès. But the one that stole the show at a booth that was all about time and transformation was the Maillon Libre. Crafted from polished rose gold and set with 10 brilliant-cut diamonds as well as a tourmaline, it can be worn as a pendant or a brooch.
Best Hue: Chanel J12 Bleu Collection
If there is one color that dominated the 2025 fair, it was blue. From the cloudless skies outside the Palexpo exhibition center to the faces of watches, it ran the gamut of icy pastels, popping turquoise and deep sea tones.
The one that won the day was the almost-midnight hue introduced by Chanel. Five years of research and development, 24 blues and 150 tests led to the deep blue matte ceramic that signs the Chanel J12 Bleu line, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
If proof is needed that deep, dark blue and ceramics are a match made in watchmaking heaven, Audemars Piguet revealed separately a trio of Royal Oaks that saw its historic “Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50” color used in ceramic for the first time.
Runner-up: Hublot Big Bang One Click Mint Green
As the Big Bang family celebrates its 20th anniversary, this mint green tone of the One Click model was a fun, zesty take on the highly technical watch. The 33mm ceramic watch featured a diamond-set steel bezel and matching rubber strap and it came also in a petrol blue version.
Best Puff of Air: Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon
Coming in at 42 grams, the Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon marked the Roman jeweler’s 10th thinness record and was arguably the lightest timepiece on show at the fair. Think of it as a 1.85mm-thick coin on the wrist.
This latest iteration, coming after 25 years since Bulgari entered the watchmaking space, is encased in a 40mm case crafted from sandblasted titanium and tungsten carbide main plate, with an extremely skeletonized construction allowing to marvel at the technical feat of its in-house tourbillon caliber.
Runner-up: Ulysse Nardin Diver Air
If you think that having 80 percent air inside its case doesn’t leave much room for feats of watchmaking, you’d be dead wrong. The UN-374 caliber with a robust skeletonized construction and 90-hour power reserve weighs in at 7 grams but can withstand an impact of 5,000 grams. That’s more than 20 times the highest-recorded g-force a human survived.
Oh, and even with a case made of titanium and Nylo-foil plus an elastic fabric strap, it only weighs 52 grams.
Best Formula 1 Fan Watch, Tied: Tag Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph and IWC Schaffhausen Ingenieur 40
With Formula 1 racing cars dotting the fair and the upcoming release of the Brad Pitt-led film “F1” in June, the elite sport was top of mind.
But it was impossible to find a tie-breaker between these two.
Building on the hype surrounding the Apple Original Film’s “F1” movie, IWC Schaffhausen introduced a special edition of its Ingenieur Automatic 40 watch. Inspired by a vintage version dating back to the ‘70s, the timepiece saw Pitt — one of the lead actors in the movie, in which he portrays driver Sonny Hayes — collaborate on the design and pick the green dial with a distinctive checkered pattern. The watch comes in a limited run of 1,000 pieces.
For many collectors today, the Tag Heuer Formula 1 introduced in 1986 was their first serious watch as young adults. Now updated with a Solargraph movement that uses solar power to charge its battery and cases in TH-Polylight material for most versions, this 38mm version is sure to capture the hearts of a new generation — fans of F1 or not.