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With so many watches to choose from, the team has been tasked with giving their favourite releases from this years fair. Here is what Matt picked…

Watches & Wonders 2025 looked to be a great fair this year in the lead-up. There was a lot of anticipation and expectations from the watch community and media alike, and being there in person, seeing the releases for myself, I would have to say that it delivered. 2024 was very much about high horology for many brands, thanks to the economic downturn and people’s wallets opening less freely. Because of this, 2025 was in good shape for the participating brands to come in strong with their novelties for this year. Overall, I think the majority did.

Rolex’s Land-Dweller, which was the talk of Geneva (and the world) leading into the fair, was in person a great release. Better in the metal, and the innovation brought forward with the Dynopulse escapement is a major step forward for the brand. It was Bvlgari’s first year exhibiting, and they decided to break yet another world record when it comes to the thinnest watch category, with the now thinnest tourbillon in the world – the Octofinissimo Ultra Tourbillon at just 1.85mm thin. Then there was Jaeger-LeCoultre, who reminded us yet again why they are the Watchmaker’s Watchmaker with a suite of Reverso pieces, both beautiful everyday pieces mixed with some amazingly stunning high complications. So tasked with my favourite releases for this year, it was tough. But, I always default to this: which watches do I keep coming back to in my head that I can clearly recall and stick out to me? So, here they are!

Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Perpetual Calendar

The more I learn about Vacheron Constantin and the more I handle their pieces, the more I seem to like them. Plus, the brand has some extremely nice people who love watches working for it, and this makes a difference too as they talk with a passion that is infectious, and you can see they truly love what they do. That last point aside, Vacheron’s 2025 releases this year were a standout, and being the 270th Anniversary of the brand, they were always going to be. For me, the star of their show was the Traditionnelle collection in Platinum – the three open face pieces and the Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar, the latter of which was my pick.

What I loved about this piece was, well, many things. The Maltese Cross guilloché dial that has been etched by hand into the 18k gold dial (the pattern is found on all the 270th Anniversary models) is a great touch. The tourbillon spinning away at 6 o’clock is eye candy, and the platinum case’s weight is, as always, pure luxury. Vacheron Constantin has brought back an old technique to decorate the movement, the Cöte Unique finish, lost for over 100 years until recently re-discovered and takes 500 hours worth of training and practice for the artisans to perfect it. Oh, and the small 270-year Maltese Cross etched in gold into the bridge. Check out our write-up on the Vacheron Constantin Patrimony 270th Collection where I’ve gone into more detail on this.

A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus Honeygold

When I think of Lange, I immediately gravitate towards the Lange 1 or Zeitwerk. I think these epitomise A. Lange & Söhne the most, but the Odysseus gets maybe overlooked a little, and wrongly, I might add. It’s Lange’s answer to the sports watch, and a good one too, keeping some of the A. Lange & Söhne DNA, like the big day and date. This year, Lange decided to bring out the Odysseus in a beautiful rose gold, and it was like honey on the wrist – if that’s even a thing!

While we were photographing the Odysseus, I had a chance to play around with it a bit, and I’ve said it before, there is nothing like the feeling of a precious metal watch on the wrist, especially with a full bracelet. The Odysseus is no exception here. It looks sporty, but in a luxurious way. The weight feels like it should on the wrist – not overbearing, but enough so you know (and as do others) you have something special on, and the way the chocolate dial compliments and contrasts the rose gold is a perfect pick from A. Lange & Söhne. In our session with Lange, I heard numerous others in the room talk about how much they loved this piece once they had their hands on it, and when you do finally get to hold it and try it, you understand why.

The only downside of this piece? It’s limited to just 100 pieces, and will most probably be sold out very shortly. But one can still dream!

RELATED READING: Introducing The New A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus Honeygold

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Hybris Artistica

Jaeger-LeCoultre always knows how to put on a show, and they know how to tell their story, too. They have such a great history, and having visited the Manufacture late last year in Le Sentier in the Vallée de Joux, you get a greater understanding of the history and heritage of Jaeger-LeCoultre. Yes, they are called the Watchmaker’s Watchmaker, and for good reason. Firstly, they made a lot of movements for a lot of brands over the years, but these days, I apply this moniker to them due to the fact they always have the ability to wow us with their high end pieces, and this year with their 1931 Polo Club themed booth at Watches & Wonders, the Reverso was on full show, showing us why they are called the Watchmaker’s Watchmaker. Enter the Reverso Hybris Artistica!

This is one of those pieces that takes a little bit of explaining as to why it is an amazing piece, but I’ll summarise here. Firstly, it looks stunning. Secondly, the level of detail and craftsmanship that has gone into this piece is second to none. The Gyrotourbilon (which is a feat in itself) has 123 components, and the cage alone takes 14 hours to hand finish. The dial has 200 hand-laser hollows that is a skill only 3 people have the ability to achieve at the manufacture, and in total, the watch itself combines 180 different skills to make and finish. You can see this on show, even more so on the reverse side, where the full calibre 179 is on show. Even the buckle on the watch has 46 components and is micro-adjustable.

Zenith G.F.J.

When I first saw the press images of the new Zenith G.F.J., I didn’t really grasp the uniqueness and importance of the watch. However, thanks to the lovely people at Zenith, we were fortunate enough to spend a couple of days with them prior to Watches & Wonders this year at the manufacture in Le Locle. Talking to people like Zenith’s Chief Product Officer, Romain Marietta, Creative Director Sebastian Gobert and Head of Heritage, Laurence Bodenmann, it really hit home just how important the G.F.J. (Named after Zenith’s founder, Georges Favre-Jacot) is. In a nutshell, the calibre 135 put Zenith on the map in the late 1940s and early 50s thanks to its precision and accuracy, earning it no less than five first-place prizes at the Neuchâtel Observatory Chronometry Trials.

RELATED READING: Zenith’s New G.F.J Pays Tribute To The Iconic Calibre 135

Zenith has recreated the Calibre 135 but to modern standards with a full 70-hour power reserve, COSC certified, and even one step further than this, Zenith has made sure that each of the 160 pieces will be accurate to within -2/+2s a day. Added to this, the finishing on the movement has been done to an incredibly high standard, with the brickwork pattern found on the Zenith Manufacture engraved into the back, and all the bridges and plates hand finished – some of these, which take a full day to do just one part.

I couldn’t mention the G.F.J. without talking about the case and dial a little. The case is full platinum, and even though this material is hard to work with, Zenith has made sure the details are present, like the polished edges, the stepped case design that makes it way down to the bracelet (an optional addition in full platinum as well!) The Lapis Lazuli dial combined with the blued Mother Of Pearl small seconds, hand guilloche outer track that mimics the Zenith brickwork again, all tie together so well and create a beautiful piece worthy of Zenith’s 160th Anniversary.

Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Skeleton Slate Green

Another personal favourite, which we saw on one of the last days of the fair, was the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Skeleton in slate green. Parmigiani Fleurier is a brand that I’m liking more and more these days, and the releases from the brand this year were very, very good. The Toric Perpetual Calendar was beautiful in execution, but for me, the Tonda PF Skeleton took the cake.

For me, liking this piece isn’t about the technical details at all. Yes, it is a great movement, skeletonised, 60-hour power reserve, exceptionally well finished, etc. But this was a piece that caught my eye for the way it looked on the wrist, and felt! The vertical brushing on the dial is stunning and catches the light so well. The platinum bezel gives it a little more weight on the wrist, but the steel means it balances the weight and comfort out on the wrist and means the Tonda PF Skeleton wears extremely well indeed.

So there you have my picks from Watches & Wonders 2025. It was a great fair, we had an amazing time again, albeit super busy, but looking forward to being back at the Palexpo next year!