A look back at the highlights from Watches and Wonders 2025 (part 2 of 4)

Renowned for its jewellery and watches, Chopard captivated once again with its mastery of haute horlogerie and haute joaillerie. The Alpine Eagle 41 XP CS is the first platinum model in the Alpine Eagle collection, featuring an ultra-slim 8mm profile, a central seconds display, and striking Shades of Ice blue-gradient dial inspired by Alpine glaciers. Completing the watch design is the newly reshaped integrated bracelet, offering a refined aesthetic and enhanced comfort. Driving the timepiece is the chronometer- certified L.U.C Calibre 96.42-L movement, renowned for its precision and reliability. With this watch, Chopard also introduced a new hallmark for the brand: a hand-engraved bee between the lugs to mark its platinum creations.

Expanding the versatility of the collection, the Alpine Eagle 33 introduces a new bicolour design that combines Lucent Steel and ethical yellow gold. The dial features a “Vals Grey” colour inspired by quartzite slabs found in Alpine architecture. Embossed with a radiating pattern reminiscent of an eagle’s iris, it is punctuated by gilded hands and hour markers at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock, and further enhanced by the diamond-set bezel and hour-markers.

Other highlights from the unveiling included the 25th-anniversary edition of the innovative L.U.C Quattro, featuring a 39mm case reshaped in line with the latest L.U.C aesthetic; as well as the 25-piece limited-edition Happy Sport with a lilac lepidolite dial; and L’Heure du Diamant Moonphase, which introduces the moonphase complication to the collection for the first time.

Grand Seiko

For 2025, grand seiko unveiled five novelties, underscoring the brand’s pursuit of horological innovation and its philosophy of craftsmanship rooted in nature, motion and clarity. The new SLGB001 and SLGB003 introduce a major milestone in Spring Drive technology. At their core is the newly developed calibre 9RB2, the most accurate of its kind ever produced by the brand, operating with a remarkable annual precision rate of ±20 seconds. Additionally, for the first time, an Evolution 9 Spring Drive watch is presented in a sub-40mm case. These watches measure just 37mm wide, compared to the 40mm predecessors.

Part of the Heritage Collection, the SBGW323 features a refined 36.5mm mid-sized case. Dressed in a gentle purple hue, its Mount Iwate dial pattern draws reference to the prefecture’s kiri flower. Powering this timepiece is Grand Seiko’s manual-winding calibre 9S64, offering a 72-hour power reserve and a static accuracy of +5 to -3 seconds per day.

Another remarkable piece is the new Masterpiece Collection SBGD223. Crafted through intricate press patterning, its jet-black dial evokes the image of a lion emerging from a shadow with a textured centre reminiscent of a mane. Over 600 diamonds and black spinels form a dazzling constellation around the dial, minute track and platinum 950 case, arranged using Grand Seiko’s first- ever pavé-setting technique.

Hermès

This year, taking the theme of suspending time as inspiration, Hermès unveiled a range of new watches that act as an invitation to “break free from temporal constraints and seize the moment”. Translating to “suspended time”, the Arceau Le Temps Suspendu, first launched in 2011, returns with a new openworked dial, three vivid tones, and its signature complication that lets time pause on demand. At the push of a button, time is temporarily erased from the dial by making the hands retreat, creating the illusion that time has stopped.

The Hermès Cut Le Temps Suspendu brings that same poetic function to bold geometry in 39mm rose gold. One standout version includes a bright red dial, made as a one-time release.
For the dressier watch lover, the Maillon libre collection continues Hermès’s exploration of timepieces as high luxury accessories. The collection sees a reinterpretation of the iconic anchor chain link as a wristwatch and a brooch watch.

But perhaps the most whimsical creation from Hermès this year is the Arceau Rocabar de Rire. First designed by Henri d’Origny in 1978, the Arceau line has been a canvas for Hermès’s creative expressions. This latest iteration features a mischievous horse that comes alive at the press of a pusher at 9 o’clock. The hand- engraved and hand-painted horse sticks out its tongue, flaunting its best profile against a backdrop of vibrant horsehair marquetry stripes.

Hublot

Hublot’s most emblematic collection, the Big Bang, celebrates its 20th anniversary with novelties that span both singular releases and curated sets, each one reinforcing Hublot’s core design values: contrast, clarity and construction. Among the highlights is the Materials and High-Complications set, a one-of-one collection that brings together some of the highest technical achievements of the manufacture in a multitude of materials and finishes. The Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Sapphire features a skeletonised micro-rotor in 22k white gold and a fully transparent case that captures light from every angle. Not stopping there with the sapphire, the Big Bang Tourbillon Chronograph Water Blue Sapphire houses a manual monopusher chronograph tourbillon within Hublot’s latest sapphire colour development.

Also included is a Red Magic ceramic model with a smoked sapphire dial and tourbillon movement powered by a black-plated skeletonised micro-rotor. The Big Bang Tourbillon Chronograph Cathedral Minute Repeater in frosted carbon fibre amplifies sound through lightweight architecture. The final piece, the Big Bang Integrated Tourbillon Cathedral Minute Repeater in Blue Carbon and Texalium, brings acoustic performance to the forefront in an entirely integrated bracelet construction.

Hublot also introduced a collection of five special editions that merge the emblematic design codes of the original 2005 model with the mechanical depth of the Big Bang Unico. Each reference features a redesigned 43mm case that retains key structural elements from the early Big Bangs – including layered construction, pinched lugs and a knurled bezel edge. Hublot’s Unico MHUB1280 calibre powers each model, visible through the dial and caseback, and distinguished by a commemorative 22k King Gold rotor engraved with the 20th anniversary emblem.

IWC Schaffhausen

Two years since IWC introduced a new generation of its historic Ingenieur collection, this year it welcomed new sizes, materials and even complications. The new Ingenieur Automatic 35 extends the line with a more compact 35mm format while preserving all the signature design codes – most notably, the bezel with five functional screws, integrated bracelet and distinctive “Grid” dial structure. A special green-dial Ingenieur Automatic 40 also joins the collection, inspired by Brad Pitt’s character Sonny Hayes in the upcoming F1 film. Limited to 1,000 pieces, the vibrant green dial is accented with gold-plated appliques and hands filled with Super-LumiNova.

Tapping further into the F1 universe, IWC introduced three APXGP-themed Pilot’s Chronographs, celebrating its on-screen role in the film. The lineup includes the Pilot’s Watch Performance Chronograph 41 – worn by Damson Idris’s character, Joshua Pearce. Joining it are two stainless steel models: the 43mm Pilot’s Watch Chronograph APXGP and the 41mm Chronograph 41 APXGP, both featuring black dials with gold accents, engraved rubber straps and tinted sapphire casebacks stamped with the APXGP team logo.

Also see: Watches and Wonders 2025: IWC Schaffhausen swings big with F1 The Movie watches and reimagined classics

Jaeger-LeCoulture

Jaeger-LeCoulture celebrated its iconic Reverso collection and everything it has meant over its 94 years with a series of sophisticated models that blend timeless design with contemporary innovation. Highlights include the Reverso Tribute Geographic, which pays homage to the 1998 Reverso Géographique, now reimagined with a new in-house movement featuring a big date complication. Available in stainless steel and 18k pink gold (capped at 150 pieces), the watch features distinct front and reverse aesthetics: a sunray- brushed dial in blue or chocolate brown with a small seconds counter and date aperture, and a world-time display on the reverse, complete with engraved city names, a rotating 24-hour ring and a lacquered world map.

Fusing vintage elegance with modern sophistication, the Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds steps into the limelight encased in 18k pink gold with a golden grained dial that presents as a matte finish. But what truly distinguishes this release is the introduction of a Milanese link bracelet – a first for this particular Reverso model – created by weaving no less than 16 metres of pink gold thread into a supple and silky mesh. Slim and elegant at just 7.56mm thick, the bracelet is semi integrated to retain the sleek lines of the watch. Inside the case is a hand-wound manufacture calibre 822.

Montblanc

Montblanc redefined adventure with groundbreaking innovations at Watches and Wonders 2025. The Iced Sea collection received significant updates, most notably the introduction of 0 Oxygen technology, designed to eliminate internal fogging and prevent oxidisation, ensuring optimal performance in extreme conditions. The collection now includes a 38mm model with new glacier-pattern dials in white and light blue, as well as a 41mm distressed-steel edition with a unique weathered finish. The white dial marks the first pure white iteration of the Iced Sea model, crafted using the intricate gratté-boisé technique, a process that requires four times longer production time compared to standard watch faces and involves over 30 meticulous steps. This results in a remarkable three-dimensional representation of glacial ice, capturing the complex crystalline network that has been frozen for millennia. The light blue version is also a new tone in the collection and comes adorned with a sfumato effect.

Montblanc also unveiled two new Montblanc 1858 Annual Calendar Geosphere Limited Editions accompanied by the brand-new Minerva manufacture movement. The movement has a power reserve of approximately 65 hours and is composed of 336 parts, all of which are hand-decorated using traditional haute horlogerie techniques such as Côtes de Genève and a rarely seen snail finishing.

Also see: A look back at the highlights from Watches and Wonders 2025 (part 1 of 4)