The watch world delivered some truly thrilling timepieces in 2025. Geneva’s Watches and Wonders show set the tone in April, featuring 60 brands and plenty of innovation, and there has been a steady stream of launches since.
Grand Seiko continued its technical evolution with new Spring Drive models and the introduction of its first-ever tool-less micro-adjust clasp – a small but significant quality-of-life improvement. Tudor expanded the Pelagos line, brands like Zenith and Nomos Glashütte brought fresh models to their respective catalogues, while British watchmakers proved they could punch above their weight with increasingly sophisticated in-house movements.
Sustainability became more than a buzzword, too, with several manufacturers exploring recycled materials and innovative composites without compromising on performance or build quality.
From accessible everyday pieces to haute horlogerie statement makers, 2025 proved that mechanical watchmaking still has plenty of tricks up its sleeve. Precision engineering, innovative materials, or simply old-fashioned beauty and style – this year’s best watches showcased the kind of creativity and craftsmanship that make watches much more than mere timekeepers.
Analogue watch of the year: Grand Seiko U.F.A
While the watch world fixated on Rolex’s latest creation at Watches and Wonders, Grand Seiko quietly slipped out something genuinely groundbreaking with the Grand Seiko U.F.A. (Ultra-high Frequency Accuracy). It’s a massive leap forward in Spring Drive technology, cramming bleeding-edge timekeeping innovations into the smallest 9R-series case the brand has ever produced. At just 37mm, it finally makes Grand Seiko’s acclaimed movement accessible to those who don’t have wrists like tree trunks.
The technical wizardry is staggering: an advanced quartz oscillator works alongside upgraded integrated circuitry and hermetic sealing, with thermal compensation calibrated across multiple temperature points. The result is a watch that will be accurate within 20 seconds per year. There’s even an internal adjustment mechanism that’ll let watchmakers recalibrate it years from now. The titanium model introduces a clever bracelet clasp that adjusts without tools, while its dial evokes the icy forests of Shinshu. Masterful watchmaking delivered without the usual pomposity.
Highly commended
Christopher Ward C12 Loco
Christopher Ward’s second in-house calibre represents a genuine leap forward in horological ambition. The CW-003 movement at its heart of the C12 Loco is a hand-wound marvel, boasting six days of power reserve and a specially developed balance wheel. Unlike typical cost-saving exercises, this calibre was engineered exclusively for this watch, and it shows – the layout emphasises symmetry and negative space rather than cramming components together.
The finishing rivals watches that cost significantly more, with an exposed balance that’s genuinely captivating to observe through the display back. Available in four striking dial options (including stark Ursa black and vivid Frisco orange), the Loco demonstrates what happens when a brand commits to doing things properly rather than taking shortcuts. It’s not inexpensive, but this timepiece proves Christopher Ward can compete with established luxury manufacturers on both technical merit and design sophistication.
Ulysse Nardin Diver [AIR]
![Ulysse Nardin Diver[Air] on white background](https://www./wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/Ulysse-Nardin-Diver-Air-2.jpg?w=1024)
At just 52g with strap (46g without), Ulysse Nardin has created the planet’s lightest mechanical dive watch – a remarkable feat of materials engineering. The secret lies in the extensive use of recycled titanium, sourced from biomedical waste, combined with carbon fibre borrowed from aerospace applications. Even more impressively on-theme, the side panels utilise a composite of reclaimed fishing nets and carbon, while the bezel insert repurposes material from decommissioned racing sailboats.
Despite an almost surreal lack of heft, the Diver [AIR] maintains full 200m water resistance and meets every professional diving certification standard. The escapement itself comes from recycled silicon wafers, making this an uncommonly sustainable luxury timepiece. Supplied with two ultralight elasticated straps offering tool-free swapping, it’s a technical tour de force that challenges everything we expect from a proper dive watch – weight included.
Also shortlisted
Tudor Pelagos Ultra, Tissot PRC 100, Zenith G.F.J, Nomos Glashütte Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer
