Five trailblazing watch releases
Luxury brands embraced dynamic and playful designs full of technical innovation at Watches and Wonders 2025
This year's Watches and Wonders week-long fair in Geneva reached a record attendance with over 55,000 visitors and a 21% jump in ticket sales from last year, proving that the luxury watch industry remains a captivating world for consumers, driving trends and preferences.
While all luxury makers are facing a significant slowdown, a number of top watchmakers are finding innovative ways to stay relevant. Here are some of the trailblazers for 2025.
Zenith: blue-sky thinking with the Chronomaster Sport
Looking to the skies for inspiration: the Zenith Chronomaster Sport
The process of colouring ceramic is a complicated one involving the high-pressure fusion of bonding agents with pigments and powdered zirconium oxide to create a mouldable material. Like an ultra-technical baking process, there's a huge amount of trial and error involved for the ceramic to 'take' the right tone, often requiring expert technicians months and even years to get right.
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To mark its 160th anniversary, Zenith has stayed true to its name and looked to the skies for inspiration for a trio of scratch-resistant ceramic releases, dressing its most emblematic chronographs – the Chronomaster Sport, the Defy Skyline Chronograph and Pilot Big Date Flyback, in vivid cobalt.
The biggest crowd-pleaser of the three at this year's Watches and Wonders event in Geneva was the baby of the bunch, the Zenith Chronomaster Sport, first released in 2021 and now more eye-catching than ever in this electric-blue tone that's attractively offset by the tricolour counters in cooler gradients of grey.
Featuring a well-proportioned 41mm case with a mix of brushed and polished surfaces, the watch is powered by the El Primero 3600 movement which operates at the high frequency of 5Hz, allowing the wearer to measure time to a tenth of a second. A limited edition of 160 units.
£20,500, zenith-watches.com
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TAG Heuer new F1 models: fast and furious with added fun
Three limited-edition F1 Solograph watches due to launch in September 2025
TAG Heuer has renewed its role as Official Timekeeper of Formula 1 which also means plenty of new models that channel the excitement and energy of the track. Most dynamic of all are a series of quartz Solargraph watches that appropriate a classic 80s design – the same fun style that was used for last year's collaboration with lifestyle brand, Kith.
This time, the new slightly smaller 38mm watches have solar-powered movements and come in nine bold colourways inspired by F1 liveries – three available now, six as limited editions that will individually drop to coincide with Grand Prix races throughout the year.
Weighing in at a very comfortable 71g, the watches feature cases made of a new resilient bio-plastic called TH-Polylight and showcases the TAG Heuer logo on the dial and embossed on the rubber strap. Pre-orders for the red, blue and green versions can be made in September 2025.
£1,650, tagheuer.com
Rolex's new Land-Dweller: a future collectible
Rolex's new Land-Dweller in oystersteel and white gold
The new Land-Dweller has dominated horological news thanks to its highly textured and patterned design that combines a honeycomb-motif dial, a shimmering fluted bezel and a new flat-link Jubilee bracelet that catches the light from every angle.
The model – available in 36mm or 40mm versions – may need some time to settle in given the nature of its stylistic proposal, a cross between smart dressy and daringly decorative, before assertively claiming its place as an industry disruptor. Why so? For one, it isn't every day that Rolex releases a brand-new silhouette – the last time was in 2012 when the brand introduced the Sky-Dweller. Secondly, this is a design made to be seen with lots of impactful details – for example, the flutes are much wider than on classic models and the dial is adorned with conspicuous hexagonal cells.
From a technical perspective, the Land-Dweller is also making waves because of an entirely new movement, the Calibre 7135. This nifty piece of gadgetry uses a double-wheel, indirect-impulse escapement called Dynapulse, a patented mechanism that, according to the watchmaker, is 30% more energy efficient than a traditional Swiss lever since it allows components to roll against each other without any sliding friction.
It's a 'Marmite' model for now, and it remains to be seen where sales will take it, though it's worth remembering that many models now regarded as timeless classics were initially slow starters. The much-sought-after Cartier Crash is one such example: fewer than a dozen were sold in the early 70s despite its avant-garde credentials. And let's not forget that Rolex also did it with the iconic Daytona, which was poorly received in the mid-70s, and is now widely considered the 'holy grail' of racing watches by collectors. The Land-Dweller may just conquer the luxury landscape in its own time.
Land-Dweller 40mm in Oystersteel and white gold, £13,050, rolex.com
The Pelagos Ultra: Tudor's deep dive
Tudor's new Pelagos Ultra is water resistant to 1,000m
If you were to descend 1,000m below sea level, you'd see all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures like anglerfish, sea spiders and pink sea cucumbers known as 'headless chicken monsters', which have to be Googled to be believed. Of course, you'd also have to be superhuman to withstand the organ-crushing pressure but Tudor's special dive watch would be in its element.
The brand's impressive new Pelagos Ultra is a titan among tool watches, setting new standards in robustness thanks to a near-indestructible satin polished case crafted from grade 2 and grade 5 titanium, equipped with a discreet flush-mounted helium escape valve at nine o'clock on the case band.
You may wonder how Tudor has managed to double the Ultra's water resistance from that of the original Pelagos model which is waterproof to 500m: it's thanks to a tiny increase in its case size from 42mm to 43mm, with an increase in thickness of just 0.2mm, putting Tudor at the forefront of stealthy technical engineering executed with style and elegance. Fitted with a titanium three-link bracelet, the watch has a special fold-over T-clasp which can be adjusted without tools for the perfect fit, whether it's worn over a wetsuit sleeve or under a cotton shirt cuff.
£5,070, tudorwatch.com
IWC's ingenious all-black Ingenieur
Sleek and futuristic, the Ingenieur created a buzz
IWC is celebrating the 70th anniversary of Gerald Genta's iconic Ingenieur design with five new models including a special 1,000-piece edition of the Ingenieur Automatic 40 featuring a striking olive green, grid-patterned dial, worn by Brad Pitt in new movie "F1", an Apple Original Films' production slated for release in June. Celebrity endorsements aside, the real star of the show is the inky-black ceramic 42mm edition which created a huge buzz at this year's Geneva watch fair and on social media.
It has a sleek, futuristic aesthetic that's visually deep and immersive, yet beautifully light reflective in all the right places thanks to a three-tiered surface treatment that combines satin-finishing, sandblasting and polishing. This technical feat that required the use of diamond-tipped tools given the robustness of the material, known for its scratch-proof qualities. The timepiece is extremely light on the wrist and boasts a striking gridded dial which creates a captivating dance of patterns as it catches the light.
£16,800, iwc.com
Alexandra Zagalsky is a London-based journalist specialising in luxury, art and travel. She began her career working on a cultural guide for English-speaking expats in Paris, where her first major break was an interview with Lionel Poilâne, the late baker of Saint-Germain-des-Prés famed for his signature sourdough loaves. Returning to London in her early 20s, she went on to write for not only The Week but also The Art Newspaper’s Art of Luxury supplement, The Telegraph and The Times, as well as art and design platforms including 1stDibs’ Introspective Magazine and the magazines of the V&A, Sotheby’s and Christie’s. She studied fine art and art history at Goldsmiths, University of London and continues to explore travel journalism through the lens of art, craftsmanship and culture.