Watches and Wonders 2025 is now over, with the biggest and most important watch brands presenting their new products for this year. What was your general impression of this year’s Watches and Wonders? What watch trends did we see at this year’s show, and how will they develop in the future?
Watches and Wonders 2025
Before we look at the watch trends that we saw at Watches and Wonders 2025, let me share a few words about my general impression of this year’s show. In my opinion, we experienced one of the most exciting Watches and Wonders of recent years, receiving plenty more than just model updates or new dial selections. With the Land-Dweller, Rolex not only presented us with a completely new model, but with a brand new movement as well. NOMOS stole the show with its new Club Sport Worldtimer, while Grand Seiko made the hearts of technology enthusiasts beat faster with its new U.F.A. technology. The watch world is bolder and livelier than it has been for a while. This was the first thing I recognized at Watches and Wonders 2025.
Trend 1: The Courage to Finally Try Something New Again
I was particularly pleased by the fact that, in addition to model updates and new dial colors, we were finally able to see brand new watches, even ones delivering new movements with innovative technologies. I’ll be honest: I’m not a big fan of the Rolex Land-Dweller so far. Too many leaks in advance spoiled the “Aha!” moment for me. And the fact that after all these years of Genta hype, Rolex is now actually jumping on this bandwagon and releasing a watch based on the Rolex Oysterquartz is something I think is just a bad marketing move. Rolex after all is a trendsetter, not a brand that follows the herd. Tissot also noticed this, publishing one funny Instagram post after another about the Rolex Land-Dweller during Watches and Wonders. Nevertheless, I give Rolex credit for presenting us with something completely new this year, and for the brand with the crown breaking with convention: for the first time, we can marvel at a stainless steel Rolex with a glass case back and a view of the movement. This would have been unthinkable a few years ago. This is particularly worth mentioning, as Rolex has not only introduced a new model, but also a completely new movement at the same time. The development of the 7135 caliber took ten years, and the new movement has 32 filed patents. It is the first mechanical high-frequency 5-hertz movement from Rolex, and is equipped with a new type of escapement. Grand Seiko should not go unmentioned either: The Japanese watchmaker has set new standards with its new 9RB2 Spring Drive Caliber, which is used in the Grand Seiko SLGB003, among other models. With a rate deviation of -/+ 20 seconds per year, the new Spring Drive U.F.A. (Ultra Fine Accuracy) is the most precise Spring Drive caliber of its kind.
Trend 2: Larger Watches
Even though watches with a diameter of 39 to 41 mm have established themselves in the industry, and smaller sizes are still in demand thanks to the ongoing vintage hype, I could definitely see a trend towards larger watches at this year’s Watches and Wonders. This trend was foreseeable a few months ago with the Patek Philippe Cubitus, and was seen with further models at Watches and Wonders 2025. Whether with the 43-mm Pelagos Ultra, or with the new Black Bay 68, which also has a diameter of 43 mm, at this year’s watch fair in Geneva, Tudor showed above all that watches could become larger again. This was of course from a brand that has also celebrated small sizes between 37 and 39 mm in recent years. I like this trend, as watch fans with larger wrists or a penchant for bigger timepieces are no longer left out in the cold.
Trend 3: Bright Colors
Whether with their dials, cases, or straps, watches appear to be getting more colorful from year to year. At Watches and Wonders, Rolex presented us with some dial updates featuring plenty of color, including new dials for the Oyster Perpetual, the GMT-Master II “Sprite” in white gold, the Sky-Dweller in yellow gold, and the Lady-Datejust in red. Tudor also presented us with plenty of new colors: the new generation of the Black Bay 58 surprises with a bold, wine-red dial. The historical context of the striking new color is particularly interesting. This was used for a prototype of the Tudor Submariner in the early 1990s, although it never appeared in production. Both Zenith and TAG Heuer prove that colors do not have to be limited to dials. While the former provided both the Chronomaster Sport, Defy, and Pilot Big Date with a blue strap and ceramic case, TAG Heuer released its Formula 1 classics in a number of colorful (and also larger) variants.
Watches and Wonders 2025: Which trends are here to stay?
Watches and Wonders 2025 delivered exciting new trends. But what’s here to stay, and what will soon be yesterday’s news? For now: showing completely new things should be the top priority for all watch brands moving forward. I hope that this was not just a brief interlude, but will be seen more often in the future. The trend towards larger watches could become an integral part of the watch world in the coming years. This is a welcome development as long as a full catalog of sizes continues to be offered. Small and large watches wonderfully complement one another. If a larger market is reached as a result, this will be a win-win for both manufacturers and enthusiasts alike. The trend towards increasingly bright colors on the other hand is something that could recede somewhat over the next few years. While colorful dials can enhance any collection, colorful cases and straps might be a bit too much of a good thing.
