Watches & Wonders Geneva Round Up!
Sit tight as we cover the latest launches from the brands exhibiting in Watches & Wonders Geneva, one day at …
This is it folks, Watches & Wonders 2026 officially begins! And after all the uncertainty in getting here, we are happy to be able to walk into the Palexpo as the chaotic whirlwind of this fair unfolds. There are a bunch of brands to get through over the course of the next four days, and of course we will try to update this space as often as we can with whatever we see so bookmark this page if you want to follow our journey or visit our Instagram account @watchwowmy. Without further ado, let’s get this show on the road! And you already know it, our first stop on this journey will undoubtedly be…
This year is a big one for Rolex as they celebrate the centenary of the Oyster, the case design that basically represents the bedrock on which the brand is built upon. There are a couple of watches made to celebrate this milestone, the most obvious of which is a special Oyster Perpetual watch offered in a unique configuration. Like on the dial where “Swiss Made” is usually inscribed at 6 o’clock, now says 100 years and on the crown, there is also the number 100 in relief. There is, also a colourful new Oyster Perpetual 36 with a multi-coloured lacquer dial with the Jubilee motif. Then there is the comeback of the Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master II and a new gold alloy on their Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 and a new version of the Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona. There is too much to cover in this short space so stay tuned as we unpack the Rolex launches over the course of the coming weeks.
It is the 50th anniversary of the Nautilus and Patek Philippe celebrates this momentous milestone with three very special references and an unexpected desk clock. The Ref. 5610 marking a return to the medium size first launched in the 1980s. All three limited edition Nautilus watches for the anniversary also are made with platinum cases and offer ultra-thin case constructions making them even more comfortable on the wrist. For the ultimate Nautilus fan, the desk clock Ref. 958G is designed with the iconic Nautilus design in white gold and has an 8-day power reserve. The Cubitus gets a perpetual calendar and finally it has a form movement. Granted it was adapted from a round movement but for the Ref. 5840P, it now fills the entirety of the caseback quite nicely. As usual Patek Philippe launched a massive collection of references, something for all of their collectors which we will surely get into over the next couple of months.
#patekphilippe #nautilus #cubitus #watchesandwonders2026 #worldofwatchesmy
There are absolutely two standout models from Parmigiani this year. The first, is the Tonda PF Chronographe Mysterieux. This is the third complication to follow in the footsteps of their fantastic GMT Rattrapante and Minute Rattrapante which cleverly hides the functions with double, superimposed hands. For this watch, they are tackling the chronograph, cleverly hiding a function that normally requires plenty of subdials with the now signature Parmigiani purity. We’ll cover in a little more detail exactly how this works, and why it is a world premiere but for now, just enjoy the marvel of how this thing functions. And next, they celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Toric with a fantastic new hammered metal technique on the dial and the best part is the double-guilloche treatment on the bridges of the movement.
While the entire watch industry has been downsizing their watches, Panerai on the other hand has maintained a steadfast attitude with their massively sized watches. But this is done with good reason and it all stems back to the fact that Panerai got their start making tool watches and with the watches made to be used in these kinds of hardcore situations, a larger watch is absolutely pivotal for legibility and reliability. One of the standouts for this year is a Luminor Destro which was inspired by the Ref. 6152, a case that helped define the Panerai of today. The Destro is the first watch meant to be worn on the right within their contemporary collection. In the past, it was not uncommon for tools to be worn on both wrists of the frogmen and so the inspiration for the Destro was absolutely rooted in this. There is also a forged titanium case and a 31 day power reserve watch which we will require far more words to explain so we will leave it at this for now, and do stay tuned.
There is no doubt that the dressy elegant watches coming out from Grand Seiko have been great in terms of size and proportions. Their dive watches on the other hand, have always seemed to be a bit more robust in size. Not anymore. Following the launch and more modest sizing of the Spring Drive UFA models from last year, they have taken the philosophy and technical knowledge to the sea for 2026 offering two beautiful divers in a very wearable 40.8 mm diameter, and 12.9 mm thickness. These dive watches are even more comfortable on the wrist thanks to the High-Intensity titanium material which makes the watch relatively light despite its very technical case construction. There are a ton of little details put into this watch, and we will be covering all of it in our full Watches & Wonders report. But for now, just enjoy the beautiful depth of the dial and also a watch they are nicknaming Mystic Waterfall.
This is a big year for Moser, they moved out of their smaller space in the Carré des Horlogers and graduated to the main hall. They may be part of mainstream Watches & Wonders but they still bring the same quirky attitude that they always had. The funniest of which, in our opinion is their latest partnership with Reebok. Yes you read that right! Reebok the shoe brand. Moser worked with them to get their iconic pump onto their watches. Where the pump was to tighten the shoe, the pump on their Streamliner is used to give power to the movement. It helps that there is also a power reserve indicator in the same eye-catctching orange to let you keep tabs on how much power you are actually pumping in. Also, they have a full ceramic Streamliner and even a smaller version of this integrated bracelet watch.
This year Jaeger-LeCoultre adds a new segment to their Hybris collection with Hybris Inventiva joining the Mechanica and Artistica. And while the Gyrotourbillon À Stratosphère within this collection is impressive in its own right, we think the bigger, more relevant launch for the majority of watch lovers is the new update to the Master Control collection. It is now an integrated bracelet timepiece which gives it a morning to night versatility. Additionally this new collection also comes in a standard date version, a date power reserve, and perpetual calendar version along with the choice of steel or gold materials meaning there are options in terms of pricing as well. The bracelet feels good on the wrist and the links have quite a special pattern to its construction as well.
This year Chopard is celebrating a small but quite impressive anniversary, the 30th year of their manufacture in Fleurier. And as you can imagine, the best collection to celebrate this occasion would be with the L.U.C which represents the culmination of the brand’s expertise in watchmaking. Of course not forgetting their Alpine Eagle which has its own share of fans, Chopard is adding a range of quite unique colours to their watches including one they are calling Mountain Glow which is a kind of champagne-ish colour. Quite beautiful in real life as it catches the light and evolves in a myriad of ways.
Travel is back in a big way and for the globetrotting wanderer, this year Vacheron Constantin is pointing the overseas in the right direction. Quite literally. They unveiled the new Overseas Dual Time Cardinal Points with four references; all made with the travel-friendly titanium material. Not only are these fantastic watches extremely comfortable to wear, they are also available in four colours that were quite surprising to see from the brand. White, blue, green and brown, each are linked to one of the four cardinal points and also all come with a burst of orange for the GMT hand. Also, there are new Historiques American 1921 models that are always great to look at. The novelty for this version is the combination of a pink gold case and blue numerals.
The capsule collection from Chanel is a fantastic collection letting the designers take inspiration from any realm that resonates with the maison. This year they are taking games for a spin. Think pixelized Coco Chanel figures, Boyfriend watches with a playing card dial and of course, a chess set in full ceramic. Unfortunately the chess set is a piece unique and has already been sold. Of course, they are also expanding the J12 line with two new sizes, 28 and 42 mm, and we think now that the matte finishing has come to the black version of the J12, it will make Chanel many new converts to the collection.
Audemars Piguet is BACK! Marking the first time the brand has joined a large-scale convention since their days at SIHH where they exited just before the Pandemic hit. As for the novelties, we managed to already see them when they did their yearly presentation near the beginning of the year. We already put up some content on that one so, do check that one out. For WWG however, we decided to instead showcase their booth, which they went through a considerable amount of effort to make it an entire experience instead of just a bunch of meeting rooms for commercial presentations. There is a library, a vault and even an atelier that bends time.
Hublot this year are cutting down the number of references they are launching (thank god) and instead focusing on a few key highlights for the year. The first collection brings their in-house Unico movements back to centre stage with Big Bang watches that offer pops of colour to highlight the important bits, like the clutch and column wheel for example. Also, there are new special editions for both Usain Bolt and Kylian Mbappé. But by far, our favourite for the year is the new Spirit of Big Bang Impact Sapphire that uses a unique material called osmium, which shimmers quite beautifully on the fractured dial.
Hermès brings us to the backstage of the theatre this year, revealing all the gears and pulleys that make the magic happen. This was the inspiration for their novelties this year, which translates to them skeletonising or open working most elements to show the wearer exactly what makes their watches tick. The recent H08 collection writes their next chapter this year by offering a new, skeletonised movement that transforms the look of the watch entirely. The H08 skeleton is entirely refreshing, bringing all the beloved elements from the original with the added allure of a skeletonised movement. Oh, and did we mention it has luminous blocks for indices?
The big news out of Cartier, at least for us, this year is that incredible bracelet on the Santos Dumont. Fantastically supple and comfortable on the wrist, it reminded us very much of the Panthère from a few years back which also had a really comfortable bracelet. However the version on the Santos Dumont is considerably more masculine, do with that what you may. Also, celebrating the 10 anniversary of the Cartier Prive, there are three watches, a mono-pusher Tortue Chronograph, Tank normale and of course the skeletonised Crash each with its own burgundy touches. And considering a Crash just broke a record at auction, you can probably guess where our attention is regarding the three.
Three letters G F J, that’s what we would say when asked about Zenith this year. On the back of last year’s relaunch of their ultra precise G.F.J. collection, this year they are adding two very special editions to the collection. One is a yellow gold version with a bloodstone dial offering that very tried and tested combination of green and yellow gold. The second and, by far, a personal favourite is the version with an onyx dial and diamond indices. The best part about this limited edition is that the case is made from tantalum. I am obsessed with the heft of the metal, and of course the Calibre 135 that beats within. Additionally the Chronomaster Sport gets a new bracelet with a ton of improvements which is impressive considering the actual size of their organisation.
It is the dawn of a new era for Corum. They are back in Swiss hands and even have a new CEO leading the brand. Since this happened last year, their first major novelties have been announced and it comes as no surprise as they chose to revamp the Admiral. It is one of the iconic anchors of Corum and more importantly it feeds the current appetite for steel sports models with integrated bracelets. The design of the new Admiral actually borrows heavily from its heritage but comes packed with a brand-new in-house movement. Equally impressive is the very retro looking bracelet that is comprised of five links with many clever design choices built in. Looking at the novelties, they are indeed off to a good start, and the fact that they are in the fair this year means they are already gearing up to bring Corum back to where they once were.
The Monarch has graced us with its presence in Watches & Wonders Geneva representing an all-new collection for Tudor. The case is angular, the dial is a vintage brown and the hands still have that cool snowflake flair. This is definitely an interesting collection for the brand as it straddles the line between vintage and contemporary, but more importantly looks like nothing else in the brand’s current repertoire. Speaking of royalty, Tudor also redesigned their Royal with a new fluted bezel, and offering the day-date combination in 40 mm and just a date with the 36 mm. There is also a new colour for the Black Bay 54 and a full ceramic bracelet thrown into the mix.
Van Cleef & Arpels lives up to their standards of poetic complications by offering this year a new entry into the Jour Nuit collections, this time, honouring the moon. The craftmanship and styling of the watch is do doubt gorgeous, but to me, the movement is something that was entirely novel. The premise of the Midnight Jour Nuit Phase de Lune watch is the massive day-night indicator that takes up the upper half of the dial. What is impressive however is the phases of the moon (hence the name) that not only indicates when the moon is in the sky but also offers an indication of its phases. This means, the moon has to be separated out onto another level adding to its complexity. Additionally, the entire thing can also be rotated on demand to let the viewer see both the sun and moon in one fell swoop. There are also a lot of interesting metiers d’art techniques on their novelties for the year and we will continue to dive deeper in the coming months.
It is all about the chronograph for TAG Heuer in 2026 and for Watches and Wonders they chose to celebrate this with, none other, than the iconic Monaco. The first and probably more relevant to enthusiast is the redesign of the square Monaco case. The new version sits tall and proud on the wrist, and is a perfect square. But just making a sharp square case will probably not be too comfortable on the wrist, so there are also some ergonomic improvements to this case on the wearability as well. On the top end there is a highly innovative new chronograph which they are dubbing the Evergraph. This uses a flexible bistable component to replace traditional components resulting in less friction and less wear and tear on the chronograph mechanism, hence the name Evergraph. And of course, they put it in a Monaco case.
Finally, the Octofinissimo gets a smaller size! Bulgari is shrinking this multi-record breaking collection, going from their 40 mm case to a more manageable 37 mm. This is not exactly in accordance with the current trend of smaller watches because also on paper it reads as 37 mm, the actual watch because of its angular and square-ish case, still wears like a 40 mm when compared to round watches. What this new size does however is reduce the overhang from the bracelets for those with smaller wrists making it much more comfortable to wear. For now, there are only three hand movements for this new size but there are a bunch of new finishings including a brushed steel and brushed gold versions which give the collection more options. I wonder if they are going to attempt breaking records with this smaller size. Now that would be a real feat, and perhaps something to keep them busy for the next 10 years…
The “highlight” for Lange this year has to be the Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar “Lumen”. Basically they took the most complicated Lange 1 model and made it even more complex to manufacture by replacing many of the display elements with luminescent pieces. Pay special attention to the time indicator subdial, and on the indices you will notice a new method of lume. Where the previous Lumen models use solid blocks of luminescent material for the indices, for this watch, the underside of the crystal is laser etched and filled with lume. What this does is give the indices a nice lume outline, but also because the lume is on the underside of the dial, it reflects off the components of the watch in an entirely pleasing way. Additionally, they also shrunk down the Saxonia Annual Calendar to a very distinguished 36 mm. Needless to say, they built an entirely new movement for this.
IWC Schaffhausen
From the skies into space, IWC takes that leap offering a new watch called the Pilot’s Venturer that was designed from the ground up for astronauts. The main thing to understand here is that because astronauts generally wear thick gloves, they designed this timepiece to be set without a crown. Instead, there is a little slide button on the side of the case and pushing it allows the wearer to set the time via the bezel. The watch is also a true GMT which if you are in space can be used to track the timezone of your loved ones back home. If you are not planning to go to space in the near future however, the new perpetual calendars with the ProSet mechanism which allows setting forwards and backwards is one that will probably be more meaningful. And how can we forget, Ceralume has also come out of the concept phase and is now available on a production model as well.
When it was first launched, the Ulysse Nardin Freak was revolutionary for the watch industry. And over the last 25 years, the brand has slowly been updating and innovating the technology of this unique timepiece. And all this experience culminated into their launch for Watches and Wonders 2026, a watch which they are calling the Super Freak. Two flying tourbillons on a 10° incline, linked by arguably one of the smallest differential systems. And the entire thing is on a flying carousel movement that rotates on its own axis. There is a ton of technology within this mechanical contraption. We will get to that soon enough, but for now please just enjoy the theatrical performance of the Super Freak.
