Fratello Favorites: The Best Watches And Wonders 2025 Releases — Lex’s Picks From Patek Philippe, Chanel, And Roger Dubuis

Watches and Wonders 2025 might be done and dusted, but some watches continue to haunt me. Patek Philippe is always impressive, but this time, it wasn’t something complicated that struck a nerve. Rather, it was the introverted Calatrava 6196P, a classic with a contemporary twist. The Chanel J12 Bleu collection surprised me in the metal — sorry, the ceramic — and the tourbillon version impressed me. At Roger Dubuis, it wasn’t the 45mm Grande Complication that stole the show but, instead, the 40mm Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar with its semi-historical appearance and soft touches of mother-of-pearl on the dial. Read on to find out more about the best Watches and Wonders 2025 releases according to me.

Going wild over a “basic” Calatrava when there are also perpetual calendars and rattrapante chronographs around… That happened at this year’s Watches and Wonders. The Calatrava 6196P with its vintage-inspired rose-gilt opaline dial is responsible. This platinum-cased watch is a strong statement in subtlety. You might remember the Calatrava 5196 of the past, and this 6196P is its heir. The watch has a 38mm diameter and a slender and suave 9.33mm profile. Apart from a slightly larger size, the movement is tweaked as well. Inside the platinum case with its signature diamond at 6 between the lugs beats the manual winding caliber 30-255 PS. This 164-part 4Hz movement has a 65-hour power reserve, another modern tweak.

The best Watches and Wonders 2025 releases: Patek Philippe Calatrava 6196P

There is just something special about a three-part Calatrava case with a flat-edge bezel. The way the slender and well-proportioned case presents itself with a high polish matched to satin-brushed flanks is a timeless and intimate micro-spectacle. The matching smooth, beveled bezel and tapering slender lugs complete the traditional look that stands the test of time.

Admittedly, I do not like the shiny chocolate-brown alligator strap. I would kindly ask the Patek Philippe staff in the boutique where I’m going to pick up my 6196P to replace it with a black calfskin strap with matching stitching or, if they don’t have it, a brown calf strap without contrast stitching. And if they don’t have that, I will find something from a bespoke strap maker that matches the vibe on the dial, maybe something very dark gray. And thank watch heaven that Patek put a platinum pin buckle on the strap instead of a (bulky) folding clasp.

The main object of my desire is the rose-gilt opaline dial. That’s not just due to the color, which you could describe as a matte salmon pink, though it is immensely tasteful. No, it’s also the combination of that color dial with anthracite-colored white gold obus-style hour markers and dauphine hands with the same contemporary shade. The contrast Patek creates on the dial is dramatic and compelling.

The Calatrava 6196P is a watch for the ages, and you better get ready to like it for ages too because this dress watch has a price of €47,520.

Chanel J12 Bleu Diamond Tourbillon

This year, Chanel dresses the J12 in matte blue ceramic. Its color celebrates the 25th birthday of the J12, which first came out in black ceramic. The very dark blue of the new watches matches the nighttime sky, and one watch from the celebratory lineup sparkled its way into my top three. I love being in the Chanel universe every so often, and I admire how the maison continuously reshapes and recolors its space.

As of Watches and Wonders 2025, I prefer wearing the J12 Bleu Diamond Tourbillon (ref. H10334). It’s a 38mm 55-piece limited edition (price on request) in deep and dark yet soft and comforting matte blue ceramic with some shiny touches. The sides of the case and three-row bracelet show a glossy polished finish. But it’s not just any old finish because it took an artisan eight hours to polish these surfaces by hand.

The J12 Bleu Diamond Tourbillon features the 172-part caliber 5 with a flying tourbillon. This earns my vote because of the hypnotic 65-facet solitaire diamond in the center of its spinning cage. Gabrielle Chanel’s favorite gemstone lights up the open-worked blue dial and enhances the sparkling 34 baguette-cut sapphires on the bezel. Picking a Chanel in fashionable blue — there were several blue ceramic creations in and outside Watches and Wonders this year — might come as a surprise. Still, by Jove, this watch seriously uplifts a double-denim outfit.

Roger Dubuis Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar

To celebrate the 30th birthday of the manufacture, Genevan brand Roger Dubuis threw two “parties.” The big party was, quite literally, the launch of the 45 × 17.45mm Excalibur Grande Complication. This eight-piece limited edition, which houses the Poinçon de Genève-bearing caliber RD118 with a perpetual calendar, minute repeater, flying tourbillon, and two micro rotors, is an imposing piece of Haute Horlogerie. But although I do like a bit of spectacle, I preferred the “after-party watch,” a much more understated yet also more surprising and intriguing novelty this year. It’s the Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar (ref. DBEX1179) in a 40mm (!) pink gold case.

The new Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar is every millimeter a Roger Dubuis. One of the good things is that there just aren’t many models like it these days. This watch is nothing short of spectacular. The retrograde display, which shows a hand moving along a semi-circular scale and returning to zero at the end of each cycle, is a reference to Mr. Roger Dubuis’s original mechanism he co-patented in 1989. This mechanism became the basis for the brand’s first watch 29 years ago. Yes, you read that correctly. The brand turned 30 this year, and the first “RD” watch, the Sympathie, appeared in 1996.

Anyway, the homage watch showing Sympathie inspiration is powered by the in-house caliber RD840 and features a day-date calendar complication. Not only has the automatic movement with its retro-restyled rotor been decorated and hand-polished to achieve the Poinçon de Genève certification, but it’s also accurate enough to be awarded that prestigious sign of excellence.

Sweet and soft mother-of-pearl

The part of the watch that grabbed and kept my attention was the seven-layer dial. It’s a silver-plated, satin-brushed dial with mother-of-pearl inserts at 12 and 6 o’clock. The dial is very thoughtfully balanced, with two retrograde apertures mirroring each other at 3 and 9 o’clock and the small seconds and round logo doing the same at 6 and 12. I’ve always been a fan of the large, open-worked dauphine hands on an Excalibur. In this new creation, the hands continue to impress me with their modernized shape and fabulous finishing. The two hands of the retrograde indications might be smaller, but they are just as lovely. The way these hands seemingly and typically appear out of nothing was, is, and will always create a bit of horological joy.

The Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar is part of the regular-production Roger Dubuis collection. It looks and feels like a watch you could wear every day, and has a price on request.

What do you think of my three picks for the best Watches and Wonders 2025 releases? Were there any surprises here, or could you have guessed them? Let me know in the comments.