Fratello Favorites: The Best Watches And Wonders 2025 Releases — Jorg’s Picks From Patek Philippe, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Tudor

Picking highlights from this year’s Watches and Wonders is not a simple task. But it’s a matter of abundance rather than a lack thereof. Watches and Wonders 2025 was a show with many highlights in different categories and at different price points. Nevertheless, I have managed to whittle all these highlights down to my favorite releases from this year’s show.

There are two ways to go about this list. Should I just pick my Watches and Wonders 2025 favorites regardless of price? The easy thing to do is choose the stunning high-end and precious-metal releases that immediately stand out. In reality, though, I always keep an eye open for watches that could realistically make it onto my wishlist of watches to add to my collection rather than a list of hopes and dreams that will never come true. In the end, the latter approach seemed easier, but I managed to apply both strategies. Without further ado, let’s jump in.

Patek Philippe 5370R Split-Seconds Chronograph

In the deluge of releases, including 15 from Patek Philippe, I didn’t initially notice the 5370R Split-Seconds Chronograph. But once I saw the watch, it was love at first sight. As you can read in my intro article on this stunning new version of the 5370, I even questioned whether it could be my new grail watch. That’s how much I love this rose gold split-seconds chronograph.

Where can I even start explaining something that evokes emotion this strong? It’s rationalizing a feeling that you either experience or not. But I’ll give it a try. It all starts with its stunning presence. The beautifully sculpted 41mm rose gold case originates in the brand’s past and shows incredible detail. Just two great examples are the lugs, each with a gold cabochon, and the case flanks with brushed recessed grooves.

This wonderfully designed and executed case is the perfect canvas for the incredible dial. The brown Grand Feu enamel dial with sub-dials and a tachymeter scale in beige champlevé enamel is a work of undeniable beauty. The colors and finish combined with the Breguet numerals and the detailed scales are utterly mesmerizing.

A caliber to match the looks

If you turn the watch around, you will see the 312-part caliber CHR 29-535 PS. This is the rattrapante version of Patek’s first in-house-manufactured manual-winding chronograph movement. It’s a traditional chronograph caliber with dual column wheels and a horizontal clutch, and it offers a 65-hour power reserve. The finishing is immaculate, ensuring the beauty found on the front continues on the back of the watch. I could go on for a bit, but the Patek Philippe 5370R is easily my favorite watch of this year’s Watches and Wonders.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds Pink Gold

Another no-brainer pick was this stunning new pink gold Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso with its beautiful mesh bracelet. Just one look will tell you the incredible visual story of this monochromatic Reverso. I’ve always been a fan of the Reverso, but there are only a handful of models I truly adore. They are either part of the Tribute to 1931 series or the brand’s current Reverso Tribute line that perfectly captures the Reverso’s stylish potential. That’s why I also love the new Reverso Tribute Duoface Small Seconds models that Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced this year.

But I wasn’t prepared for the magic of this version of the Reverso in pink gold. All it took was one image of it for me to fall in love, just like with the Patek 5370R. The characteristic pink gold case combines beautifully with the textured dial, applied hour markers, and razor-sharp dauphine hands.

But pairing all this with an ultra-fine mesh bracelet made from 16 meters of thin pink gold is a stroke of brilliance. It’s an undeniable statement piece, and I love that. Robert-Jan wrote a hands-on article that goes into more detail about the watch. But if a watch already looks this stunning, it’s hard not to fall in love when you investigate the details further.

The excitement surrounding this release was palpable. This new Reverso landed on the favorites lists of many who attended this year’s Watches and Wonders. That’s how you know that a brand has created something truly special. While I love it for personal reasons, this widespread adoration for the Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds in pink gold made it one of the standouts at this year’s fair.

Grand Seiko Spring Drive U.F.A. SLGB003

Horological innovation is always a reason to sit up and pay attention. But, of course, that’s not where it stops. You have probably read the story about Grand Seiko’s new Spring Drive caliber that powers the new SLGB003. The Japanese brand set a new horological standard with this Spring Drive 9RB2 movement, which has an accuracy of ±20 seconds per year. Quite simply, Grand Seiko introduced a mind-blowing caliber in terms of technology and performance.

But the brand also managed to make the movement smaller than previous Spring Drive calibers. This sets the stage for a brilliant overall package. After all, a movement as impressive as this one deserves and equally fantastic housing. That’s precisely what Grand Seiko achieved with the SLGB003. The watch has a perfectly sized 37mm case made of high-intensity titanium.

Paired with the lightweight case is a beautiful light silver-blue dial graced by applied faceted hour markers and more razor-sharp dauphine hands (you may think I have a thing for dauphine hands, and you would be right). The magic of the dial is that, depending on how the light hits it, it shows different shades of blue.

Completing the look is a wonderful bracelet that features a new clasp with the long-awaited toolless micro-adjustment system. It finally allows you to size your Grand Seiko perfectly, and I’m sure we’ll see it on more new models. I had the chance to wear the SLGB003 for a bit and found it nothing short of impressive. Grand Seiko has stepped up its game and created a spectacular watch that truly sets new standards for the brand.

Tudor Black Bay Pro Opaline

If you ask me, Tudor’s Watches and Wonders 2025 releases were a bit bland. Only the new Black Bay Pro excited me. At first, though, I was disappointed when the new opaline version was unveiled. As a big fan of the black-dial version, I had hoped that Tudor would introduce an update with a slimmer case. As discussed in previous articles, the introduction of the Black Bay 58 GMT last year opened the door to realistic hopes and wishes for refinement of the Black Bay Pro.

I’ve been wearing the black-dial version of the Black Bay Pro for a year and fell in love with it after initially having reservations about the thickness. After wearing the watch for 12 months, I never saw a thinner case as a must-have but, rather, as a nice-to-have. Still, after seeing this new Black Bay Pro with the beautiful opaline dial, I felt initial disappointment about the unchanged case.

So, why is the new Black Bay Pro on this list? After letting it sink in for a day or so, I was reminded how much I love the Black Bay Pro in its current form. Additionally, I got super excited about the opaline dial. I would pick a black dial over a white one 99 out of 100 times, but seeing this new take on the Black Bay Pro is very refreshing. The Tudor designers also applied some clever design tricks to make it look quite handsome. The biggest change is the reduction of yellow elements to just the GMT hand. The designers did that to maximize the contrast between the black and white elements on the dial.

Better than the Rolex Explorer II

That’s where the secret attraction of this dial is. Tudor handled the interplay between black and white so well. A great example is the black hands and indexes filled with white lume. Additionally, all the text on the dial is black. These details lead to a well-balanced dial that looks better than its bigger brother, the current Rolex Explorer II. Most of all, I am excited to go hands-on with this new Black Bay Pro because it’s quite different from the black-dial version. That excites me, and I can’t wait to find out if it’s as good as I think it will be.

Chopard Alpine Eagle 41 XP CS Platinum

One watch that completely surprised me was the Chopard Alpine Eagle 41 XP CS Platinum. Sure, it’s an incredibly expensive version of the Alpine Eagle, but that’s not why it captivated me. Over the past couple of years, Chopard’s Alpine Eagle has grown on me quite a bit. It’s incredible to see the diversity of designs within the range. Chopard once again proved that with the brilliant Alpine Eagle 41 SL Cadence 8HF. It’s a lightweight version of the brand’s modern sports watch that looks so different from the regular models, like this platinum version I picked.

So, why did I pick this one? There are two reasons. The first is that I love this new blue gradient dial with its swirling pattern. It looks stunning and combines so well with the understated color of the platinum case and bracelet. Additionally, this new dial shows a beautiful, clean aesthetic that I adore. It loses the Roman numerals except for the “XII” in favor of regular, applied baton indexes. On top of that, it also eschews the date window that typically sits between 4 and 5 o’clock. It’s not the best position for a date aperture, so seeing a clean Alpine Eagle dial without it is refreshing.

Can we please get this in Lucent Steel?

As a result of the changes, the dial’s eagle-iris pattern gets the attention it deserves, and the overall creation looks balanced without losing its character. The large Roman numerals at 12 take care of that. Until now, the brilliant Lucent Steel version with the salmon-pink sub-seconds dial was my favorite. But seeing this clean new dial makes the Alpine Eagle 41 XP CS Platinum an instant favorite in a series of great releases from Chopard. Can we get this watch in a Lucent Steel version as well? Combining the blue dial with the material’s color would make it equally awesome.

Final thoughts on my favorite releases of Watches and Wonders 2025

There you have it — my list of five favorites from Watches and Wonders 2025. I could easily make this a list of 10 watches because there were so many brilliant releases this year. Some examples are the A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus Honeygold, the Patek Philippe Calatrava 6196P, the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona in Everose gold with a brown dial, the Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Perpetual Calendar, the Zenith G.F.J., and the list goes on. Overall, it’s safe to say that Watches and Wonders 2025 helped make this an excellent year for watch fans.