Fratello Favorites: The Best Watches And Wonders 2025 Releases — RJ’s Picks From Piaget, Chopard, Rolex, And More

Watches and Wonders is over, and it’s time to pick my favorite releases from Geneva. Fratello was there with a team of eight people to ensure we covered all the new watches we thought were interesting to read about. The Watches and Wonders show is also an excellent opportunity to meet with other people in the watch industry, both from brands and other media outlets.

Overall, the venue was filled with positive vibes, which continued even after the news broke on the import tariffs in the USA. The watch industry seems resilient, but we will closely monitor how this develops. In total, more than 55,000 people visited Watches and Wonders in Geneva, which was a 12% increase compared to last year. The Watches and Wonders organization sold 21,000 tickets for the public days (from Saturday onward), which is also a new record. That is not bad for an industry that has slowed down somewhat in the past months.

My favorite Watches and Wonders 2025 releases

That said, this article aims to show you my favorites from the Watches and Wonders 2025 exhibition in Geneva. I visited nearly all 60 exhibiting brands from Tuesday to Friday, so picking just a few watches for this article wasn’t easy.

There might be some overlap with some of the Fratello team members in my choices, but that’s how it is. Without further ado, here are my picks.

Piaget Polo 79

Last year, Piaget introduced the Polo 79 in yellow gold to us, and I dubbed it one of my favorites. This year, the brand released the same watch but in 18K white gold. It’s just every bit as impressive as the yellow gold version. Perhaps the novelty wore off for most watch enthusiasts, but this toned-down version has a very different presence on the wrist than its yellow gold counterpart. I love both, to be honest. Perhaps I love the yellow gold one a bit more, but if that’s too much for you, try the white gold one.

I love it because it is such a terrific reminder of the 1970s and early 1980s, which are often not considered tasteful eras when it comes to style. But there are some exceptions, like a white Ferrari Testarossa, Mercedes S-class, or this Piaget Polo design. Essentially, it is the 1980s chic that attracts me so much. Those who grew up in the 1980s probably understand.

This watch costs €92,000, while the yellow gold version retails for €83,500. Inside is Piaget’s caliber 1200P1, which is visible from the sapphire case back. Aside from the gold color, all specifications remained the same, including the 38mm diameter and 7.45mm thickness.

Chopard L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25 Straw Marquetry Edition

Just like last year, visiting Chopard was certainly one of the highlights. Under the Chopard picture that I posted on my Instagram, someone left a comment saying that this brand has been killing it for several years. Indeed, Chopard has been “good busy,” as we say in the Netherlands. While the brand also had a friendlier-priced L.U.C model (with the green dial) in 2024, this year, the focus was mainly on precious metals and/or special dials. While I very much enjoyed trying the Alpine Eagle 41 XP in platinum and the L.U.C Quattro Mark IV, the one that spoke to me the most was the L.U.C. Quattro Spirit 25 Straw Marquetry Edition.

Chopard created a 39mm rose gold case with a 10.3mm thickness and combined it with a stunning green straw marquetry dial. The artisan who creates the dial is located in Fleurier, which I visited last year. Marquetry is a wonderful technique that gives the dial a lot of depth. Besides this artisanal craftsmanship, there’s a jump-hour complication powered by Chopard’s 98.06-L movement with four barrels (hence, the Quattro name). This caliber provides eight days of power reserve.

The retail price for this Chopard L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25 with a beautiful green marquetry dial is €73,400. The watch comes on a matching green alligator strap with an 18K rose gold pin buckle.

Rolex GMT-Master II “Tiger Iron”

My first appointment at Watches and Wonders 2025 was with Rolex, and it was perhaps one of the most impressive ones. That was not only because of the watches shown but also because of how professional the Rolex folks were. There was a one-hour appointment for all eight Fratello members, in which we could see and handle the watches, create our content, ask questions, etc. It was very efficient for both them and us. Granted, other brands don’t always have the space, but doing all these things in one go is so much easier and more effective than seeing our team members separately for “touch & try” sessions (which sounds even worse than the previously used “touch & feel,” don’t you think?), interviews, photography, and video sessions. Kudos to Rolex for handling media appointments like this!

Anyway, even though I knew all eyes were on the Land-Dweller, I wanted to see the new GMT-Master II with a dial made of tiger iron, a mixture of tiger eye, red jasper, and hematite stones. With this watch, Rolex didn’t create anything new other than the dial, but it looked so good in the Everose GMT-Master II! Later on, I learned that this dial is also available in one of my favorite watches from Watches and Wonders 2023, the yellow gold GMT-Master II on a Jubilee bracelet. Although I prefer the 18K yellow gold GMT-Master II, I do think this dial does look better in the Everose case. The price of the Rolex GMT-Master II “Tiger Iron” ref. 126715CHNR is €51,250.

Rolex Land-Dweller

The Land-Dweller was the talk of the town in Geneva, at least on day one (perhaps day two as well). What surprised me is that Rolex did not mention the Oysterquartz — at all. The brand reps never brought it up during our meeting, and it wasn’t featured in the special Land-Dweller exhibition space they had at their booth either. It showed the Rolex “Texano” ref. 5100, the quartz (Beta 21) watch from 1970, and even the Date ref. 1530 from 1975 in a case later used for the Oysterquartz. But there is no mention whatsoever of the 1977 Oysterquartz models. Design-wise, the new Land-Dweller is closer to the Oysterquartz models than any of the other ones mentioned.

More dials for the Land-Dweller

I have a soft spot for Rolex’s Oysterquartz, and there are some floating around in our team, so it’s easy for me to love the Land-Dweller as well. And I do, although I feel the dial would’ve worked better without the two applied numerals and perhaps even without the honeycomb motif. However, neither would be a deal-breaker for me. I can also look past these introduction models and see Rolex introducing a plethora of dial variations in the coming years.

Inside is Rolex’s caliber 7135 featuring the new Dynapulse escapement, Syloxi hairspring, and aceramic balance-wheel staff. This high-beat (36,000vph) movement offers 66 hours of power reserve. An interesting note is that despite all this new technology, the service interval is the same as for all other mechanical movements, and the accuracy is still warranted at ±2 seconds per day on average.

I tried both the 36mm Land-Dweller and the 40mm versions, and I don’t seem to have developed a preference yet. Both work for me. The 36mm version is a bit more modest, but the 40mm model also looks fine on my 18cm wrist. I do, however, have a preference for the ice-blue dial in the platinum version! The Land-Dweller starts at €14,550 for the 36mm steel variant.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds in rose gold

Last week, I wrote the introduction article for the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso in 18K rose gold with the Milanese bracelet. I am such a fan of that watch that it needs to be included here. The use of the Milanese bracelet and the tone-on-tone design completely changed the Reverso for me. Inside is caliber 822, a hand-wound movement used in most Reverso Monoface models.

The retail price of the 18K rose gold Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds is €44,800. No worries, though; there’s a Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds in stainless steel for €11,500. I am sure you can source a suitable steel Milanese bracelet.

My wish for 2026 is that Jaeger-LeCoultre will introduce another Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds with a Milanese bracelet but in 18K yellow gold. I think that would be, as they say in Germany, “der Hammer.”

Patek Philippe Calatrava 6196P

Mike and Lex already mentioned the latest Patek Philippe Calatrava, so I will keep it short, but this is the epitome of dress watches. It has a super sleek 38mm platinum case, a beautiful rose-gilt opaline dial, and anthracite hour markers and hands. It sits so wonderfully on the wrist that I had a hard time taking it off and putting it back on the tray during the Patek Philippe presentation at Watches and Wonders.

The retail price for this platinum dress watch is €47,520. My other favorite Patek was the 5370R split-seconds chronograph. I also had the opportunity to try the new 40mm Cubitus, which I think wears nicer (on my 18cm wrist) than the initial 45mm versions. However, the Cubitus is still not for me. I prefer the Calatrava by miles.

Disclaimer and other noteworthy mentions

I fully understand that this list includes watches with very impressive price tags. Historically, the Watches and Wonders fair and SIHH, its predecessor, were always about higher-end watches with ditto prices. That has changed with brands like TAG Heuer, Oris, Eberhard, Raymond Weil, Bremont, Nomos, and Tudor. But this list is about the watches that I liked best, not looking at the price tag. There were much higher-priced watches at Watches and Wonders but also the ones from the mentioned brands that are friendlier for your (and my) wallet.

Other watches that I truly enjoyed looking at were the Vacheron Constantin Patrimony and Traditionnelle editions, basically all the new Lange models, the updated Panerai Luminor Marina collection, and the new Grand Seiko “Kiri” SBGW323. Watches that weren’t for me but were impressive nonetheless were those in the Piaget Andy Warhol collection. And while I was interested in seeing the new Cartier Tank Louis Cartier, it was the Santos-Dumont in yellow gold that did it for me.

One of my very last meetings was with Arnold & Son, where they showed me the Constant Force Tourbillon 11, a watch celebrating the friendship between John Arnold and Abraham-Louis Breguet. And to be honest, this watch feels like a tribute to Breguet. It could have been a Breguet. Mike also picked it for his list and rightfully so.

In general, Watches and Wonders 2025 brought a lot of good releases, mainly in the higher segment, but I can’t think that the TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph will not be a success among F1 fans. Nomos also did a tremendous job by introducing a new Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer. In the coming months, we will have more time to spend with some of these watches and provide you with in-depth articles and videos on them.