We’re just a few extra days away from the end of 2025. While the watchmaking industry remains in flux due to global economic uncertainties, creatively, this year has been one of the best in recent memory. When product success isn’t guaranteed, brands tend to target the well-off collectors who are wealthy enough to weather the storm of any global downturn. In that sense, we witness a resurgence of gold and other precious-metal timepieces. Some of my picks for the year’s best watches reflect this shift to more premium gold pieces. But I still make room for stainless steel watches, and my choices range from €2,250 to priceless. Let’s get into them.
I don’t buy that many watches for myself each year — well, compared to some others on the Fratello team, anyway. When I do buy watches, though, I include them on this year-end list, as I’m putting my money where my mouth is. My purchases may not break new ground or set the watch world ablaze. But if I’m willing to whip out my card and put a strain on my bank account, then the watch must be doing just enough to sway me. Other choices are far out of my reach and, in one instance, anyone’s reach. However, these are my top five watches released in 2025, listed in no particular order.
Oris Divers Sixty-Five 60th Anniversary Edition
The Oris Divers Sixty-Five is the watch model I’ve owned in the widest variety, more than any other collection. My first was the reintroduction in 2015, celebrating 50 years of the Oris Divers, and my most recent is the 60th Anniversary Edition from this year. In between, I’ve owned a crazy variety, from the Sunset Brown to the Calibre 400 models. I don’t keep them all, and it’s very much a buy-sell-buy-sell process. But there’s never been a time in 10 years when I’ve not owned a Divers Sixty-Five. It may not be the same watch, but I feel a powerful connection to this range. My latest version features the plane-Jane Oris caliber 733, which has a low power reserve of 38 hours compared to the caliber 400’s 120 hours. However, I appreciate the vintage text on the dial, which is reminiscent of Fratello’s Oris Star limited edition.
I also enjoy the lack of a date window to maintain the continuity of the dial’s exploded numerals. The Oris Divers Sixty-Five 60th Anniversary is very reminiscent of 2016’s Topper Fine Jewelers 100-piece limited edition. The execution here, though, is even closer to the original, including the heritage typeface and round lume pip on the bezel. Selfishly, I wish this model were also limited, as that would add to its specialness. Regardless, the Divers Sixty-Five 60th Anniversary Edition is a significant commemoration of one of my favorite lineups. What it lacks in technical innovation and material science, it makes up for in vintage-reissue charm. The watch is priced at €2,250 / US$2,600 / £1,950, and you can learn more about it here.
Breitling Superocean Heritage
Another watch that made its way into my humble collection is the Breitling Superocean Heritage. I’ve always liked the design of the Superocean Heritage. It mixes cues from the 1957 original without being a 1:1 remake. It shows the lineage with modern sensibilities. On many occasions, I was extremely close to buying one. The nearest was in 2014, when I tried one on in a boutique on the island of Capri, Italy. Holding me back at the time was the engagement ring I had bought before the trip, which was burning a hole in my pocket until I popped the question. But looking back, the Breitling would’ve made a lovely memento for the holiday, as well as marking the milestone that changed my life.
Fast-forward to this year, and the Superocean Heritage finally gets a much-needed overhaul to bring it up to speed with other Breitling ranges. The reason for the delay was the sensitivity of changing what had long been a bread-and-butter watch model in Breitling’s catalog. Balancing the update of the watch to today’s standards with its original good looks is a delicate matter. Arguably, Breitling got it just right with a sleeker and refined design, featuring even more nods to the 1957 original, such as the appropriate lume pattern on the hour hand and an extensive index at 12 o’clock. The upgraded B31 movement is also a significant improvement, offering a 78-hour power reserve. Importantly, the mechanism features nice enough decoration for Breitling to showcase it via the case back’s sapphire display — something we can’t say about the outgoing models with the Tudor-derived B20 caliber.
Meshing with the Breitling
The watch easily won me over, especially when I had the previous model and the new version side by side. The deeper blue dial is captivating, and the bezel action is smoother and far more tactile than before. Again, it’s not a timepiece that hugely shifts the needle, just a well-executed, casual dive watch that accompanied me on some well-meaning family holidays this year. I opted for the 42mm version, as I feel it has the correct proportions for this watch. Additionally, the larger 44mm model with the blue dial features gold details on the bezel and crown, which I wasn’t looking for in a watch of this style. Naturally, I opted for the Milanese stainless steel bracelet, but I also spent some time with the new mesh-pattern rubber strap.
I like how the end links and strap ends contour to the case sides, mimicking the original 1957 SuperOcean design. This style creates a seamless look without an exposed straight-bar end link. The rubber strap’s foldover connection was pretty bulky, however. With the deployant clasp closed, it measures 9mm thick. Against a 12.03mm case profile, the rubber strap does feel unbalanced.
In comparison, the stainless steel mesh bracelet’s butterfly clasp measures just under 7mm thick when closed, making it feel sleeker. Therefore, I was glad to go for the bracelet. The watch is priced at €6,550 / US$6,800 / £5,450, and you can read more about it here.
Omega Seamaster 37mm for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games
As part of the Fratello Dress Watch Season contest, I chose the Omega Seamaster 37mm Milano Cortina 2026. This wasn’t any random matchup, as among the 34-strong lineup, this Omega was the watch I pictured wearing the most. I made the point in the article that this Seamaster has many angles and facets, yet it still appears elegant. The dog-leg lugs are pronounced but not comically so.
It’s a nicely balanced dress watch that subtly disguises its ties to the Winter Olympic Games more than the 1956 original and the 2008 remake, which featured logos on the dial. Yes, the medallion on the back for the Milano Cortina games next year is not the best. That, however, is not a fault of the watch but, rather, the logo design for next year’s Winter Olympics.
The 37mm case diameter also complements the style, maintaining its vintage chic. And despite it losing to the Breguet Classique Souscription in the voting, this is still my pick. The results were rather tight, with the Breguet ousting the Omega with 56% of the voting share. Omega’s enamel dial is exquisite and one of the characteristics that connoisseurs predominantly appreciate. To bystanders, it appears like any other white dial. But when sipping mulled wine by a warm fire with the flames reflecting off the glacier-like dial, the wearer will appreciate the additional effort that went into creating it. The 18K Moonshine Gold case is also a beautiful shade that adds warmth to the winter months. The Omega is priced at €21,400 / US$19,300 / £18,200, and you can learn more here.
Rolex Land-Dweller
Last year’s Watches and Wonders lineup from Rolex was as dull as dishwater, which happens on occasion for good reasons, as Rolex prefers gentle iterations over radical redesigns. Thankfully, though, this year, Rolex gave us a barnstormer in the form of the Land-Dweller. Reintroducing the integrated-bracelet style of the Oysterquartz and featuring technical innovation, it was a real winner.
Of the choices of 904L stainless steel, Everose gold, and platinum, I prefer the Everose gold. There’s something about the gold sheen of the polished Jubilee bracelet’s links that plays wonderfully with the light. I also applaud the caliber upgrades, including a higher 5Hz frequency and the use of silicon. Lastly, people get hung up on the name, but to me, it’s no different than Sea-Dweller or Sky-Dweller. The Rolex Land-Dweller in Everose gold costs €47,000 / US$46,100 / £40,300. For more information on the watch, please visit the details page.
Vacheron Constantin La Quête Du Temps
My final pick is not a watch at all, so maybe the headline is misleading. But the Vacheron Constantin La Quête Du Temps has to appear on any end-of-year round-up. I haven’t seen it pop up on the other Fratello editor’s lists. And the fact that it was not recognized at all at this year’s GPHG is an outrage. Well, fair enough, it doesn’t conform to any of the academy’s stipulations. But “The Quest for Time” by Vacheron Constantin is a generational achievement, not only in watchmaking but also in nearly all forms of craftsmanship. A humanoid animates and points to the current time, for heaven’s sake.
Made for Vacheron’s 270th anniversary, the 250kg, 1m-tall, and 50cm-wide marvel houses 23 complications. I won’t go into all of them here, but it chimes, there’s celestial and calendar indications, and it’s all utterly impeccable in its quality. It’s the most mesmerising creation potentially in watchmaking history. Yet not appearing at an end-of-year celebration is ludicrous. Fine, it’s not a watch, it’s not available for purchase, and it’s no longer on public display. However, it transcends all exceptional human creativity and, if nothing else, deserves credit for Vacheron’s accomplishments.
So, what do you think of my picks? Did any of them resonate with you as well? Let me know in the comments section below, and feel free to share your favorite watches of 2025.