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Neha S. Bajpai

From Rolex’s quietly confident 120th anniversary to Vacheron Constantin’s grand 270-year celebration, 2025 is awash with horological milestones. But with so many brands touting birthdays, reissues and limited edition drops, one can’t help but ask: do these anniversaries still carry weight, or have they become just another marketing ploy?
If the flurry of activity at Watches and Wonders 2025 is anything to go by, the answer is both. A convergence of anniversaries has put brand storytelling in the spotlight – some executing it with technical prowess and reverence, others leaning into pure spectacle.

And let’s not forget the brands playing to their most beloved icons. Tag Heuer is riding high on Formula One nostalgia, Jaeger-LeCoultre is diving deep into Reverso territory, and Cartier is pushing the Tank into every possible configuration.
Says watch journalist and editor Chris Hall: “I don’t think there was ever a time when they weren’t a convenient marketing hook. That doesn’t mean they can’t be significant. … In an industry where tradition and history are the dominant intellectual currency, longevity is obviously respected.”
That respect is evident in Vacheron Constantin’s ambitious new release, Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication – a 45mm white gold marvel with a record-breaking 41 complications to mark the maison’s 270th anniversary. If you’re going to make a fuss, this is how you do it. It’s technical, emotional, and true to the brand’s legacy.

Meanwhile, Zenith’s 160-year milestone comes with the surprise launch of the G.F.J. collection, a vintage revival rooted in its founder Georges Favre-Jacot’s original movement, updated with a contemporary blue-on-blue dial design. At 39mm, it’s perfectly proportioned – and the dial is striking without veering into flamboyance.
Rolex, predictably, took a different tack. This year marks 120 years since Hans Wilsdorf founded the brand in 1905, but true to form, Rolex isn’t waving any flags. Instead, it unveiled the Land-Dweller, a completely reimagined watch featuring 32 new patents – 18 for the watch, 16 for the movement – including the new Dynapulse escapement and a striking Flat Jubilee bracelet.

“It’s only on very rare occasions that Rolex releases a watch specifically to mark an anniversary,” says Ross Povey, founder of TudorCollector.com. “Collectors often anticipate something special, but more often than not, Rolex doesn’t follow that path. When they do quietly release a commemorative model, like the Le Mans Daytona, it becomes an event in itself. That kind of restraint is brilliant marketing.”
Rolex, however, is not completely immune to anniversary fever. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the GMT-Master, launched in 1955. The house celebrated the milestone in Hong Kong last month with the launch of a GMT-Master exhibition titled “Time Zone to Time Zone”.

True to form, Hublot marked the 20th anniversary of the Big Bang in loud and lavish fashion – with a line-up of 25 new models, including the Materials and High Complications series, a striking set of five unique pieces. The most understated of the bunch? The Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Sapphire. This piece, along with its fiery Red Magic ceramic counterpart, houses the in-house HUB6035 calibre – complete with a micro rotor at 12 o’clock and a tourbillon at 6 o’clock framed within a 44mm by 14.4mm case. It offers a 72-hour power reserve and ticks at 21,600vph.
Then there’s Chanel, whose 25th anniversary collection for the J12 is a masterclass in aesthetic evolution. With pieces like the J12 Bleu Diamond Tourbillon – a flying tourbillon with a diamond-set cage – and the nearly mythic J12 Bleu X-Ray in transparent blue sapphire crystal, Chanel manages to celebrate its history while pushing design forwards. From its ceramic case material to its co-developed calibres, the J12 has matured well beyond its fashion-watch beginnings.

But can too many limited editions dilute a brand’s value?
“I think the sheer volume of limited edition watches today – whether tied to anniversaries or not – has become problematic,” says Povey. “When done right, the first few special editions can prove to be strong investments. But when brands churn them out frequently, collectors become frustrated, and the perception grows that the brand is simply cashing in.”
Tony Traina, a former lawyer and author of the Unpolished newsletter, offers a useful benchmark for how to do it right: “Probably the best example of this in recent history is Patek Philippe in 1989. It had the release of the Calibre 89, the most complicated watch of the time, paired with an auction, which brought together a number of its most historically important pieces. It also produced a couple of watches specifically for that auction.”
That anniversary, Traina says, became a pivot point for Patek, helping it evolve into the industry powerhouse we know today. “I remember the Platinum 2499, for example. Patek was able to bring together all of those threads for its 150th anniversary, and then immediately after, in the 1990s, the brand became a household name. But you can’t do that every five or 10 years,” he notes. “You have to really think about it for almost a decade in advance to bring all of those things together to change the narrative of the brand.”

That kind of long-range vision isn’t unique to Patek Philippe. Van Cleef & Arpels, too, has mastered the art of weaving history into modern desire. In 1935, artistic director Renée Puissant transformed a simple padlock into something seductive: the Cadenas watch. Ninety years on, it still captivates.
This year’s anniversary edition, unveiled at Watches and Wonders Geneva, glitters with pavé diamonds and baguette sapphires. Its discreetly tilted dial, meant for the wearer’s gaze alone, flirts with the idea of secrecy. Clasped on a supple double snake chain, it is sensual, sculptural and undeniably bold – a timeless expression of feminine allure.

So do anniversaries still matter? Yes, but only when they reflect a deeper truth about the brand. As Hall puts it, “For me, the bigger the milestone and the more sparingly you have pulled this particular lever, the more impactful the anniversary celebration. Exclusivity should really be a part of it, and in terms of other criteria, I would say it just needs to feel special. More important than the specifics of a watch is the sense that it was created by people who really care about what they’re celebrating.”
Anniversaries are, in the end, only as meaningful as the stories behind them. And in a year filled with noise, the ones that cut through aren’t always the loudest – but the most sincere.


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Timepieces

Are watch brands going too far with their anniversary editions? Chanel J12 and Rolex Land-Dweller models dropped at Watches and Wonders 2025, among many others – but meaningful milestones are key

Watch fan Jay-Z wearing the Patek Philippe 2499, one example of the anniversary editions that dropped at Watches and Wonders 2025. Photo: Handout

A 1988 advertisement for Tag Heuer. Photo: Handout

Zenith won five consecutive Neuchâtel Observatory chronometry prizes in the 1950s. Photo: Handout

Rolex GMT-Master brochure, 1958. Photo: Handout

Hublot Big Bang 20th anniversary. Photo: Handout

Chanel launched its J12 watch in 1999. Photo: Handout

A sketch of the Van Cleef & Arpels Cadenas watch. Photo: Handout

A 1977 advert for Vacheron Constantin’s 222 watch. Photo: Handout

How modern ceramic techniques are revolutionising high horology: Watches and Wonders 2025 showcased hardy new pieces from Audemars Piguet, Chopard, Chanel and IWC Schaffhausen

The Zenith Chronomaster Sport 160th Blue Ceramic. Photo: Handout

Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak Offshore Blue Nuit Nuage 50. Photo: Handout

Zenith Defy Skyline 160th Blue Ceramic. Photo: Handout

IWC Schaffhausen’s Ingenieur Automatic 42. Photo: Handout

Chopard’s Alpine Eagle 41 SL Cadence 8HF. Photo: Handout

Tonda PF Sport Chronograph by Parmigiani Fleurier. Photo: Handout

From Rolex to Cartier: Tom Cruise’s luxury watch collection includes a meteorite dial Day-Date 40 for the Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning press tour, Daytonas and a classic Santos de Cartier

Tom Cruise has a fondness for luxury watches by the likes of Rolex and Vacheron Constantin, and particularly appreciates holy grail models. Photos: Handout (watches); Reuters

Tom Cruise, seen here at the Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning premiere in New York on May 18, is an avid luxury watch collector. Photo: Reuters

Tom Cruise owns a number of Rolex Daytonas. Photo: Handout

Tom Cruise has a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona in his collection, although his white gold version has a meteorite dial. Photo: Handout

A meteorite-dial Rolex Day-Date 40 was Tom Cruise’s choice when promoting his latest Mission: Impossible film. Photo: Handout

Tom Cruise was recently seen wearing the newly launched Rolex Land-Dweller. Photo: Handout

The Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin is a mere 8.1mm thick. Photo: Handout

Tom Cruise wore this Calibre de Cartier while promoting Top Gun: Maverick. Photo: Handout

The Santos de Cartier was designed specifically for pilots. Photo: Handout

Gold watches from Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Chanel, Bulgari, Piaget and others stole the spotlight at Watches and Wonders 2025 in Geneva, with sculptural pieces among the striking launches

At April’s Watches and Wonders 2025 fair in Geneva, brands including Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Chanel, Bulgari and Piaget grabbed visitors’ attention with stunning gold watches. Photo: Handout

Van Cleef & Arpels Cadenas watch in yellow gold and white gold with sapphires and diamonds. Photo: Handout

Cartier Panthère jewellery watch in yellow gold with diamonds, tsavorites, onyx and black lacquer. Photo: Handout

Chanel Première Galon watch. Photo: Handout

Former Tag Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver on starting his eponymous luxury watch brand JC Biver, taking aesthetic pointers from the younger generation, and adding a personal touch to horology

Former Tag Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver on his eponymous luxury watch brand JC Biver, and embracing smaller watch sizes – thanks to input from his son, Pierre Biver. Photo: Handout

Jean-Claude Biver founded his eponymous watch brand JC Biver in 2023. Photo: Handout

Jean-Claude Biver with his son, Pierre Biver. Photo: Handout

The Biver Automatique, in a 39mm case. Photo: Handout

(From left) The Biver Automatique Atelier Series Obsidian, Carillon Tourbillon Sodalite Openwork and Automatique Atelier Series Pietersite. Photo: Handout

The Biver Lounge at The Upper House hotel in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout

Pierre Biver, Jean-Claude Biver and Shoyo Kawamura. Photo: Handout

Pierre Biver and Shoyo Kawamura at the Biver Lounge in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout

Bad Bunny’s vintage luxury watch collection, from Rolex to Cartier: the Puerto Rican rapper wore an Audemars Piguet to the Grammys and a Patek Philippe for his GQ shoot … both ladies’ watches

Bad Bunny watches are all about the cool factor. Photos: Getty Images, Handout

Bad Bunny at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles, in March. Photo: Getty Images

The “Wood Dial” Rolex Day-Date is a throwback to the 1970s. Photo: Handout

Bad Bunny performing at the 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, California. Photo: Getty Images

Bad Bunny stole the show at Milan Fashion Week in 2023 with this Cartier Santos. Photo: Handout

Bad Bunny sports a Patek Philippe at an LA Lakers-Memphis Grizzlies basketball game, in 2023. Photo: Getty Images

Bad Bunny wearing a women’s Patek Philippe watch for a 2022 GQ shoot. Photo: Roe Ethridge

Bad Bunny, sporting an Audemars Piguet, performs during the Grammy Awards 2023. Photo: Getty Images

Becky G and Bad Bunny at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles. Photo: Getty Images

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Anniversary editions hold value if the stories behind them are relevant – see the likes of Jaeger-LeCoultre, Hublot, Zenith, Patek Philippe and Tag Heuer for good examples


Anniversary editions hold value if the stories behind them are relevant – see the likes of Jaeger-LeCoultre, Hublot, Zenith, Patek Philippe and Tag Heuer for good examples.
