The best Watches and Wonders 2026 launches, from Cartier and Hublot to Patek Philippe

The record-breaking 66 brands exhibiting at Watches and Wonders this year gave us plenty of exotic complications, materials and designs, but as market share between top, middle and smaller scale brands continues to shift wildly amid universal price increases, this year’s biggest releases seem geared to making watches more universally wearable, durable and modernised. Brands experimented with familiar materials like platinum or titanium, but began to expand possibilities for ceramic, forged quartz and even tantalum. Engineering remains high level, but increasing attention is being paid to bracelet features, the modernisation of complications and more. “Some of the themes I saw this year were how brands used materials,” says Johnathan Chan, co-founder of The Horology Club. “H. Moser & Cie gave us a forged quartz piece and a full tantalum perpetual calendar, Tudor went full ceramic with the Black Bay, and IWC gave us a fully lumed [the application of a luminous phosphorescent glowing solution on watches] ceramic piece as well.” Known for its durability, ceramic was the material of choice for brands across the board. In addition to adding METAS (Master Chronometer) certification for the Black Bay 58, Tudor released an all-black ceramic Black Bay. Hublot gave us the Big Bang Reloaded, updating a collection first released in 2005. All five Big Bang Reloaded references use ceramic for their caseback and bezel, while the Big Bang Reloaded All Black, Blue Ceramic and Green Ceramic feature a full ceramic construction. IWC Schaffhausen’s Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Ceralume involved blending ceramic powders with Super-LumiNova – made possible with a dedicated ball-milling process, which turns materials to fine powder – to build an entire case that can glow in the dark. The effect is amplified by a fully luminous watch strap. Of course, ceramic isn’t the only new way to make a watch durable or interesting in terms of materials. H. Moser & Cie, long known for its radical watch designs, hosted its first solo exhibition at Watches and Wonders this year, and its main release was a collaboration with Reebok, which is in turn reviving its Pump sneaker this year. With this in mind, the Streamliner Pump – limited to 250 pieces each for white and black versions – takes the Streamliner sports watch line to another level, with a 40mm case made from forged quartz fibres and powered with the hand-wound HMC 103 movement. To wind the watch, press the aluminium pusher at eight o’clock to fill the power reserve. Not just one but two maisons gave us pieces in tantalum, once predominantly the realm of independent producers like Fleming and Atelier Wen, and known for its durability and corrosion resistance while being exceptionally challenging to manufacture correctly. H. Moser & Cie upped the ante by introducing an Endeavour Perpetual Calendar in the case material, while Zenith expanded its new GFJ collection from last year to add a full tantalum case and onyx dial. Of course, the best way to have as many wrists enjoy a watch as possible is to size it appropriately. Over the last half decade, we’ve seen average watch sizes go from 40-42mm, to watches in the 38 or 39mm range. After Tudor released the Black Bay 68 at 43mm last year, we thought the pendulum would begin to swing in the other direction – but a handful of brands sizing down watches this year further expands wearability across the board. “Brands are finally starting to release smaller sizes,” says Armoury and Temporal Works co-founder Mark Cho of this year’s launches. “Bulgari’s Octo has finally arrived in 37mm and A. Lange & Söhne released [the Saxonia] Annual Calendar in 36mm. The [Patek Philippe] Nautilus has returned in 38mm. It’s about time!” Following the introduction of a 34mm 1815 last year, at Watches and Wonders 2026 A Lange & Söhne gave us a Saxonia with an annual calendar with the moon phase only requiring one day of correction after 122.6 years. It measures just 38mm in diameter and 9.8mm in thickness – perfect for dressy settings. Bulgari has apparently done the same, but for its premium integrated sports watch line. The Octo Finissimo 37mm features the all-new BVF100 micro-rotor movement that measures just 2.35mm in height, meaning the thickness of the full piece – available in titanium and yellow gold – comes at just 6.45mm, also able to slip under any sleeve cuff for maximum ease of wear. Patek Philippe, in celebration of the Nautilus’ 50th birthday, gave us the 5610/1P-001, a 38mm example in full platinum. This piece also features a micro-rotor movement; the Caliber 240 ensures the watch comes in at an easy 7mm of thickness. “I think brands are thinking more about utility, which is great,” says Cho. “Bracelets and clasps keep getting better across the board. The new Cartier Santos-Dumont with the finely linked bracelet stands out in that regard.” Cartier isn’t alone in considering bracelets. Grand Seiko’s Spring Drive UFA Ushio 300 Diver takes last year’s UFA Spring Drive movement – accurate to plus-minus three seconds a month – and puts it in a comparatively slim 40mm-by-13mm dive watch that can still put up 300 metres water resistance. For divers looking to change the fit of the watch on the fly, Grand Seiko kept the toolless micro-adjustment clasp only recently introduced on last year’s Spring Drive UFA. Zenith, known for its exceptional El Primero chronograph movements, gave four new Chronomaster Sport Skeleton references with a new patent-pending clasp design that allows micro-adjustment via the middle, polished section of the clasp. Indeed, some of the fair’s most impressive developments re-evaluate how watches function. Aside from Panerai’s roots in developing watches for the Royal Italian Navy, the Luminor is immediately recognisable by its crown guard, which historically fastens the crown using a protective bridge. The Luminor Destro – the second word is Italian for “right” – places the crown on the left of the watch so left-handed wearers can operate the watch while wearing it on the right hand. IWC Schaffhausen collaborated with space station developer Vast on the Venturer Vertical Drive, a piece certified for space exploration aboard the Haven-1. Lightweight zirconium oxide ceramic and IWC’s signature Ceratanium ceramic-titanium blend are used to build a durable and temperature-resistant 44.3mm piece specifically for space exploration. The watch also features dual-time zone functionality, which can all be adjusted not by conventional crown, but by rotating the bezel while alternating functions using a rocker switch at 9 o’clock. Ulysse Nardin is another brand that has done away with a crown for its novelty this year. For 25 years now, the Freak has always been a piece that challenges the way time can be told, primarily by way of a rotating movement that acts as its own minute hand. The automatic 44mm Super Freak this year uses oscillating blades instead of a traditional rotor for efficient winding, in addition to time adjustment via bezel. The main carousel houses a double tourbillon and, in a first for the model, a seconds display. Other brands turned to more traditional complications to innovate this year, particularly Tag Heuer and Parmigiani Fleurier. The only thing cooler than Tag Heuer introducing a skeletonised Monaco is releasing the Monaco Evergraph. Though not the first example of the mechanism in high horology, the Calibre TH80-00 reimagines chronograph construction using a compliant mechanism, which uses two flexible bistable metal blades to replace almost all levers and springs traditionally used to start, stop or reset the chronograph. Parmigiani Fleurier opted to focus on a minimalist, legible dial for its chronograph. The Tonda PF Chronographe Mysterieux uses a monopusher at seven o’clock to operate start, stop and reset functions of the triple-clutch chronograph movement. When activated, the watch’s “main” hands count chronograph time while a set of rose gold hour and minute hands underneath reveal themselves, keeping civil time. When stopped and reset, the overlaid rhodium chronograph hands snap back to civil time, hiding the gold hands and increasing legibility.

The best Watches and Wonders 2026 launches, from Cartier and Hublot to Patek Philippe

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}This year’s event brings new editions of legendary pieces, such as the Tudor Black Bay and H. Moser & Cie’s Reebok collab, as well as innovative tech and materials

This year’s event brings new editions of legendary pieces, such as the Tudor Black Bay and H. Moser & Cie’s Reebok collab, as well as innovative tech and materials