7 New Timepieces We Saw At Watches And Wonders 2026
At a salon marked by a return to essentials, here are some of the releases that made an impression.
Although there was a smattering of highlight pieces here and there, the 2026 edition of Watches and Wonders was largely driven by a return to essentials. This would not be surprising, given that much of the discourse of 2025 was dominated by tariffs and economic pressures. The conflict in the Middle East, which began only six weeks before this year’s salon, would have been an icing-on-the-cake vindication of any decision to focus on simpler pieces more closely tied to a brand’s core values.
By the numbers, it was still a record-breaking event: more brands than before, 65 in total, with Audemars Piguet back at the Palexpo for the first time since 2019; nearly 60,000 unique visitors with 25,000 tickets sold over the three public-access days, both up nine per cent; and more than 10,000 visitors to the Geneva city centre events highlighted by a live music jazz club concept born from a partnership with the Montreux Jazz Festival.
Even in a ‘quiet’ year, however, there were plenty of compelling watches to take note of. In some ways, it was a good year for purists and connoisseurs—the post-Covid era had been something of an arms race, and it would have been quite refreshing to see the spotlight shone on fundamental, more wearable pieces for a change. Here are the highlights from Watches and Wonders 2026.
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36
Rolex went quite playful with this colourful dial on the Oyster Perpetual 36 (price upon request). It revisits the Jubilee motif, which was first seen at the end of the 1970s and consists of a repeating ‘ROLEX’ pattern. This year’s rendition has vibrant contrast, consisting of no fewer than 10 colours. Each of these colours needs to be printed individually, meaning that the process is quite a long one and demanding of great precision. Aside from the dial, the watch is a familiar modern classic: 36mm case in Oystersteel, three-link Oyster bracelet, and the 70-hour self-winding Calibre 3230.
Patek Philippe Nautilus Desk Watch
Patek Philippe celebrates 50 years of the Nautilus with something of a capsule collection. Next to a pair of white gold Jumbo models and a 38mm platinum execution, all with a pared-down, pure aesthetic, is Reference 958G-001: a desk watch in white gold (price upon request). Equipped with a manually wound calibre with eight days of power reserve, the case is slightly larger than 50mm in diameter and offers a fresh viewpoint of the Nautilus’ iconic architecture. The hinged rear cover doubles as a stand, while on the dial side, set amid a sunburst blue, horizontally embossed backdrop, are additional indications for day and date alongside the small seconds subdial, with a power reserve indicator sitting at 12 o’clock. It is limited to 100 pieces.
A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Annual Calendar
It is a relatively low-key, unassuming release, but, as always with A. Lange & Söhne, it is an intellectual exercise and a meticulously executed timepiece from start to finish. Less than 10mm thick and only 36mm in diameter, the new Saxonia Annual Calendar (price upon request) is exceptionally elegant and wearable, and about as small as legibility allows. The dial is as precise and symmetrical as one would expect, with subdials for day, month, and small seconds, as well as a moonphase within the latter and the manufacture’s signature outsize date up top. The all-new self-winding movement with a 60-hour power reserve puts user-friendliness at the forefront: all calendar indications and the moonphase can be advanced collectively with the pusher at 10 o’clock or adjusted individually. A security mechanism prevents this pusher from being activated until the crown is pulled out. It is available in two references: white gold with silver dial, and pink gold with grey dial.
Chopard L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25 – Straw Marquetry Edition
One of the most distinctive timepieces to come out of the Chopard manufacture now has an even more distinctive dial. The L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25 – Straw Marquetry Edition (RM315,500) has a dial featuring rye straw grown in France, then carefully selected, strands split individually by fingernail, before being assembled by hand into a dial bearing a honeycomb motif. The minimalist layout—a jumping-hour aperture at 6 o’clock and a single minute hand—leaves all the more space to admire the dial of this 40mm-diameter watch. The familiar manually wound L.U.C 98.06-L within has four barrels and an eight-day power reserve, and is Poinçon de Genève-certified for good measure. There are two eight-piece limited editions on offer: one with a yellow gold case and natural straw-coloured dial, and one in rose gold with a blue dial.
Piaget Andy Warhol
It was all about colourful stone dials for Piaget, a specialty of the maison going back decades. The new releases include three new references for the Andy Warhol: a pink gold case with a classic stepped ‘gadroons’ bezel and a blue quartz dial; a pink gold case with a ‘Clous de Paris’ or hobnail bezel paired with a horizontally striped bull’s eye dial; and a rose gold expression that pairs baguette-cut diamonds on the bezel with a bronzite dial (prices upon request). It is, otherwise, the watch that the iconic artist first made famous in the 1960s: cushion-shaped, 45mm in diameter, and a svelte 8mm in thickness.
Roger Dubuis Excalibur Brocéliande
Roger Dubuis has been evolving its direction over the past few years, and the new Excalibur Brocéliande (price upon request) is its latest example, tempering its bold watchmaking and aesthetic with a more whimsical theme. The name is a reference to the enchanted forest of Arthurian legend, and this latest 38mm version has a distinctively feminine slant. On a sapphire base dial, with its transparency adding a sense of lightness, is an ivy motif with stems of gold and leaves of engraved mother-of-pearl. The micro-rotor is decorated with a sapphire disc with its own leaves and branches, its movement evoking the dancing of foliage in the wind. At 2 and 7 o’clock are two similar discs, freely rotating, making the scene come alive with the wearer’s motion. Two references are offered, one in Twilight Blue and one in Dawn Rose, with the latter additionally sporting brilliant-cut diamonds on the bezel. Both are limited to 88 pieces.
Zenith G.F.J. Calibre 135
Mechanically, this is nothing new. The Calibre 135 that beats at 2.5Hz in Zenith’s G.F.J. was introduced last year and is an ode to the precision found in old-school observatory trials—and it won the Chronometry Prize at that year’s GPHG awards, too. But now we have a 20-piece limited edition (RM365,900) in a different guise, one that is at once more understated and more precious. The 39.5mm case is crafted from tantalum, a notoriously difficult metal to work with, but rewarding in its heft, moody lustre, and high durability. It is paired with an inky black onyx dial centre and a small seconds counter of grey mother-of-pearl. Almost hidden within the signature guilloche pattern on the circumference of the dial are 11 baguette-cut diamonds that act as hour markers.
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