A handy look at the week’s horological hits, from Universal Genève, Noah x Timex, TAG Heuer, and more, all in one place.

This week has been stacked with killer watches from across the spectrum. TAG Heuer has continued its longstanding tribute to Brazilian racecar driver Ayrton Senna, Vacheron Constantin is prepped for Chinese New Year with a fantastic Year of the Horse timepiece, and Universal Geneve’s nod to Nina Rindt stoked up the fires for its 2026 comeback. Plus: Tissot dropped a Titanium tough guy  PRX, and Noah and Timex unveiled more affordable hits. So yes, lots of nice watches, and plenty to talk about. 

TAG Heuer adds two spicy chronographs to its Senna series

Ayrton Senna was a beast on the Formula 1 track, bagging 65 polo positions, more than 600 points and 80 podium finishes before his untimely death. And TAG Heuer has officially honoured the boundary pushing driver through special edition releases in his name since 1994. 

Fittingly, the Maison’s latest honour of the Brazilian F1 legend dropped at the São Paulo Grand Prix, and sees two chronographs in 43mm and 44mm case sizes added to the range. A 44mm model pairs a black grade-2 titanium case, with a black DLC finish and a forged carbon tachymeter bezel with a vibrant rubber yellow strap. A 30-minute counter at 12 o’clock and a 12 hour chronograph at 6 o’clock paired with a yellow “S” logo on the sub-dial round-out a dopamine-inducing tribute to the F1 legend, powered by TAG Heuer’s Calibre 16 automatic movement.

The 43mm edition combines a stainless steel case with a black aluminium tachymeter bezel (with the all important TAG Heuer Senna markings). And the steel S/EL bracelet is the same style Senna wore during his TAG Heuer ambassadorship. This stealthy racer watch is powered by a quartz chronograph movement. And for one final touch, both the 43mm and 44mm models feature Senna engravings on the caseback. £4,950 (44mm) and £2,300 (43mm) at tagheuer.com. 

Vacheron Constantin’s latest lunar new year timepiece packs serious horsepower

Vacheron Constantin is back flexing its muscles in the lunar new year watchmaking stakes with the Métiers d’Art “The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac” collection. To celebrate the Year of The Horse, it’s introducing two 25-piece limited edition timepieces. The dial is this artistic masterpiece’s canvas, showcasing a three-dimensional horse leaping over a rock, set against a painted background and housed within a 40mm 950 platinum (with a blue leather strap) or 18k pink gold case (with a brown strap). The dial background combines grand feu enamelling and miniature painted enamel to create a wondrous and finely detailed tribute to the Chinese New Year – something the maison has been nailing since 2012. Inside, you’re working with a calibre 2460 G4 self-winding movement, powering a hands-free trailing hours and minutes, jumping day of the week, and date complications. 

Is it quiet? Not at all. But if there ever was a time to go full steam ahead on your wrist, celebrating the New Year is as good a time as ever. POA at vacheronconstantin.com. 

Universal Genève nods to Nina Rindt’s trackside wrist checks

Nina Rindt was a master of the high-profile wrist check long before watch TikTok and celebrity timepiece spotting was a thing. In the ’60s she would time her husband Jochen Rindt’s laps on the F1 track wearing the Universal Genève Compax, adapting it with a leather bund strap (an additional piece of material used to protect pilots’ skin from extreme heat in the cockpit). It was a bold fashion move at the time that led to the watch being affectionately named “the Nina”. 

Now UG is bringing it back for 2025. The Tribute to Compax collection is built around handcrafted bund straps by Satoru Hosoi, a leather artisan who has worked with Hermès – his first time working with a watch brand. The dial is made of grand feu enamel to produce six deep, rich dials ranging from Opaque white to translucent brown. And they’re powered by restored UG calibre 281 manual-wind movements, which pack in 36 hours of power reserve. 

This release would be major regardless, balancing fashionable design with top drawer mechanical watchmaking. But Universal Genève’s is on the cusp of a hotly anticipated comeback next year. The 2025 “Nina” follows the announcement that the dormant mid-century watchmaker was being revived by the private investment group behind Breitling. And with this pre-hardlaunch release you’ve got a watch that stokes the fires of UG comeback hype nicely. POA at universalgeneve.com.  

Noah and Timex look to the moon 

If you thought eye-watering price tags were a prerequisite for grail-tier watches, Noah and Timex will make you reconsider. The duo teamed up last year, combining Timex’s knack for making trusty, affordable watches with Noah’s preppy skate rat vibe. 

The collaboration’s latest concoction comes in the form of a dressy Oval moon phase, with design parallels to the Patek Philippe Ellipse. Rather than an in-your-face white dial, it is more subdued vanilla, placing a moonphase in the centre of the dial on full show, which is a refreshing touch when compared to more tucked-away  moon phase placements.

Available in either gold-plated or stainless steel and with brown and black leather strap options, it looks like a vintage gem that took years to source. The oval shape is insanely wearable, and bang-on with the appetite for shaped dress watches at the minute. It’s affordable, wearable, and proof that high costs don’t always equate to coolness. Available for pre-order now at noahnyc.com. 

Tissot welcomes titanium to its PRX range

The Tissot PRX has always been tough. It rose to prominence during the sportswatch boom of the 1970s as the Seastar Quartz before being discontinued. 

Tissot revived the design under the PRX name in 2021 and it’s been a flyer since, thanks to a mega mix of design, watchmaking and value for money. Now Tissot is introducing titanium into the mix with its 38mm models. It’s super light, strong, and clocks in under £1000, which for a Swiss-made automatic watch, is pretty hard to find. £795 at tissot.com. 

Panerai remixes the California dial Lunar New Year Style

Panerai will see in the lunar new year with a new Radiomir 8 Giorni watch. And if you know your Panerai’s then this will look familiar (and likely induce severe watch thirst); it’s inspired by the ref. 3646 with a California dial. Except this time around, you’re getting a mix of Roman and Chinese numerals, rather than the previous Roman-Arabic mix. Dials aside, it’s heavy on the usual Panerai meatiness with a 45mm cushion dial case. But it’s time-only and doesn’t shout too loud. Although, the initiated will know it’s powered by Panerai’s p.5000 mechanical movement with eight days of power reserve. Quirky enough to turn heads, but also the kind of thing you can rock on the daily without too much fuss. Right now, the Radiomir 8 Giorni is only available in China, but a UK release is expected later this year.