The lowdown on the steamiest timepieces from the biggest week in watches.
Here we are folks: Watches and Wonders 2026. The annual fair is the fashion week of watches and sees nearly all of the industry’s movers and shakers unleash a slew of new timepieces over the course of the week.
This year, things are looking particularly stacked: Rolex is riding the wave of a few anniversaries, cheersing to 100 years of Oyster (the sealed watch case the brand invented in 1926), as well as 70 years of its legendary Day-Date and Milgauss models. Watch sleuths were working over time in the run up to the event to see what they might offer. Patek Philippe is also celebrating this year, with its iconic Gérald Genta-designed Nautilus turning 50, and Tudor is toasting its centenary. And just to amp the hype metre to near stratospheric levels (at least for those suffering from the highly contagious watch bug) Audemars Piguet is making a hyped-up return to the schedule, too. Throw in more big names like TAG Heuer, Hublot, Jaeger-LeCoultre and, BVLGARI unveiling novelties, alongside a slew of high-powered independents, and you’ve got the makings for a very big week in watches.
If it all sounds like a lot to contend with (we hear you), then worry not. Man About Town is on the ground at the fair to give you the low-down. So strap in and scroll on for a rolling selection of the biggest horological bangers unveiled at Watches and Wonders 2026.
Bvlgari takes the Octo Finissimo to smaller, skinnier proportions
Via @bvlgari
Bvlgari’s Octo Finissimo is familiar with breaking records – it’s in the DNA. In its first iteration, which launched in 2014, the watch broke the record for the world’s thinnest timepiece, and the distinct octagonal shape was a tasty addition to the luxury sportswatch world. But the brainboxes in Bvlgari’s watchmaking division don’t rest on their laurels, and this year they’ve shrunk the Octo Finissimo to 37mm. The new micro-rotor movement builds on the scaled-down advancements of the solotempo movements seen in the Maison’s Serpenti range. In this smaller size, you’ve got the best of both worlds. There’s innovation with movements displaying a steadfast commitment to watchmaking. But offering this octagonal beast in a more universal size with a prestige yellow gold and durable stainless steel option available makes them all the more killer.
Tudor marks its centenary with the Monarch
Courtesy of Tudor
Anniversaries rightfully call for watch Maisons to look to the past. But Tudor marked its 100-year anniversary with one foot in the present and the other firmly in the now. How? With the introduction of the Monarch. It’s an all-new timepiece with a faceted steel case, a salmon-ish dial akin to ancient papyrus, and a combination of Roman and Arabic numerals. In other words, eye candy destined to age like a fine vintage red. It’s not shouting about crazy complications, tourbillons, or ultra precious metals – Not even a date. Just a solid MT5662-2U movement that comes COSC and METAS certified, and easy-on-the-eye, wearable finishing. This is simple, pure design executed well – exactly what Tudor has been doing for the last 100 years. Here’s to more of that.
The Zenith G.FJ. gets an exclusive, stealthy glow-up
Courtesy of Zenith
Zenith’s Calibre 135 movement was produced between 1949 and 1962, developed for chronometry trials. The competition version 135-O earned 235 chronometry prizes, five of which were first prizes at the Neuchâtel Observatory from 1950 to 1954. This record remains unmatched to date. Naturally, this is the kind of thing you want to show off, which Zenith did last year with the launch of the G.F.J. (named after Zenith founder Georges Favre-Jacot) in platinum with a slick lapis lazuli dial. This year, the G.F.J is getting all dressed up, in tantalum metal (this rare, corrosion-resistant metal is the same stuff they use in jet engines), giving off a killer grey-blue vibe. Black onyx is used for the dial, and polished for the subdial. Indexes are crafted from baguette-cut diamonds, which are serenaded by white gold hands – a prime aesthetic companion of a movement like the Calibre 135. This, ladies and gents, screams with an assured, low-key sophistication, being both deeply luxurious and discreet in equal measure.
Rolex’s Rolesor OP toasts the big one: 100 years of Oyster
Courtesy of Rolex
In 1926 Rolex introduced the Oyster – a fully sealed case that protected your watch’s inner workings from submersion in water, as well as dust and other nasties that could damage your watch’s accuracy. And it’s been used in nearly all of the watches the Crown has produced ever since. Rolex has released a number of heavy hitters to mark the occasion, but we’re going to focus on the Oyster Perpetual, specifically the Rolesor edition, which comes in 36mm and 41mm sizes. It takes one of Rolex’s core models – displaying just hours, minutes, and seconds – and amps it up with a bezel and crown crafted from yellow gold, combined with an Oystersteel case and bracelet and slate dial, nodding to earlier 1930s mixed metal Rolesors like the reference 5045 Bubbleback. And if you needed any more reminding of its anniversary status, the all-new OP is stamped with “100 Years” in place of the usual Swiss-made.
The Oyster Perpetual has always had a GADA status (go anywhere, do anything). But this anniversary OP’s precious metal touches give it a touch more prestige; it feels extra special, fitting for a release so baked in Rollie history. But with the super-versatile Oyster bracelet, it still oozes with an elevated ease of wear.
Centre Court is calling the Gerald Charles Maestro GC Sport Tennis white
Courtesy of Gerald Charles
The Gerald Charles Maestro occupies a pretty sweet spot in high-end sports watches. It’s streamlined, thin, and its case is inspired by dramatic Roman Baroque architecture. When you’ve got this kind of combination, you’re destined for some pretty world-class wrist time. One such home of sporty, world-class wrist checks is, of course, Wimbledon, which is what has inspired the Maestro GC Sport Tennis White. A velcro strap hugs the wrist, while complying with Wimbledon’s all-white dress code for players. And the Darkblast Grade 5 titanium case keeps things hardy, and extremely lightweight (clocking in at just 64 grams), with a dextro left-side crown to ensure maximum range of movement. The textured white dial keeps things balanced while resembling the meticulous lines found on Wimbledon’s grass courts. Yes, you could very easily play tennis wearing this watch. But, we won’t judge you if you reserve it for sipping champagne in seriously solid menswear, albeit while watching a singles showdown on Centre Court in July.
IWC blasts flyboy watches into orbit
Sure, time is a core component of watchmaking. But IWC dropping the Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive – the brand’s first-ever dedicated space watch – at Watches and Wonders 2026, a mere matter of days after the Artemis II space crew’s successful splash down to earth, is extremely timely. Made in collaboration with space station makers Vast, it’s fully certified for space travel. This means every detail has been finely tuned, such as a matte black dial to prevent light reflection, displaying two timezones with a central and minute hand, and an outer dial 24-hour format (Astronauts use GMT or Coordinated Universal Time to keep the familiar rhythm of earth time while in space). But given that you might be doing all of this in a spacesuit, there’s no crown to fiddle with; instead, you set the watch via the rotating bezel. And to top off the otherworldly vibe, the case is crafted from white zirconium oxide ceramic, which as well as being robust also just looks really clean.
Hublot and Kylian Mbappé unleash horological tiki-taka with the Big Bang Reloaded
Courtesy of Hublot
2026 is a big year for Kylian Mbappé. It’s 10 years since the Real Madrid and France forward scored his first professional goal; he’s joined the ‘I’ve scored 14 goals in the Champions League this season’ club, and now, he’s dropping his first-ever watch with Hublot.
The footie ace has worked with the Swiss watch manufacturer on the Big Bang Reloaded. The result of this sport-meets-horology link-up is a speedy, supercharged chronograph revamp, building on the OG Big Bang that dropped in 2005. It’s centred around Hublot’s in-house Unico movement, which is housed in a white, polished and micro-blasted ceramic case, primed to catch the sun as you dive into fresh Italian seafood during the off-season. As for the dial, you’re looking at a skeletonised matte grey beast that doesn’t shy away from its complexity. We don’t know what conversations Mbappé was having with the C-suite at Hublot, but the result is a definitive slice of horological tiki-taka.
Ulysse Nardin goes Super Freak-y
Courtesy of Ulysse Nardin
The Ulysse Nardin Freak was made to rock the boat. When it was first released at Baselworld in 2001, it smashed traditional watchmaking to smithereens, deconstructing the crown, dial and hands, and allowing the movement to tell the time by rotating around the dial. Think mechanical watchmaking on acid.
Anyway, that was 25 years ago, which calls for celebration. Enter: the Super Freak. This time-telling weapon is naughty by name and by nature. There’s a whole lot of record-breaking and boundary pushing going on here. It took four years to make and features the world’s first automatic double tourbillon. It integrates 8 patents, including a newly-filed one for the world’s smallest gimbal system and the world’s smallest differential (which, in non-watch speak, is a way of linking two mechanisms, such as balance wheels, or tourbillons). This mechanical madness is contained within a white gold case, with a rotating bezel removing the need for a crown, containing the craziness like a tightly locked-down lab. At Watches and Wonders 2026, the Freak just got freakier.
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Hokusai Waterfalls watches remind us to touch grass
Courtesy of Jaeger-LeCoultre
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso’s flippable reversible design might have been originally created to protect your watch on the polo fields of India in 1931, but it makes for a mighty canvas, too. This year, at Watches and Wonders 2026, the OG Swiss Watchmaker used that canvas to house the “Waterfalls” series by Japanese artist Hokusai, which it reproduced onto the reverse of four 10-piece limited watches. The series sees that quartet of watches decorated with different artworks from the series: Rōben Waterfall at Ōyama in Sagami Province, Kiyotaki Kannon Waterfall at Sakanoshita on the Tōkaidō, Yōrō Waterfall in Mino Province, and The Falls at Aoigaoka in the Eastern Capital.
It’s all pretty clean, serene and calming stuff, but should you need the time, you’ll be greeted with an equally soothing guilloché enamel dial. Couple that with a slinky white gold Milanese bracelet or sleek leather strap, and you’ve got a tidy balance between wearable art and low-pro wearability. We all need to touch grass a little more, and taking in a bit of art is good for the soul, too. But should you find yourself short of time, and in possession of one of these new Reversos, you can get it with a glance at your wrist.
Stay tuned for more updates from Watches and Wonders 2026 here and across Man About Town’s social media channels.
