While many brands bowed to the prevailing trends of 2025 with reduced case sizes, expressive dial colors, a newfound taste for sculpted watches and a flood of stone dials, the art of high-end watchmaking was fortunately not abandoned. It's been a particularly productive year in which we've seen some impressive horological innovations, from ultra-thin or high-speed tourbillons to an innovative version of the chronograph, a fully handcrafted watch and a few chiming masterpieces. So let's say goodbye to the year and enjoy the mechanical fireworks of the six best high-end horological watches of 2025.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo Chronograph RD#5
Combining a flyback chronograph and a flying tourbillon, this mechanical masterpiece marks the fifth work in AP's R&D saga and is a blueprint for future chronographs. It is the undisputed king of chronographs of 2025. AP has rethought the reset or interface function of a chronograph, abandoning the traditional heart-cam-hammer system and replacing it with three spring-loaded racks that store energy from the mainspring and release it to reset and advance the counters. The result: incredibly light, gentle and quick operation of the push buttons, which respond to pressure like the buttons on a smartphone. The staggering complexity of the Caliber 8100 is packed with innovative features that cannot be mentioned here and is housed in an incredibly thin, 4mm high movement with a peripheral rotor. However, the look is classic RO Jumbo, with the obligatory Petite Tapisserie Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50 dial paired with a historic font for the logo. The limited edition of 150 copies of this tempting gift item for Christmas presents costs just over a quarter of a million Swiss francs.
For more insights into this frictionless operator, click here.
Blancpain Grande Double Sonnerie 15GSQ
Given that Grand Sonneries are considered the queen of complications, imagine being able to choose not just one, but two chime tunes when needed? Well, Blancpain has achieved this remarkable feat with the Grande Double Sonnerie, the brand's most ambitious and complex creation to date, which also features a flying tourbillon and a retrograde perpetual calendar. An eight-year project with 1,053 components protected by 21 patents. You can choose between a traditional Westminster chime or an original four-note sequence dreamed up by Eric Singer, rock drummer and lead singer of the rock band Kiss. To switch between the two bells, Blancpain came up with an ingenious yet simple solution: a column wheel. Powered by the hand-wound Caliber 15GSQ with flying tourbillon and integrated perpetual calendar, the impressive mechanics and equally stunning handcrafted components on the front and back are revealed in the 47 mm x 14.5 mm gold case. If you happen to have CHF 1,700,000 with you, you too could be the proud owner of this sounding marvel.
For more information about this fantastic watch, check out our detailed article.
Breguet Experimental 1
Abraham-Louis Breguet was a fearless polymath who revolutionized watchmaking with his technological breakthroughs without losing his head. As a bridge between the past and the future, Breguet introduced the Expérimentale 1, a fearless, technological watch that affirms the founder's innovative spirit and opens the first chapter of a new line of research and development – the foundation for future calibres. To give AL Breguet's tourbillon and constant force escapement a radical boost for the 21st century, the frequency has been increased to 10 Hz for greater precision, and controlled magnetism provides a stable pulse to the constant force escapement. This new escapement is an excellent ally in the fight against friction and also decouples the impulses transmitted to the balance wheel from the rotation of the escape wheel and thus from the rest of the gear train. Unlike a Swiss lever movement, the inertia of the tourbillon cage has almost no influence. By decoupling these two functions, it was possible to design a 10 Hz oscillator of such dimensions. The regulator-style dial is housed in a modern 43.5mm gold case from the Marine collection and is inspired by a historic pocket watch (No. 3448). The selling price is 320,000 euros.
Read everything about Experimentale 1 here.
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon
Undeterred by any attempts at usurpation, the king of flatness consolidated his reign in 2025 with the stunningly flat Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon. Bulgari's tourbillon is presented in the classic 40mm octo-finissimo case, just 1.85mm thick, surpassing its own record-breaking tourbillon from 2018 (3.95mm) and Piaget's 2mm-tall Altiplano from 2024. Instead of stacking components, all parts are arranged on a horizontal plane, with the caseback serving as the main plate. Thinner than a 5-franc coin, the development of this sleek machine was similar to the development of a racing car, saving micrometers in every possible rotation. The skeletonized movement is equipped with a sapphire crystal on the front and three smaller ones on the back, revealing the large barrel on the left and the hour and minute display in the upper half, while the tourbillon and wheels are located below. The Ultra is an amazing mechanical creation and is paired with an incredibly slim 1.50mm thin titanium bracelet. Limited to just 20 examples and retailing for 750,000 euros, the only question that remains is: How will Bulgari surprise us next?
Find out all the secrets behind the development of this sleek machine in our video and article here.
Chopard LUC Grand Strike
Chopard also introduced its most complex watch yet, showcasing a Grande and Petite Sonnerie, a minute repeater and a tourbillon regulator in a 43mm 18k white gold case. Based on the experience with the Full Strike, which uses sapphire crystal gongs, the acoustic purity of the LUC Grand Strike is similar to the sound of someone tapping a wine glass with a knife. With no background noise or “ghost beats”, the watch is also equipped with a number of safety mechanisms to prevent damage and a stop-second mechanism for precise time setting. A clear view of the front and back of the 686-piece caliber reveals a microcosmic world of intricate mechanical parts and impressive finishes. Equipped with two barrels, one for the striking mechanism (12 hours) and the second for the time (70 hours), each wound via the crown. Boasting Poinçon de Genève and COSC chronometry certifications, Chopard's LUC Grand Strike is a masterclass in the art of striking watches. It is being sold for CHF 780,000.
For a detailed description of Chopard's sonic marvel, click here.
Ferdinand Berthoud Birth of a Clock 3
Karl-Friedrich Scheufele has been busy this year running up and down the stairs between Chopard's high-end LUC factory in Fleurier and Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud's workshop on the top floor of the building. The operative words here are “traditionally made”; Not the hollow claims of so many brands, but made entirely by hand, with watchmakers and artisans using historic tools and methods and not a CNC machine in sight. To implement this interdisciplinary project, FB gathered 80 craftsmen in its own workshop who worked 11,000 hours over six years. The result: a superb wrist chronometer with a constant force mechanism in the form of a fusee and chain transmission and a movement architecture inspired by Ferdinand Berthoud's astronomical pocket watch No. 3. The hand-wound caliber's breathtakingly beautiful finishes are presented in a 44mm gold case and are hand-finished using a 6.7x magnifying glass. A sublime rarity: only 10 pieces are made, 2 pieces per year, the price is CHF 850,000.
To admire this handcrafted beauty, please click here.
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