Some weeks feel like a quiet drift through incremental upgrades; others hit you with a strange blend of whimsy, engineering and winter theatrics. This one sits squarely in the latter. There’s a certain seasonal energy running through these releases, whether it’s Swatch leaning into snow-fuelled chaos, Norqain gilding its skeletonised sports watch, or Ferragamo dropping a full wedding-season arsenal. Even the independents are having a moment – from Atelier Wen’s cross-cultural enamel experiment to Fears’ geometric charm offensive – and the big boys, Breguet and Panerai, have quietly tossed in some weight of their own:
MoonSwatch Mission to Earthphase “Cold Moon”
Swatch’s “Cold Moon” Earthphase is the most indulgent MoonSwatch since the original frenzy, ditching the faux-aventurine of earlier Earthphase models for a cleaner winter palette built around a white bioceramic case and blue accents that feel purposefully frosty. The moonphase disc gets a new party trick: every engraved snowflake is unique, giving each watch a tiny one-off flourish, while Snoopy and Woodstock – lightly snow-dusted in their spacesuits – lean fully into the seasonal shtick. The catch, of course, is access. Beyond launch day, it will only be sold when it is literally snowing in Switzerland, making this the first watch in history to require a weather app. Whether you’re amused or exhausted by that gimmick, the watch itself is sharp, maximalist and weirdly irresistible.
Luminox ICE-SAR 1080 Series
The new ICE-SAR 1080 continues Luminox’s relationship with Iceland’s famously hardcore volunteer rescue teams, channelling the country’s extremes into a tough, legible and quietly romantic tool watch. A 45 mm CARBONOX case keeps things featherlight despite the size, while the dial mixes 15 tritium tubes with a Super-LumiNova SAR emblem for visibility that wouldn’t look out of place on a glacier. The RONDA quartz movement, pronounced bezel texture and caseback etched with the LAST rescue protocol make it feel purposeful without overplaying the branding, and the “874” engraved limited edition adds a nod to the island’s first recorded settlement. If your idea of adventure includes volcanic rock and sideways sleet, this one fits right in.
Atelier Wen × Revolution Ancestra Yáo
Atelier Wen and Revolution’s Ancestra Yáo is a cultural mash-up done with actual craft, not branding, beginning with a gratté silver dial fired with a desert-to-dark-brown grand feu enamel gradient that looks warmer and deeper than most watches at twice the price. Eastern Arabic numerals, tri-faceted hands and lab-grown baguette diamonds lend it a sense of ornamentation without drifting into kitsch, while the sculptural 904L case takes inspiration from ancient Hongshan jade dragons. A custom-finished Pequignet movement sits beneath micro-etched poetry on the rotor, rounding out a piece that genuinely feels global in its influences – a rare watch that pulls from multiple traditions without flattening them.
Breguet Ref. 7365 Minute Repeater & Classique Grande Sonnerie 1905
Breguet’s year-end flex comes in two very different forms: a minimalist repeater and a wildly opulent pocket watch. The Ref. 7365 keeps things understated with a 39.1 mm Breguet-gold case and a deep blue enamel dial that appears almost flat until the light hits it, powered by the calibre 1896 with an upgraded frequency, 75-hour reserve and silicon escapement. It’s restrained, elegant and quietly technical in a way that only Breguet still does. Then there’s the 1905 Grande Sonnerie pocket watch, a magnetic-regulated chiming monster in Breguet gold with a tourbillon carriage, engraved Métiers d’Art detailing and a presentation box made partly from Marie-Antoinette’s favourite oak tree. One is discretion; the other, theatre. Both are unmistakably anniversary statements in what's shaped up to be a phenomenal year for the maison.
Hublot Big Bang Unico Winter Editions
Hublot stays on-brand with a pair of ice-blue Big Bang Unico Winter Editions, one in titanium with a white ceramic bezel and the other in full sapphire that looks like a frozen block sculpted into a chronograph. Skeletonised dials, white straps and the usual Unico architecture make them unmistakably Hublot – flashy, architectural, and designed for anyone who treats winter as a fashion season rather than a weather condition.
Fears × Ace Jewellers Brunswick 38 “De Stijl Edition”
Fears’ Brunswick 38 “De Stijl Edition” might be the cleverest release this week, turning Mondrian’s grid-like abstraction into a fully functional dial where each coloured block doubles as an hour marker. The palette is bright without feeling juvenile and sits neatly inside Fears’ cushion case, maintaining the line’s slim elegance while adding a bolt of personality. It’s the rare art-inspired watch that doesn’t resort to cliché or heavy-handed references – just clean geometry, crisp colours and a sense of fun.
Norqain Wild One Skeleton 39mm – Red/Yellow Gold
Norqain expands its growing Wild One line with two new gold-toned skeleton variants that add warmth to the NORTEQ composite case without abandoning the lightweight, shock-resistant ethos the model is built around. Floating indices, diamond-cut hands and an openworked Sellita-based calibre give the dial plenty to look at without losing legibility, and while the red-gold version feels polished, the yellow-gold model (limited to 50 pieces) has the stronger personality. Unexpectedly festive, surprisingly refined.
Panerai Luminor Marina PAM01759
The new PAM01759 sticks to Panerai’s strengths: a cushion case, a domed sapphire, a sandwich dial with full Arabic numerals and enough lume to compete with your bedside lamp. It’s a 1,000-piece release that leans into the familiar Luminor playbook without overcomplicating anything, offering 300 metres of capability and the kind of wrist presence Panerai fans never shut up about. Proof that sometimes the safest move is the right one.
Alpina × The Real Time Show Seastrong Diver Extreme
Alpina’s Seastrong Diver Extreme, built in partnership with The Real Time Show, arrives with a charcoal fumé dial punctuated by an orange seconds hand and a compact 39 mm case that makes it wearable for more people than Alpina usually designs for. It’s 300-metre tested, comes on a grippy rubber strap and feels like a proper desk-diver: clean, streamlined, and ready to be paired with anything from a wetsuit to a puffer jacket.
Ferragamo FW25 Collection
Ferragamo’s FW25 lineup reads like a wedding-season moodboard, anchored by the unisex Double Gancini Duo offered in 28 mm and 40 mm, both built around a guilloché matte dial and subtle two-tone detailing that lends them a clean, contemporary formality. The F-80 Tonneau Chronograph brings a more muscular profile with its architectural tonneau case, sunray dial and recycled-material strap, giving the brand a sportier edge. The women’s range extends this versatility through brown-dial, MOP and silver-dial models with diamond or Roman accents, rounded out by a green-dial Sapphire Chronograph that stands as the boldest men’s option in the lineup. Taken together, the FW25 pieces are polished, gift-friendly and unmistakably Italian in their mix of romance and restraint, sitting neatly between modern lifestyle design and classic Ferragamo elegance.
Herbelin Novelties
Herbelin’s new releases lean heavily into French elegance, beginning with two Art Déco models – one in steel-and-rose-gold PVD, the other in full rose-gold PVD – that revive the tonneau silhouette with guilloché dials and jewellery-like finishing. The Luna shifts the language to a softer square form defined by clean lines and subtle Parisian minimalism, while the Galet rounds things out with a pebble-inspired case meant to evoke river-worn smoothness. It’s a cohesive, quietly sophisticated capsule built around proportion, restraint and texture rather than trend-chasing, and it might be the most stylistically consistent women’s collection of the week.
Charriol Mariner 20
Charriol’s Mariner 20 brings a nautical flourish to the jewellery-watch space, using sculpted links, cable accents and diamond-punctuated dials to build something that feels both ornamental and wearable. The gold-gilded MOP version is the softer, more luminous option, while the black-dial variant with Charriol’s cable bracelet adds texture and edge. Both keep the caseback clean with a hidden pusher for time-setting, preserving the curvature and giving the watch an uninterrupted silhouette.
