Another week, another wildly mixed bag of watch releases. We have Damascus steel ripples from Tissot, a sci-fi chiming experiment from Christopher Ward, a microblasted anime tribute from Zenith, and everything from digital jump hours to retro perpetual calendars filling out the middle. It is the kind of line-up that reminds you how strange and entertaining modern watchmaking can be, especially when the big brands get playful and the independents go full eccentric. If you like texture, lume, titanium or just a bit of personality on the wrist, this week delivers in spades.
Tissot PRX Powermatic 80 in Damascus Steel
Tissot has widened the PRX lineup with a striking new 38mm Damascus Steel edition, released in parallel with a pair of cleaner, lightweight titanium variants. The Damascus model is the obvious conversation starter, its case, bezel, and even dial cut from layered steel that reveals organic wave patterns across every surface—a modern, powder-forged take on the material rather than the traditional billet-stacked method . It still runs the familiar Powermatic 80 with an 80-hour reserve, keeps the slim PRX profile intact, and lands on a leather strap with matching Damascus endlinks and buckle. From a distance it reads like a regular PRX, but up close it’s pure texture, turning a mainstream favourite into something far more mischievous—and possibly familiar if you spend a lot of time playing Call of Duty.
Atlantic Elegance Belle
Atlantic leans into quiet refinement this week with the Elegance Belle, a slim 25×30mm rectangular quartz watch built around a soft, iridescent mother-of-pearl dial . The rose-gold accents warm up the otherwise minimal layout, while select versions add a restrained line of Swarovski stones for a hint of evening sparkle. It’s all housed in polished stainless steel with a sapphire crystal and an integrated bracelet that sits more chic than showy. Powered by a Swiss Ronda movement and rated to 50 metres, it feels pitched at women who prefer understatement over flash — the sort of watch that fits a workday and a dinner table without trying too hard.
Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto Lumière
Christopher Ward has taken its break-out Bel Canto and pushed it into full sci-fi mode with the new Lumière, a 41mm titanium chiming watch that glows almost everywhere you look. The signature FS01 module still sits proudly on the dial with its bird-shaped mechanism and hourly strike, but the rest is a lume experiment gone delightfully mad, from the smoked sapphire time disc with its blue Globolight ring to the sunray base dial printed with alternating blue and green Super-LumiNova lines . Even the white rubber strap carries lume, which feels like the brand leaning into the fun rather than taking itself too seriously. It is not for minimalists, but as a modern, expressive twist on a cult favourite, it works with surprising charm.
Zenith Chronomaster Revival Daisuke Jigen Edition
Zenith continues its anime crossover streak with a fourth Lupin The Third edition, this time honouring Daisuke Jigen with a 37mm microblasted titanium chronograph that mirrors the warm, vintage look seen in the manga. The beige dial, paired with black counters, a tachymeter scale and soft Super-LumiNova accents, gives it a crisp seventies feel while the El Primero 400 inside keeps the tenth-of-a-second pedigree alive . It sits on a reworked titanium ladder bracelet inspired by a 1969 Gay Frères design and lands as a 200-piece limited run. For collectors who followed the first three editions, this one reads like the neatest tie-back to the original screen appearance and a fitting capstone to a quietly beloved collaboration.
Chronoswiss Neo Digiteur
Chronoswiss has revived its quirky digital-jump hours with the new Neo Digiteur, a 41mm steel piece that pulls a century-old display concept into sharp modern lines. The case is angular, almost architectural, and the time is shown through three cut-outs on a vertically brushed dial that feels more sci-fi instrument than classical complication. A newly developed manual-wind movement sits inside with jumping hours and minutes plus a running seconds disc, which gives the watch a bit of kinetic charm behind the stark layout. It is niche, slightly odd and far more contemporary than past Chronoswiss experiments, which is exactly why it works as a standout release this week.
U-BOAT U-65 Automatic
U-Boat has brought back its hyper-curved showpiece in a cleaner, more mechanical form with the new U-65 Automatic, a 44mm statement watch built around a domed mineral crystal and a fully exposed Miyota 8N24 skeleton calibre. The industrial dial, mobile lugs and oversized crown keep the familiar U-Boat attitude intact, while the coloured Super-LumiNova and matching silicone straps in green, turquoise or white give each variant a strong graphic identity. Steel and PVD cases are both available, and the visible rotor adds another layer of motion to an already animated design. It is big, bold and unapologetically theatrical, but that is precisely the point of the U-65’s return.
Timex Atelier Marine M1a
Timex has opened a new chapter with the Atelier line and the debut Marine M1a, a 41mm diver that treats proportion and finish as its main luxuries rather than price-point fireworks. The steel case uses a skeletonised architecture with a black IP middle section, a screw-down crown and 200 metres of water resistance, while a double-curved sapphire crystal and ceramic bezel insert give it a polished, grown-up presence. The black enamel dial stays clean and legible with applied indices and Swiss Luminova, and the Swiss-made Catena 100 automatic movement keeps things honest inside with a 36-hour reserve. Buyers get a choice between a stainless-steel bracelet with self-adjusting links or a premium rubber strap, both suiting the watch’s quiet push into a more refined Timex future.
Czapek Time Jumper Anniversary Limited Edition
Czapek is marking ten years since its revival with the Time Jumper Anniversary Limited Edition, a 40.5mm piece that channels nineteenth-century pocket watch romance into a futuristic jumping hour display. The half-hunter cover is the visual hook, carved with a three-dimensional guilloché pattern that creates a black-hole illusion, and beneath the central loupe two sapphire discs rotate to show all twenty-four hours while the minutes run on a peripheral ring. Stainless steel and 18k gold cases are both offered, each powered by the compact in-house Calibre 10.1 with a 60-hour reserve. It is a niche, slightly eccentric anniversary edition, but it sums up Czapek’s blend of old-world inspiration and modern mechanical playfulness perfectly.
Roger Dubuis Hommage “Placide” Perpetual Calendar Biretrograde
Roger Dubuis is celebrating its thirtieth year with the Hommage “Placide,” a 38mm revival piece that brings back one of the founder’s favourite ideas, the biretrograde perpetual calendar, and wraps it in a richly layered blue dial with classic Hommage flourishes. The layout is intricate but not chaotic, with the month and date arcs sweeping outward, a moonphase at six and the familiar Roman numerals anchoring the design, all framed by a polished case that feels unapologetically old-school Dubuis. Inside is an in-house calibre finished to the expected Geneva standard, giving the watch more than just nostalgic value. It is clearly aimed at collectors who miss the brand’s more traditional, pre-Excalibur era and want a reminder of why Roger himself built such a cult following in the first place.
MING 37.11 Odyssey
MING has expanded its dive saga with the 37.11 Odyssey, a 38mm titanium GMT that builds on the award-winning Bluefin while adding a rotating 24-hour dial that clicks through global time zones with a smoked sapphire disc and colour-coded lume for day and night clarity . It weighs just under 42 grams, yet manages 300 metres of water resistance with dual crowns at two and four o’clock, both luminous and tuned for underwater use. A gradient luminous handset debuts here, paired with Polar White indices embedded in the top crystal for a layered, almost holographic readout. Power comes from the Sellita-based SW330.M2 with a 50-hour reserve, and buyers can pick from an FKM rubber strap, a grade 2 titanium bracelet or a grade 5 Polymesh, each leaning into the Odyssey’s mix of travel utility and futuristic design.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin (Copper Dial)
Jaeger-LeCoultre has added a warm new twist to its Master Ultra Thin line with limited-edition copper-toned dials for both the Date and Moon models, each housed in a slim 39mm steel case that keeps the collection’s classic, modernist elegance intact . The grained finish shifts subtly with the light, contrasting crisply with the polished indices and Dauphine hands, while the six o’clock displays give each reference its own character, whether it is the clean date window or the blue-sky moonphase with printed date track. Inside sit updated versions of the in-house Calibres 899 and 925, both offering a 70-hour reserve and full decoration visible through sapphire backs. A brown alligator strap completes the look, making these 800-piece editions a refined, quietly distinctive update to one of the most tasteful dress watches on the market.
