In the first of a three-part series, Robb Report Singapore presents a hotly debated—but ultimately, unanimously concurred—list comprising 26 of the team’s favourite timepieces of the year
They come in all shapes, sizes, design, and functionality. Narrowing our selection to the 26 watches of 2026 that stirred the most affection in the team has not been easy, and now that we have arrived at the final list, we see range that is striking and varied. From a svelte three-hand dress watch loaded with mechanical prowess to grand complications that stretch the imagination of makers and collectors alike, this tightly curated line-up shows just how captivating the world’s finest watches can be when they are made with love and integrity.
A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Annual Calendar
The Saxonia Annual Calendar wins us over with its refined geometry, practicality, and dress suit-ready disposition with just enough technical sophistication to reward a closer look. The 36mm case is unobtrusive, yet ensures presence. Meanwhile, the dial is clean and legible.
You can, at a glance, tell the time, day, date, month, and even the phase of the moon. Inside, the newly developed in-house automatic movement is a modern workhorse. Storing up to 60 hours of power reserve on a full wind, its finely orchestrated inner workings ensure that you only need to correct the calendar display only once a year (either from 28 February, or in a leap year from 29 February, to 1 March) and do so with minimal fuss via individual correctors or collectively with a pusher at 10 o’clock.
Cartier Tortue Panthère Métiers d’Art
Is it just us or is Cartier being really cheeky in pairing two very unlikely creatures in the Tortue Panthère Métiers d’Art? Introduced in 1912, the Tortue (French for ‘turtle’) takes its distinctive case shape from the animal’s shell. For this artisanal creation, the brand employs the champleve enamel technique, carving tiny raindrop-shaped cavities on the case and dial, and filling them with translucent enamel powder, and gold or silver flakes.
Set against the likeness of a panther—an iconic Cartier symbol—as backdrop, it gives the appearance of the beast gazing contemplatively behind raindrops. Each piece features over 15 different tones of enamel requiring more than 36 separate firings, including 80 hours to enamel the dial and 50 hours to enamel the case. The watch comes in two limited editions of 100 pieces each: one in white gold with emerald eyes, the other in yellow gold with tsavorite eyes.
Hermès H08 Squelette
The thing we love about skeleton watches is that the more they reveal, the more intriguing they look. Hermès is all about the show and tell with the H08 Squelette. Its 39mm satin-brushed titanium case frames the new H1978 S skeletonised titanium movement with a decorative sensibility that is aesthetically intriguing while elevating its technical qualities.
The captivating lines and interlocking gears of the hollowed movement architecture draw the eye without ever appearing cluttered. The H08’s harmonious contrast—its case that is round and square at once—continues to anchor the look as both design signature and structural canvas. A woven-patterned rubber strap, offered with blue or grey hour markers, complements the piece without competing with the dial.
Hublot Big Bang Reloaded Usain Bolt
Some collaborations are branding exercises, but this hits differently. Limited to 200 pieces, the 44mm black ceramic and carbon watch comes with a yellow gold bezel that frames a dial dense with nods to Usain Bolt’s achievements.
The numerals positioned between 6 and 8 o’clock read ‘6-5-8’ at first glance, but rotate your perspective slightly and they read ‘9.58’, his 100m world record set in Berlin in 2009. Powered by Hublot’s in-house Unico flyback chronograph movement, the chronograph seconds hand is shaped like a lightning bolt. As a final touch, authentic soil from Bolt’s Jamaican training ground sits compressed and sealed beneath the sapphire crystal caseback—a thoughtful ornamentation that imbues the athlete’s origin story into the watch.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Hybris Inventiva Gyrotourbillon À Stratosphère
Every adjective in the moniker conveys a different facet of this technically elevated work of art. Jaeger-LeCoultre proclaims that watches bearing the Hybris Inventiva name will only feature a single complication, but that it will be such a revolutionary take that it will rewrite the company’s history.
At the heart of this is a patent-pending triple-axis tourbillon—its mechanical heartbeat rotating in three separate cages at different speeds—that
nullifies the effects of gravity for up to 98 per cent of all positions of the timepiece. The watch’s technical accomplishment is paired with layered, sculptural beauty. Its hand-wound Calibre 178 is lavished with 16 different decorative techniques that endow the timepiece with mesmerising depth and volume, setting the stage for its breathtaking mechanism.
Omega Constellation Observatory
We love simplicity at Robb Report Singapore. Even so, the Constellation Observatory knocks it out of the park with its impressive demonstration of
technical depth and mechanical gravitas despite being a two-hand watch. Don’t be fooled by its pared-down demeanour—the watch has aced the most demanding of performance tests.
The Constellation Observatory is the world’s first two-hand watch to be granted the Master Chronometer certification. This means that the watch has undergone testing by METAS (the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology) to guarantee superior precision (within 0/+5 seconds daily deviation), anti-magnetism (up to 15,000 gauss), and water resistance of at least 50m. The collection comprises nine references. Our vote goes to the version in 18k Moonshine Gold, paired with nine-row brick-pattern mesh bracelet that recalls the look of vintage Constellation models.
Panerai Luminor PAM01735
Panerai has served big hits this year, from the hulking PAM1631 that stores up to an astounding 31 days of power reserve to the limited edition Submersible Navy Seals Afniotech Experience PAM01089, encased in a high-tech alloy and offering its owners a once-in-a-lifetime chance to embark on a three-day immersive experience inspired by the US Navy SEALs training programmes.Yet, it is this seemingly low-key Luminor PAM01735 that hugs at our hearts the most.
We say seemingly because, as with many Panerai creations, there is always more than meets the eye. Its 47mm steel case bearing the Luminor’s famed silhouette with crown protector harks back to the early 1990s when Panerai set the bar for plus-sized sports watches that captured the imagination of watch collectors. Its hand-wound P.3000 calibre with a three- day power reserve is another feature that exemplifies Panerai’s watchmaking ethos built on reliability and high-performance.
Most of all though, the ivory matt sandwich dial, decorated with a gradated appearance to recall the patinated ‘tropical’ dials on prized vintage models, exudes a captivating nostalgia that reminds us of Panerai’s stylish yet muscular tool watch allure.
Patek Philippe Reference 5249R-001 The Crow and the Fox
We cannot recall, at least not in recent memory, a time when Patek Philippe released an automaton wristwatch. With the Reference 5249R-001 The
Crow and the Fox, the brand does an exceptional job of recreating a pocket watch from 1958 that takes inspiration from the fable of the same name.
Like the precious timepiece that is regarded as a ‘jewel’ of the Patek Philippe Museum, the Reference 5249R-001 delivers the same sense of craft and invention in wristwatch form. Framed within an 18k rose gold case, the dial sets the stage for the two ornately engraved beasts. Driven by a double-retrograde system refined by famed master watchmaker Louis Cottier, a pusher on the side of the case activates the time display: the fox indicates the hours with its paw or its muzzle, while a piece of cheese dropping from the crow’s beak indicates the minutes.
Roger Dubuis Excalibur Biretrograde Perpetual Calendar
There is no way that the cover star from our July issue doesn’t make this list. Even though the perpetual calendar is, by nature, a highly utilitarian and no-nonsense complication, Roger Dubuis has characteristically imbued it with both advanced mechanical intelligence and a sense of theatre. The new RD850 calibre runs bi-retrograde displays to animate the day and date indications, flanking an astronomical moonphase accurate to within one day every 122 years.
Meanwhile, the 40mm pink gold case opens onto nine layers of dial architecture in a new Astral Blue colourway comprising aventurine and mother-of-pearl, with inner angle finishing on the retrograde bridges appearing 14 times across the movement. As with all Roger Dubuis creations, this watch comes with the prestigious Geneva Seal certification that rates elite-level horological craftsmanship, assembly, and performance.
This story first appeared in the August 2026 issue. Purchase it as a print or digital copy, or consider subscribing to us here
