As the year winds down, we feature a stunning array of new timepieces that capture the creative imagination of each brand. Here are our top picks—in our opinion—the best watches of November 2025
Blancpain Grande Double Sonnerie
There is an argument for restraint in watchmaking, but Blancpain’s new Grande Double Sonnerie makes a compelling case for the opposite. Conceived over eight years and realised with uncompromising ambition, this maximalist chiming masterpiece is a full-throttle expression of horological expertise.
The result is the most complex timepiece Blancpain has ever produced: a world-first double-melody sonnerie paired with a retrograde perpetual calendar and flying tourbillon. Unlike a traditional minute repeater, a grande sonnerie automatically strikes the hours and quarters with a four-note Westminster sequence. Here, Blancpain elevates the complication even further by adding a second melody composed exclusively for the watch by Eric Singer, drummer of KISS. With a simple actuation, the wearer may choose between the classic Westminster chime or Singer’s original composition.
Housed in a 47 mm red or white gold case, the Grande Double Sonnerie commands presence while remaining surprisingly wearable for such a technical titan. Its openworked construction pays tribute to vintage chiming watches, showcasing hand-polished components, 135 sharp interior angles, and 18k gold bridges finished using traditional wood tools sourced from the Vallée de Joux. Every visible—and invisible—surface is meticulously decorated.
Roger Dubuis Hommage La Placide
As the industry continues to revisit archival designs and smaller case profiles, Roger Dubuis looks inward for inspiration. The limited-edition Hommage La Placide, offered in just 28 pieces, marks a return to the maison’s classically inclined roots while celebrating the legacy of its founder, Monsieur Roger Dubuis. Named after his childhood nickname, “La Placide,” the watch embodies the calm, contemplative spirit that shaped his early years and lifelong craft.
The 38 mm pink gold case draws immediate attention, but it is the dial—a multi-layered composition arranged across five distinct planes—that truly anchors the piece. Inspired by the deep blue of Lake Léman, the main plate serves as a backdrop for the maison’s signature biretrograde perpetual calendar. Hand-bevelled mother-of-pearl scales arc symmetrically across the dial, while a mother-of-pearl month-and-leap-year counter sits at 12 o’clock and a moonphase in blue aventurine with domed gold moons rests at 6 o’clock. A rhodium-coated flange with mirror-polished facets and pink-gold hands complete the intricate tableau.
Powered by the Calibre RD1472, a movement that unites two historic Roger Dubuis constructions: the RD14 and the RD72 perpetual calendar module, this anniversary creation, required the manufacture to undertake the painstaking restoration of original components while remanufacturing others entirely in-house. The result is a 4 Hz calibre with a 48-hour power reserve, finished to an extraordinary standard with 15 decorative techniques including Geneva stripes, bevelling, perlage, circular graining, and mirror polishing.
Hermès Arceau Jour
The animal kingdom comes under the scrutiny of Hermès through a trio of canine portraits, brought to life using miniature painting, wood marquetry, and enamel artistry. Orson is a lovable companion crafted in wood marquetry, meticulously assembled and glued in a puzzle-like process. Amy’s features take shape in the engraver’s atelier, created with vibrant brushstrokes and layers of colour, each refined by successive firings to capture her lively personality and expression. Taco is brought to life through miniature and cloisonné enamel, beginning with a smooth layer of blue enamel applied to the dial, followed by hand-painted white fur on a snailed background. The cloisonné technique, which employs fine gold wires to delineate fur and collar, accentuates relief and depth as the wires melt into the enamel during firing. All three dials are framed by a 38 mm white gold case set with 71 diamonds, housing the self-winding Hermès H1912 movement. Each model is paired with a Swift calfskin strap in a colour tailored to the respective limited edition of 12 or 24 pieces.
Azimuth Billionaire’s Watch
The story of this timepiece begins on the wrist as a singular statement of power, heritage, and undeniable success. This limited-edition creation by Azimuth, in collaboration with lifestyle icon Bobby Saputra, leads with aesthetic deep symbolic meaning. At first glance, the watch draws you in with its dial: a vivid mother-of-pearl blue inspired by the South China Sea, surrounded in high relief by engraved dragon and phoenix motifs that circle each hour in perpetual tension. The moon phase complication subtly displays two moons and 14 stars, forming a secret constellation. Technical mastery narrative is woven throughout, from the “eye of heaven” date window to the bold case rendered in silver or gold motifs; every detail is thoughtfully crafted by Azimuth’s artisans. This creative partnership fuses Swiss haute horlogerie with Singaporean ingenuity, blending Saputra’s confident, playful spirit with Azimuth’s reputation for breaking convention.
BR-X3 Night Vision
The iconic 41 mm “sandwich” case construction returns in this iteration, featuring upper and lower plates made from LUM-CAMO, a unique composite of carbon fibre and luminescent resin, secured with four screws set in photoluminescent green rubber cylinders. The middle case, sandwiched between these plates, is black PVD-coated titanium, adding both lightness and strength. Designed for ultimate night-time legibility, the BR-X3 Night Vision uses green Super-LumiNova throughout, evoking the look of aeronautical head-up displays (HUDs) favoured by fighter pilots for their clarity in darkness. On the multi-layered, skeletonised dial sits an X-shaped frame with luminous green highlights, visible through a green-tinted sapphire crystal. The dial structure showcases the automatic BR-CAL.323 movement, also visible through the green-tinted sapphire caseback and decorated oscillating weight. Notably, the oversized date window, power reserve (with a 70-hour indicator), numerals, indexes, and hands are all outlined in green Super-LumiNova for maximum nighttime readability. This watch boasts advanced materials, avant-garde aesthetics, 100 meters of water resistance, and a COSC-certified chronometer movement engineered by Kenissi.
L.U.C Grand Strike
Considered the most complex timepiece ever created at Chopard Manufacture, this triumph combines nearly 20 years of sonnerie mastery with a decade of sapphire monobloc technology. Housed in a compact 43 mm 18-carat ethical white gold case, the L.U.C Grand Strike commands attention with its restrained silhouette and a fully open dial revealing the prestigious L.U.C 08.03-L calibre. Two polished steel hammers at the 10 o’clock position signal its chiming function, which can be set to grande sonnerie, petite sonnerie, or silent mode via a user-friendly selector next to the crown. A 60-second tourbillon at the lower dial attests to the movement’s COSC-certified chronometric performance while adding hypnotic dynamism to every glance. Chopard elevates the art of the chime; the sapphire monobloc construction allows direct sound transmission, greater clarity, and rich, layered tonality. The square cross-section of the gongs—unlike traditional round steel—further enhances resonance. Sapphire’s exceptional hardness and purity deliver a lasting, crystalline sound.
Arnold & Son’s Constant Force Tourbillon
This timepiece features a 41.5 mm platinum case with a slender profile, complemented by a hand-stitched midnight blue alligator strap and platinum folding clasp. Its solid gold dial is hand-engraved in the “tremblé” style, inspired by the wild fern-covered moors of Cornwall, the birthplace of John Arnold and the mythical legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. The watch beats with the A&S5219 calibre, which is visible through both the open dial and a sapphire case back. The patented constant force mechanism that is positioned between the gear train and the tourbillon ensures precise, even energy delivery for the entire 100-hour power reserve. The one-minute tourbillon sits under an 18-carat gold bridge, rotating in precise one-second increments. Its design, featuring a linear, mirror-polished cage bridge, echoes Breguet’s original tourbillon made for Arnold’s son in 1808 is now housed in the British Museum.
Czapek Time Jumper
Ten years ago, the unveiling of the Quai des Bergues watch at London’s 2015 SalonQP marked the rebirth of Czapek & Cie—a prestigious watchmaking name that had been dormant for over 150 years. By the end of 2016, this newcomer had already made an impact by winning the Public Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.
To celebrate its 10th anniversary since its revival, Czapek introduces the Time Jumper collection, featuring four commemorative models that reflect the brand’s decade-long journey. Powered by the new in-house Calibre 10, the Time Jumper pays homage to François Czapek’s historic 19th-century pocket watches with a playful, avant-garde twist. Its patent-pending mechanism offers a unique jumping hour complication that indicates time across 24 hours on two sapphire discs—an industry first—while trailing minutes elegantly circle the periphery on a blue ring. The half-hunter cover captivates with a three-dimensional guilloché motif that creates a mesmerizing “black hole” illusion, complete with a central loupe that provides a glimpse of the finished movement underneath.
