In Best of the Best, we honour the brands and people behind the most covetable products. Here are the watches that earned a spot on our 2026 list
Watch of the year: Roger Dubuis Excalibur Biretrograde Perpetual Calendar
We are sticklers for brands that exhibit horological identity and authenticity, and the Excalibur Biretrograde Perpetual Calendar is as close to a quintessential Roger Dubuis creation as it gets. The perpetual calendar is one of watchmaking’s most demanding pursuits, and Roger Dubuis himself spent years perfecting the complication, which he considers to be one of his favourites. The theatrical bi-retrograde display, on the other hand, is an iconic innovation that Mr Dubuis co-patented with fellow watchmaker, Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, back in 1989.
Together, both features anchor the Excalibur Biretrograde Perpetual Calendar, a 40mm pink gold watch brimming with visual drama, refined decorations, and mechanical ingenuity. A dream, really, for connoisseurs who like their watch to be visually and technically imposing. Powering the watch is the new RD850 calibre with a 60-hour power reserve, decorated to the highest standards with 19 distinct finishes that rightly earn its Poinçon de Genève certification. The open-worked dial, which is rendered in a new Astral Blue colourway across nine layers of aventurine and mother-of-pearl, reads less like a display of hours than an instrument for observing the sky.
Best annual calendar: A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Annual Calendar
It’s no secret that watches are getting smaller as tastes shift. But at A. Lange & Söhne, sizing down isn’t about chasing trends; it’s an exercise in engineering. Anthony de Haas, the company’s director of product development, says work on the new calibre for the 36mm Saxonia Annual Calendar began four years ago as a challenge to his team. “If you say, let’s try to make the Annual Calendar in 36 millimetres and please don’t go higher than 10 millimetres (for the thickness), that’s a challenge for the movement design,” he says. “And actually, I didn’t have so much in mind to really launch in 36 millimetres. That came later when we got a prototype and we said, ‘Wow, this is actually quite cool’.”
The automatic Calibre L207.1 also brings meaningful improvements. It offers 60 hours of power reserve, up from 46, a 21,600VpH rate, a winding rotor in 950 platinum, and a larger balance wheel. But the real importance of the downsizing lies in expansion, as it demonstrates that it can reengineer complications in more minute dimensions while improving its technical performance.
Best multi-axis tourbillon: Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Hybris Inventiva Gyrotourbillon à Stratosphère
In 2004, Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced its first gyrotourbillon: a regulating organ housed within two perpendicular cages, where the inner cage is set perpendicular to the regulator, allowing the mechanism to continuously shift position in space as it rotates on two axes. This year, the brand ups the theatrics in the 42mm platinum Stratosphère. “On top of the two cages, we have added a third cage that actually takes all of the mechanism and spins it, so it removes now 98 per cent of the effect of gravity, besides being very beautiful to watch,” Matthieu Sauret, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s director of product marketing and heritage, tells Robb Report.
This new triple-axis tourbillon uses a cylindrical balance spring, allowing it to beat concentrically at any angle, while ceramic ball bearings reduce friction. The cage rotates at 20, 60, and 90 seconds. It is not the first triple-axis tourbillon, but its differentiating point is scope. Earlier gyrotourbillons accounted for roughly 70 per cent of the positional map; this one covers the full field. Add an unusually high frequency of 4Hz, 64 hand-bevelled inner angles around the calibre, 18k-gold movement plates decorated in blue enamel, 53 rubies (some set in gold chatons), and you have a bona fide piece of high horology.
Best in advanced engineering: IWC Schaffhausen Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive
The Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive is built for a destination no watch has properly served before and, despite looking straight out of a science-fiction thriller, earns its place through utilitarianism rather than flourish.
IWC’s engineering division XPL designed the watch from scratch for astronauts aboard Vast’s Haven-1 space station. The Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive immediately raises eyebrows with its crown-less case. Here the traditional crown has been replaced in favour of a patent-pending rotating bezel. Named the Vertical Drive, the bezel winds the movement and sets a second time zone while the wearer is gloved. The feature works in tandem with the newly engineered Calibre 32722 that boasts an integrated GMT module, featuring central hands that track mission reference time, while the hour hand can be shifted independently, in one-hour increments, to display a second time zone. It is the kind of dual-time utility that matters as much on a transatlantic flight as in orbit.
Decidedly futuristic design-wise, the case is crafted in white zirconium oxide ceramic with a Ceratanium bezel and caseback, a vessel that can withstand vibration testing to 10g and pressure loss simulating half the atmosphere in 50 seconds. The Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive has since received official spaceflight certification from Vast, the first IWC watch to do so.
Best perpetual calendar: Patek Philippe In-Line Perpetual Calendar Ref. 5236P-011
When Patek Philippe introduced its 41.3mm by 11.06mm in-line perpetual calendar in 2021, it solved a persistent problem with the complication. It made it easier to read. As with so many feats in watchmaking, the idea sounds simple—arrange the day, date, and month into a single line across a dial, rather than scattering them among a trio of busy subdials. In practice, it called for a groundbreaking mechanical solution, the product of which remains one of the most legible perpetual calendars on the market. The model debuted in platinum with a navy-blue dial, followed in 2024 by a platinum salmon-dial version (both on dressy alligator straps). This year’s iteration is the best yet: a silvery dial with a vertical satin finish extends into an ombre black rim, punctuated by a crisp white railroad minute track. Charcoal-grey white-gold hands and hour markers echo the tone of the fabric strap with white stitching for a final note of refinement.
Along with its pared-back aesthetic, the watch retains its technical sophistication. Patek Philippe’s in-line display requires an intricate system of discs and instantaneous jumping mechanisms to keep all indications perfectly aligned. The result is a perpetual calendar that can be read at a glance and now has a design that merits a second one.
Best time-only: Vacheron Constantin Overseas Self-Winding Ultra-Thin 2500V
Platinum. Salmon dial. Ultra-thin. Need we say more? This follow-up to the Overseas 2000V—a white-gold, boutique-only limited edition from 2016 that became a collector’s darling—was easily one of the stars of Watches and Wonders this year. The 2500V offers a winning combination of simplicity, beauty, and wearability in one elegant package. And for anyone thinking platinum cannot be a daily wear, this 39.5mm by 7.35mm piece is executed in a new version of the alloy said to be 2.7 times tougher than its predecessors.
The real magic, though, is inside. The watch houses the new Calibre 2550, fully developed in-house. The automatic movement features a platinum rotor and a technically interesting architecture, with improved shock resistance and greater durability. It is Vacheron Constantin’s first modern, purpose-built ultra-thin automatic for one of its flagship sports watches. To echo the verdict of more than one enthusiast: “It killed.”
Best skeleton: Hermès H08 Squelette
A modern take on ornate skeleton watches of the past, Hermès builds its case for the H08 Squelette on restraint. The H08 collection that debuted in 2021 is recognised by its amalgamation of sharp lines and curves. Now, the silhouette frames the new Hermès H1978S calibre, a skeletonised movement developed in-house specifically for the model.
Housed in a 39mm satin-brushed titanium case with ceramic bezel, the movement’s 168 components are arranged with architectural finesse: vanishing lines and interlocking bridges draw the gaze and invite close inspection of its inner workings rather than merely displaying it. Collectors have two dial colourways—with grey hour markers, or blue ones with Super-LumiNova-lit numerals accentuating the contrast in the dark. Complementing the H08 Squelette’s sportive luxury disposition, the openworked display is paired with a woven-pattern rubber strap.
Best collaboration: Franck Muller x Kelly Dabbah
Self-styled Master of Complications Franck Muller has, well, mastered the art of enlisting kindred spirits. Recent tie-ups that include Japanese streetwear label #2FR and French-Canadian artist Jisbar have yielded intriguing timepieces that measure up to the creative impetuses of both the watchmaking house and its collaborators.
This year, Franck Muller gets maximalist collage artist Kelly Dabbah along for the ride. Here, Franck Muller offers the sporty Vanguard collection as a canvas for Dabbah’s signature use of bold imagery and striking colours. Of the creations that she has produced, the version featuring a candy pink fibreglass case framing a kaleidoscopic dial bursting with soft colours and eyes of a tiger stands out for both its artistry and technical execution. To bring her artwork to life, Franck Muller employs a technique called sublimation. The design is first printed onto special plastic film and then heat transferred onto a lacquered dial. During this process, the ink transforms into a gaseous state and penetrates deep into the lacquer to embed the design with a tattoo-like quality.
Best grand complication: Chopard L.U.C Grand Strike
“I could say that’s probably an achievement, which took 20 or 30 years to reach, because when we started Chopard manufacture in 1996, I didn’t really think about striking watches yet,” says Karl Friederich Scheufele, co-president of Chopard, of his magnum opus, the L.U.C Grand Strike. “But it became a goal after 10 years down the road, and so I think it’s a major milestone and kind of a summit we managed to reach.” The high-horology masterpiece brings together the most revered complications—grande sonnerie, petite sonnerie, minute repeater, and tourbillon—within a single dial-less stage that showcases its 686-component movement. The timepiece was developed over more than 11,000 hours and is protected by 10 patents, but its crowning achievement is its sapphire-crystal gongs, crafted from a single piece of crystal to deliver a more resonant chime than traditional metal. The result is a culmination of Chopard’s decades-long pursuit of sonic perfection.
Certified by both COSC and the Geneva Seal and powered by twin barrels for timekeeping and strike functions, the Grand Strike represents the full expression of Scheufele’s vision for Chopard at the pinnacle of classic watchmaking. A wine connoisseur, he compares it to a fine burgundy—specifically, a pinot noir—for its transparency. “It really doesn’t get any better,” he says.
Best high jewellery: Cartier Grain de Café
Introduced in the 1930s, Cartier’s Grain de Café translates the humble coffee bean into sculptural, textured gold. It famously took the spotlight when worn by Grace Kelly, but it was also a favourite of European aristocracy. This year, Cartier released a stunning amplification of the motif with a watch decorated with approximately 60 of the signature hand-engraved ‘beans’. Each is polished on its raised surfaces while the grooves remain matt, creating a light-catching effect splendid enough to stand on its own. Diamonds accent only the tips of each tiny form, leaving the dial and bezel to take the full pave treatment. Adding another layer of charm, the beans are slightly articulated, moving with the turn of the wrist.
Despite headlines around other brand mainstays, the Grain de Café watch felt like a genuine surprise, even though the motif returned in 2023 as a jewellery suite. So far, it is the tour de force of the collection’s modern releases. Consider it an instant collector’s item: A 1950s Grain de Café bracelet sold at Sotheby’s last June for more than three times its original US$50,000 top estimate.
Best chronograph: TAG Heuer Monaco Evergraph
Fifty-seven years after TAG Heuer reimagined the chronograph as a square, water-resistant automatic timekeeper with the original Monaco, the watchmaking house returns with yet another groundbreaking iteration.
The Calibre TH80-00 dispenses with the levers and springs that have governed a chronograph’s start, stop, and reset functions since the complication’s conception. In their place: two flexible bistable components produced using high-precision LIGA technology, which promise to deliver the crisp and smooth actuation that is synonymous with high-end chronographs. The invention is built into an in-house, high-frequency movement that beats at 5Hz, while offering a 70-hour power reserve. Meanwhile, the square 40mm case entices with the Monaco’s well-loved shape, featuring a tapered, faceted silhouette that traces back to a vintage model, the Reference 1133. What earns the Monaco Evergraph this category is not novelty for its own sake, but rather a genuine rethink of how a chronograph works from a company whose 165-year history is inseparable from the complication.
Best ultra-thin: Bvlgari Octo Finissimo 37
Bvlgari’s reputation as a heavyweight in the category of ultra-thin watches is both hard-earned and well-deserved. In the past decade, the luxury house has set seven records in ultra-thin watchmaking through its famed Octo Finissimo collection. While this year’s addition to the ultra-thin family doesn’t boast a new record-breaking feat, the Octo Finissimo gets our vote for its timeless sophistication and commitment to the ultra-thin cause.
Housed in a 37mm case, which accords the watch unisex versatility and style mileage, the latest model boasts a 20 per cent reduction in movement volume. The BVF 100 automatic movement took three years of in-house development and draws on a blueprint that was originally intended for Bvlgari’s ladies’ movements. The watch comes in four versions: satin-polished titanium, sand-blasted titanium, sand-blasted titanium with minute repeater complication and, our favourite, in full 18k yellow gold case, dial, and bracelet. As always, the Octo Finissimo slips beneath a shirt cuff with the ease Bvlgari likens to Italian sprezzatura—effortlessly casual because of the engineering underneath, not despite it.
