Turning points in time: The watch brands celebrating major milestones in 2025

CNA

05-05-2025

Congratulations. If you're reading this, it means you've survived the first quarter of the current millennium. And so have a number of watch brands – not just clinging on, but thriving across decades and even centuries. While anniversaries might seem like a convenient excuse to lob dozens of limited editions at frenzied collectors, they're also a celebration of what it takes to endure: a tireless pursuit of excellence, a spirit of innovation, a sharp instinct for what people want – and the occasional nerve to ignore it completely.
In a time of deepening uncertainty, there is something reassuring about horological milestones. They're reminders of the human capacity for perseverance – measured, quite literally, in hours, minutes, and seconds.
VACHERON CONSTANTIN – 270 YEARS
When you've been around for nearly three centuries, you don't really have an excuse not to have mastered every complication known to man. And Vacheron Constantin frequently likes to remind us that it just about has. As recently as last year, it unveiled the Berkley Grand Complication pocket watch with a record 63 complications, and this April, followed up with the Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication, now the most complicated wristwatch in the world with 41 complications.
No stranger to world records, the maison's technical contributions have been numerous. It created the first retrograde date in the 1940 Don Pancho, the first Hebraic perpetual calendar in 2015's Ref 57260, and the first Chinese perpetual calendar in the Berkley pocket watch. Its Calibre 3160 QP still holds the record for the longest power reserve in a perpetual calendar at 65 days.
While it pushes mechanical boundaries, Vacheron Constantin remains a steadfast guardian of traditional handcrafts. In addition to the Solaria, the brand released a trio of one-off creations celebrating Geneva, showcasing techniques like grand feu miniature enamel, guilloche, and engraving – all executed in-house.
For those who'd rather not wear a museum's ransom on their wrist, there are also eight limited-edition watches in the Patrimony and Traditionnelle lines, featuring dials etched with a subtle motif drawn from the maison's Maltese cross. For something with a bit more stylistic and technical bite, there are three Traditionnelle Openface models, each flaunting one of Vacheron Constantin's favourite complications: a perpetual calendar with retrograde date, a tourbillon with retrograde date, and a complete calendar.
The brand has also somehow found the time to introduce a totally new movement: the ultra-thin Calibre 2162 QP/270, which finds its first home in the Traditionelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar and limited to 127 pieces.
The only anniversary model that isn't limited is the Historiques 222 in stainless steel. The yellow gold reissue from 2022 made waves, but this steel version has been hotly anticipated – assuming, of course, you're not completely fatigued by the integrated bracelet trend.
BREGUET – 250 YEARS
Modern watchmaking would look very different without Abraham-Louis Breguet's many contributions to horology. Yet the commemorative piece marking the brand's 250th anniversary doesn't spotlight his most famous invention, the tourbillon – or any complication at all. Instead, it pays tribute to another of his innovations: the subscription model.
Breguet's first "Souscription" pocket watches were created in response to the social and economic shifts following the French Revolution. Simpler and more affordable than his typically lavish timepieces, they required a 25 per cent deposit to pre-order – a practice advertised through pamphlets now considered the first examples of watch marketing. This system allowed his workshop to secure the materials needed for serial production, ultimately yielding around 700 watches over more than three decades.
The anniversary model reinterprets the original pocket watch as a wristwatch, complete with a flawless white Grand Feu enamel dial, a single blued Breguet hand, Breguet numerals, and a railroad minute track. There's even a new material to add to the list of things bearing Breguet's name: Breguet Gold, a proprietary alloy blending 75 per cent gold with silver, copper, and palladium, designed to resist the indignities of discolouration.
Inside the 40mm case beats the manually wound Calibre VSOO in gilded brass, with a ratchet wheel engraved with an inscription drawn from those historic pamphlets. The caseback's outer edge is adorned with a new guilloche pattern, Quai de l'Horloge, inspired by the curves of the Ile de la Cite and Ile Saint-Louis. Overall, a fitting reminder that simplicity can be a revolutionary act.
ZENITH – 160 YEARS
Believe it or not, the El Primero isn't Zenith's only famous movement. Long before that icon came to life, there was the Calibre 135 – a movement produced from 1949 to 1962, with the 135-O variant sweeping up an astonishing 235 chronometry prizes. Between 1950 and 1954, it became the first to win five consecutive first prizes in the wristwatch category at the Neuchatel Observatory.
Such was the Calibre 135's significance that in 2022, Zenith partnered with Kari Voutilainen and Phillips to resurrect it in spectacular fashion. Ten of those competition-winning movements were restored and hand-decorated by Voutilainen and sold exclusively through Phillips for CHF 123,900 (S$199,600; US$150,179) each – a steep ask, but catnip for vintage collectors.
Now, for its 160th anniversary, Zenith is bringing the legendary calibre back – this time not as a limited-edition tribute, but as a newly re-engineered movement in a model known simply as the 'G.F.J.', named after founder Georges Favre-Jacot. While its overall architecture stays true to the original, the movement now boasts a 72-hour power reserve, refined gear train tooth geometry, and a stop-seconds mechanism. A guilloche pattern echoing the brick walls of Zenith's manufacture decorates the movement bridges.
The case and dial design have also been revitalised, with the brick motif continuing along the minute track in deep blue, harmonising with a lapis lazuli dial centre and blue mother-of-pearl subdial. This colour theme carries into Zenith's anniversary trilogy: Three El Primero-powered chronographs – the Chronomaster Sport, Defy Skyline Chronograph, and Pilot Chronograph – now clad in striking blue ceramic cases and matching dials. Each is limited to 160 pieces, though you can collect all three in a special anniversary box set.
AUDEMARS PIGUET – 150 YEARS
Famous, of course, for the Royal Oak – a watch still so coveted it's basically shorthand for luxury steel sportiness – Audemars Piguet also happens to have serious horological chops. In more recent years, its technical finesse has been highlighted in the RD (Research and Development) series. From the acoustically stunning RD#1 Supersonnerie to the jaw-dropping RD#4 ultra-complication (with 40 functions including 23 complications), each truly is a masterful blend of technical innovation and timeless design.
The biggest anniversary release is undoubtedly the new Calibre 7138. This perpetual calendar is fully adjustable via the crown – no fiddly pushers, no tools, no exasperation if you accidentally advance past the correct date. The result of five years of development and five new patents, the movement's four-position crown allows for both forward and backward adjustments, a rare feat in perpetual calendars. Only a handful of brands – think Ateliers deMonaco, H Moser, and IWC – have attempted user-friendly perpetual calendars, and this one may well be the slickest yet.
The Calibre 7138 debuts in three models: Two in the Royal Oak collection (in stainless steel and sand gold), and one in the Code 11.59. The movement is just 4.1mm thick, in line with AP's legacy of ultra-thin watchmaking.
The celebrations don't stop there. The Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar '150th Anniversary' Openworked marks the final appearance of the iconic Calibre 2120, its blue-accented dial a tribute to a 1992 Royal Oak pocket watch. There are also three new Royal Oak models in a brand-new ceramic shade inspired by the original 'Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50' dial tone from 1972. And in the Code 11.59 collection, there's a new Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon in 18k sand gold – notably, the first time AP has put a tourbillon in a 38mm case.
GERALD CHARLES – 25 YEARS
Gerald Genta hardly needs an introduction. His wrist-borne resume reads like a who's who of iconography: Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak, Patek Philippe's Nautilus, Omega's Constellation, IWC's Ingenieur, Cartier's Pasha – the list goes on.
Yet for a pure taste of Genta's own vision, look to Gerald Charles, his final personal project, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. From the very beginning, Gerald Charles married Italian flair with Swiss precision in largely bespoke creations, all under Genta's direction until his passing in 2011.
Today, under the stewardship of the Ziviani family and led by former Audemars Piguet artistic chief Octavio Garcia, Gerald Charles still channels that inimitable design DNA. To mark a quarter-century, there are two standout anniversary editions: the Maestro 2.0 Ultra‑Thin Lapis Lazuli, its dial carved from Genta's favourite stone, and the Maestro 9.0 Roman Tourbillon, featuring a hand‑hammered white‑gold dial.
HUBLOT BIG BANG – 20 YEARS
Hublot's "Art of Fusion" philosophy – which wed precious metals with rubber, carbon, and other materials watchmakers once considered sacrilegious – began with the Big Bang 20 years ago, and was a masterclass in marketing sorcery by then-CEO Jean-Claude Biver.
It was big, it was loud, and it set the tone for everything Hublot has done since. The collection quickly became both laboratory and catwalk – a testing ground for material innovations like technicolor ceramic and sapphire crystal, and a magnetic platform for collaborations with artistic luminaries like Takashi Murakami and tattoo collective Sang Bleu, not to mention sports figures from Novak Djokovic to the entire Argentinean Football Association.
The anniversary celebrations come in three appropriately extravagant acts: First, five chronographs flaunting carbon-fibre motifs; second, the "Master of Sapphire" collection featuring five watches in candy-colored sapphire crystal or SAXEM; and finally, "Materials and High Complications' – five unique pieces flexing Hublot's technical muscles. This set includes two tourbillons in sapphire and Red Magic ceramic respectively, a tourbillon chronograph in Water Blue sapphire, a cathedral minute repeater in blue texalium (a fibreglass and aluminium composite), and the crown jewel that combines all three complications in a frosted carbon case. Unsurprisingly, this box set will set you back a cool CHF 1 million (S$1.59 million; US$1.21 million).
BELL & ROSS BR-01 – 20 YEARS
The very first Bell & Ross BR-01 swaggered onto the scene looking like an instrument stolen right out of an aircraft cockpit in 2005. Its colossal 46mm square case, four exposed screws, and pronounced hands and hour markers not only demanded attention (and got it), but established a distinct design language that would become instantly recognisable in the watchmaking world.
A year later, the brand mercifully shrank it to a 'mere' 42mm, which we now know as the more wearable BR-03 collection. Since then, Bell & Ross has toyed with its iconic circle-in-a-square design, experimenting with various colours, materials, complications, and dial designs. Now they're kicking off the year with three fresh models: One in black ceramic with a smoked sapphire crystal, one in brushed and polished stainless steel, and one in black ceramic with a car grille-like dial pattern generously filled with Super-LumiNova C3. All are powered by the time-only skeletonised BR-CAL.328.
FP JOURNE CHRONOMETRE SOUVERAIN – 20 YEARS
Anyone with even a passing knowledge of the goings-on in watch auctions and the secondary market will know that the words 'accessible' and 'FP Journe' are laughably oxymoronic. But most will admit the Chronometre Souverain comes as close to entry-level as it gets.
Despite a five‑figure price tag and a straightforward display of hours, minutes, seconds and power reserve, its real appeal lies in the engineering. Journe boldly placed the power‑reserve indicator at 3 o'clock – a spot that normally collides with the winding and setting gears – and slimmed the mechanism to just 0.5 mm by incorporating ceramic ball bearings. That patented trick, now standard across every FP Journe calibre, keeps the entire movement a wafer‑thin 4 mm.
Though not officially COSC-certified, the brand (and its legion of fans) has confirmed that it performs consistently within chronometer standards. So it's hardly shocking that the Chronometre Souverain won the 'Favourite Men's Watch' prize at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve (GPHG) the year it was released.