The 10 Best Watches of Dubai Watch Week 2025

Dubai Watch Week 2025 was by far the biggest iteration of the event yet, and it left plenty of collectors raving about what an amazing event it was. Although I unfortunately missed it this year, that doesn’t mean I can’t give you my opinions on the best new watches released at Dubai Watch Week. Let’s go over the top ten.

The Best Release of Dubai Watch Week 2025: Chopard L.U.C. Grand Strike

You might be pleasantly surprised to see that I picked Chopard for the #1 spot. The L.U.C. Grand Strike is one of the most amazing minute repeaters I’ve ever seen, and it’s my pick for the best watch of Dubai Watch Week 2025. It’s got a tourbillon, a grande et petite sonnerie, and even a minute repeater that uses sapphire crystal gongs.

It’s also COSC-certified, so it’s extremely accurate. Chopard–specifically the L.U. Chopard line–is a quiet but serious horological flex. Some of the stuff they achieve with the L.U.C. line is borderline amazing. See what happens with the L.U.C. market in five years and get back to me. For now, if you want one of these, be prepared to pay 780,000 CHF.

MB&F HM11 Art Deco

At the #2 spot is my favorite independent, MB&F, with their HM11 Art Deco. One of the reasons I respect MB&F and their founder Max Büsser specifically, is that they’re not afraid of bold, complicated designs.

Taking a space-age-style watch and giving it a mid-century art deco aesthetic is not an easy feat, but I think they knocked it out of the park. I absolutely love this watch. Production will be super limited and list price is 198,000 CHF.

Best Collab of Dubai Watch Week 2025: Urwerk x Ulysse Nardin UR-Freak

This collab merges Urwerk‘s satellite hour display and Ulysse Nardin‘s Freak concept, which uses the entire rotating movement as the hands.

They’re listing the watch at at 44mm wide, with a list price of about 200,000 CHF–very comparable to the prices of high-end Freaks and Urwerks. It just seems like a natural fit, and I love it.

Best Time-Only Watch of Dubai Watch Week 2025: Ferdinand Berthoud Chronometre FB 3SPC x Seddiqi

Why do I love this watch? Well, I’ve spent a lot of time wearing the white gold version of this watch and it’s fantastic. This is a new platinum-cased version released for Seddiqi (I’ll talk more about Seddiqi in a moment). The cylindrical hairspring, previously used by Ferdinand Berthoud back in the 1700s, has been revived by the modern brand.

To put a cylindrical hairspring into a wristwatch is nearly impossible, but Ferdinand Berthoud managed to do it while remaining accurate enough to earn COSC certification. No one else has ever made a chronometer-certified wristwatch with a cylindrical hairspring. Ferdinand Berthoud is one of the hottest independent luxury watch brands right now for a reason, and it should sell just fine at its list price of 150,000 CHF.

TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph Air 1

The classic TAG Heuer Monaco has a 39mm square case, but the Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph Air 1 comes in a little larger at 41mm. According to TAG Heuer, this is the most advanced Monaco yet in terms of material and complications. It comes with a hefty retail price of 150,000 CHF.

The TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph Air 1 uses a form of 3D printing called laser powder bed fusion to create its hollow, lattice-like grade 5 titanium middle case. Aesthetically, I think it’s a gorgeous watch, and to execute it in such creative materials and make it weigh 85 grams is not easy. A split-seconds chronograph module is not a lightweight thing, so I was impressed.

Zenith Defy Extreme Lapis Lazuli

Some of you might be surprised to see a Zenith Defy Extreme on here. Well, this one has the 1/100th-of-a-second El Primero chronograph movement, and I love what they’ve done with the openworked dial, using lapus lazuli plates as subdials. The reason I’m rating this watch so highly is because it takes a lot of balls to come out with a 45mm watch nowadays when “smaller is better.”

Zenith brought it back unapologetically, and you know what? Kudos to them for sticking true to their vision of the “extreme” side. This is one of my favorite 2025 Zenith releases, although it’s not cheap. List price is 32,900 CHF including a complimentary rubber strap. Both the bracelet and strap use Zenith’s quick‑change (tool‑free) system.

Vanguart Black Hole Tourbillon Rose Gold

Vanguart is one of the most expensive watch brands in the world, and they dropped an interesting new colorway of their Black Hole Tourbillon at Dubai Watch Week 2025. The aesthetic of the Vanguart Black Hole Tourbillon Rose Gold is like a mix of Dune and Star Wars. This watch has close to 800 components–it’s a very complicated watch and it’s exceptionally well-made.

I haven’t seen this version in person, but I’ve seen their previous work and I can tell you: the finishing, the quality, and horology is there. Only 8 pieces of this version will be made. The list price is 410,000 CHF, but I’m pretty sure they’re already sold out.

Louis Vuitton Escale Malachite and Turquoise

The Escale has been an important part of the Louis Vuitton watch catalog since its debut in 2014, and for Dubai Watch Week 2025, they released a turquoise and a malachite stone dial. The stone actually shows through the transparent sides of the watch, which is very cool.

I like the 40mm size of the platinum case–perfect–but it’s a little pricey at 65,500 euros. Overall I think it’s a beautiful addition to the increasingly impressive Louis Vuitton watch lineup.

Daniel Roth Tourbillon Platinum

And now for another LVMH brand: Daniel Roth. I called it ahead of time when Daniel Roth came out with yellow gold and rose gold versions of their re-launched Tourbillon model in 2024: they’re going to make this in every metal, with platinum obviously being the ultimate. And now it’s here.

This one is only towards the lower end of my list because of its list price (185,000 CHF). It’s a very expensive product, but Michel Navas and the whole La Fabriques du Temps Louis Vuitton team behind it really stuck true to the uncompromising high-end vision of the original. I love everything about it, perhaps because it reminds me of an exciting bygone era of wonderful independent watchmaking.

Arnold & Son Constant Force Tourbillon 11 Platinum

This is only low on the list because it’s not a brand new creation; this is the second version of this watch. I saw the original at Watches and Wonders 2025 and I love everything about it. This has the A&S5219 caliber with the constant force system, and a one-minute flying tourbillon. The yellow gold dial is hand-engraved with a fir motif, and it’s paired with a concave white opal subdial.

I absolutely love the entire vibe. It has a 100-hour power reserve and it’s limited to only 11 pieces. It pays tribute to the relationship between Abraham Louis-Breguet and John Arnold, two absolute titans of watchmaking history. List price is $175,000.

Honorable Mentions of Dubai Watch Week 2025

Now, there are some honorable mentions worth talking about. There’s the Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin Unfrogettable priced at 4,500 CHF.

I’m also a fan of the De Bethune DB25 Perpetual Sky and the Girard-Perregaux Laureato Three Gold Bridges. Then you had H. Moser’s Streamliner Perpetual Moon Concept Meteorite, which I think is one of the best 2025 Moser releases. Moser has always been all about their dials, and I absolutely love this one. Something completely, completely different.

Tudor brought back an old classic in a new colorway with the Ranger Dune and its beige dial. The list price of $3,500 is very reasonable and I think these will sell like hotcakes. Laurent Ferrier‘s Classic Origin Beige is also very classy and understated.

Seddiqi’s 75th Anniversary

Lastly, we have to talk about the fact that it was Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons’ 75th anniversary, and guess what: every brand under the son wanted to make something for them. MB&F did the LM Perpetual Evo Seddiqi 75th Anniversary, both with and without a diamond bezel. Moser did a Heritage model with retrograde seconds. HYT made three special models, and Ressence did an attractive Type 9S75 Seddiqi Edition.

Among the 2025 Ulysse Nardin releases is a Seddiqi 75th Anniversary Edition of the Diver AIR, which is the lightest dive watch in the world and a watch that I’m a big fan of. Doxa did a Sub 250, Chronoswiss did a Strike Two, and Ferdinand Berthoud made the watch I mentioned earlier. Louis Erard did a Petite Seconds, ID Geneve did a MorphoDune, Arnold & Son did a Nebula 40, Bovet did two Recital models, and Oris made two special Big Crowns.

Parmigiani Fleurier did the TF Microrotor Co-Rail, Gerald Charles did the Maestro 2.0 Ultra-Thin Tiger’s Eye Seddiqi 75th Anniversary Edition, and Breitling did an Avenger 42 Night Mission. Hublot did four Seddiqi anniversary pieces: one in all black, a grey titanium model, and a Classic Fusion titanium with a burgundy dial (both with and without diamonds on the bezel).

Last but not least, West End Watch Co. came out with a Heritage watch set for the Seddiqi 75th anniversary. It’s cool when a big retailer has a big anniversary, especially a retailer this huge. It seems like every brand wants to be in their stores and I don’t blame them. They’re the biggest luxury watch retailer in their region, and I would love to have a Luxury Bazaar corner at Seddiqi. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year’s Dubai Watch Week, but we’ll certainly keep you updated.