The Best Watches of 2026 (So Far)

The latest update includes some of the year’s most righteous timepieces, including my own personal must-haves.Courtesy of the brands; GQThis is an edition of the newsletter Box + Papers, Cam Wolf’s weekly deep dive into the world of watches. Sign up here.Update 10/7/26: I take my list of the year’s best watches extremely seriously. I strive to sniff out the models that we’ll be talking about and chasing after well beyond 2026—the pieces that represent a brand’s leap in its evolution, or even a broader trend in watchmaking. I haven’t updated this list since June, and despite that extended gap, I’m adding just six new selections here. This limited batch packs quite the punch, however. It includes what I consider to be a burgeoning modern icon, my personal favorite watch of the year, and what I think may well be the defining watch of 2026. Read on for the full list of new selects.The New Standard Award: Nomos Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer “Dark”Markus BachmannI really liked the Nomos Club Sport Worldtimer when they first dropped a year ago in a palette of muted but eccentric colors. The thinking was that the Worldtimer watch was made for travel—why else have access to the times in 24 cities around the world? So, last year, Nomos initially released them in vacation-ready colors: split-pea-soup green and red clay. In September, the brand released a “dark” version that feels ready to be worn at your home base. Limited editions were rounded out by a handful of more standard variations with navy blue, white, and silver dials.Now, I just found out about recency bias—new favorite bias, tbh—and it might be at play here because this dark version might be my favorite of the whole bunch. Seeing the Club Sport this way rearranges all the precious colors in my head, sorting them as the zany uncles to this solidly reliable option.My Grail Award: AnOrdain Model 1 PorcelainIf I had a watch fairy godmother to save me from the evil entity constantly draining my bank account (me; seven $7 cappuccinos a day), this would be the watch I’d spend my fortune on. This might even be the watch I’d wish into my collection if I could have any piece on the list, even if it wouldn’t be the biggest coup at just $2,967. (It’d rank second after Vacheron’s Overseas Ultra Thin if we’re being totally honest, though.) I fell in love with the Scottish brand’s Model 2 Porcelain when it first dropped in 2025, with a dial designed in the style of a field watch.AnOrdain reinvented the watch in August, bestowing it with these numerals from the typographer Kia Tasbihgou. The swoopy numbers are reminiscent of the iconic “Breguet” style—created by the famous watchmaker Abraham Louis Breguet in the late 1700s, and now used on watches across the industry—only supercharged with a subtle modern edge.The Need My Java Watch Award: Brew Retrograph Stone DialI defy you to concoct a better coffee-inspired watch than this one. Brew founder Jonathan Ferrer, take a bow. You did it. Let’s all go home now—have a hot cup of mud. Even if you aren’t a don’t-talk-to-me-before-I’ve-had-my-java person, this pietersite-dial Retrograph is still a stunner. The fact you can get a gold-tone watch with a gorgeous stone dial for just $774 is just the cherry on top.However, for java freaks like myself, it amps this watch up a few tiers. Ferrer says he spent three years searching for the right stone to use on this model, and his work paid off. The Retrograph’s face does a beautiful job of recreating the look of milk flowing through a fresh cup of coffee. Here’s to hoping we’ll eventually get a version with an onyx dial for us black coffee drinkers.(Probably!) The Watch of the Year: Vacheron Overseas Self-Winding Ultra-ThinTypically I try and only award one watch per brand, but Vacheron is having the type of year that requires me to break the rules. Good God, this watch is special. I got to try it on again the other day, my first interaction with it since April. The platinum build is nice and weighty, the salmon dial would send a grizzly bear into a frenzy, and the thinness of the case needs to be seen to be believed.Usually, when a watch brand blusters about the multiple years it sunk into developing a movement, the resulting timepiece is encumbered with enough whizzing gears and complications to offend even Rube Goldberg. Not Vacheron. Despite taking seven years to perfect a movement this slender, the maker housed it in a dress piece that’s simple and elegant enough to slide beneath the sleeve of a tuxedo. It’s like someone spending an hour making you the perfect grilled cheese sandwich. That’s luxury, that’s perfection, that’s love.The New Icon Award: H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner 34mmThe Streamliner is quickly entering modern icon territory for me. When you think of watches that define the 2020s, the independent brand’s take on the luxury-sport genre is one of the first that jumps to mind. First released in January 2020, the Streamliner’s wide-eyed cushion case and futuristic bracelet have become a canvas for many of Moser’s best releases. In September, the model played host to a new digital-mechanical hybrid mechanism that can tell you how to say “Very Rare,” the brand’s slogan, in Japanese. However, it’s the new smaller version of the watches, released earlier this year, that have really minted the Streamliner as an all-timer. The 34mm and 28mm sizes have opened this Moser up to far wider audiences and serve as proof of its immense flexibility.The Crock Pot Award: Berneron MiroirFounder Sylvain Berneron is acutely aware of the need to expand his brand beyond the groovy Mirage, but some ideas are too good to resist. For the new Miroir, Berneron was inspired by the idea of holding a mirror up to the caseback of the Mirage. He took that reflected image and painstakingly reconstructed the watch’s movement to recreate it for this new model’s front-facing dial. Even if you don’t know/understand/care about the lineage, this is a gorgeous-looking watch.The release of the Miroir also allowed Berneron to unveil the brand’s first-ever bracelet. Weighing in at almost 125 grams of pure gold, the multi-link beauty is the sort of object that makes me involuntarily let out a terrible Elvis impersonation: Whoa, mama!The Prestige Award: Ming 29.06 PeepshowThis is the same watch! Ming has long been one of the most exciting brands in the industry. Founded by Ming Thein, who went from photographing watches to making them, the brand is known for its distinctive dials that utilize laser cutting or make you feel like you’re moving through space at warp speed. Even his bracelets, like this bendy 3D-printed one, inspire awe. However, Thein has stepped his game up to another level this year, revealing a bag of creativity as deep as Kyrie Irving’s. I could have gone with the new J.N. Shapiro collaboration—another excellent cross-brand team-up—but the Peepshow is the one that really speaks to the heater that Ming is on.As you tilt the watch, the dial shifts from monochromatic black to iridescent purple. What’s all the more impressive is the simplicity of the effect: Rather than requiring a complicated mechanism, the color swap instead relies on an old photographer’s trick known as polarization to control the light. The hands on the watch are made of polarized sapphire, which blocks the light as the hands separate or lets it in when they’re together. I got a chance to play with this piece in Geneva, and it felt like watching The Prestige—knowing how the magic trick worked only heightened my appreciation for it.The Watch of the Summer: Tudor Black Bay Chrono “Bumblebee”Just in time for summer, Tudor has perfected its Chrono version of the Black Bay. The yellow dial calls to mind the exterior of a stupidly fast Lamborghini. Much like the turquoise version I spent some time with last summer, the “Bumblebee” feels like a watch meant to be worn—and receive compliments—every day. What makes this release truly special is that Tudor slimmed the case down by a few millimeters, rendering it even more wearable. While the brand is kicking off this new size with a color that punches you in the mouth—Tudor literally files this model under its “Daring” collection—the assumption is that it will eventually become available in chiller dial shades for the more conservative enthusiasts among us.The High Point Award: Vacheron Constantin Overseas Dual Time Cardinal PointsThe Overseas is Vacheron’s answer to the luxury sport watch trend. It’s rugged enough to travel to the top of Everest (which it has!) but elegant enough to pair with your fanciest bespoke tuxedo. With this new series of Cardinal Points editions, Vacheron has perfected the form. The model began life as a titanium prototype worn by explorer Cory Richards when he summited Everest, before seeing a highly limited release to the public. The Cardinal Points finally makes that version of the Overseas more widely available to collectors—and fans of the design are suddenly spoiled for choice. The quartet of new colors—blue, beige, green, and white—are finished with a grainy texture to lean into the rugged, sporty feel of the watch. And I’ve always been a sucker for big orange-tipped hands, one of which is used on the Cardinal Points to track a second time zone.The Tweak of the Year: Bulgari’s Octo Finissimo 37mmBrands have done a lot of fan service in 2026. One piece collectors have been clamoring for is a smaller, more wearable version of the Octo Finissimo—and this April, Bulgari finally delivered.. A Brutalist square of hard edges at any size, the sliced-off millimeters on this latest iteration do a lot to reduce the Octo’s bulk. The adjustment instantly transforms the watch from a cool object to a piece you won’t want to take off.The Best Facelift: Rolex Cosmograph DaytonaBoth Rolex and Patek Philippe have done a lot of work to deliver true value on their most coveted models (the Daytona and Nautilus, respectively). The Crown saw that collectors were more than happy to pay top dollar for the Daytona, and it has spent the past few years putting out special editions in precious metals or encrusted with diamonds. But the most interesting of these higher-end releases, in my opinion, is the enamel-dial variant released this year. Enamel is extremely difficult to work with and gives the face a milky look. Rolex smartly minimized all the other elements on this watch—the subdials are reduced to thin black markings —to let that unique surface hog the limelight.The High-End Collab of the Year: Zenith G.F.J. Calibre 135 Double Signed with Naoya Hida & Co.This is the Royal Pop for hardcore watch heads. Here we have two extremely hot commodities coming together. Zenith’s G.F.J launched just last year and has sold out in all three (increasingly pricey!) variants. Meanwhile, Japanese watchmaker Naoya Hida can’t keep his watches, with their classical dial executions, in stock. The two combined their powers for good with this take on the G.F.J.The piece is meant to be a celebration of the “double-signed” watches that were once a much more common practice in the industry: Think of the Tiffany & Co.-signed Patek Philippes that keep even the most powerful collectors waiting, or the old Rolex watches that were retailed by Cartier and are emblazoned with the jeweler’s logo. This G.F.J. goes one step further: Zenith seemingly handed over full control of the dial to Naoya Hida, who applied his signature aesthetic.The Mainstream Collab of the Year: Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal PopYou didn’t really think I could leave off the biggest watch release in years, did you? The Royal Pop’s cultural impact alone is enough to earn it a spot on this list. The collaboration brought watches to mass culture in an unprecedented way—if you ever wanted your mom or partner to care about your hobby, this was your opportunity to introduce them to it. Remove all the hype, however, and the watches are still delightful. AP and Swatch pushed all the right buttons with the vibrant colorways and pocket watch design, which allowed people to embrace it as a fun accessory rather than a pure timepiece.The Practical Effects Award: Baltic SpaceOne Seconde MajeureThese days, Letterboxd bros are all about practical effects. With the prevalence of CGI and AI, suddenly it seems like there’s nothing cooler than Stanley Kubrick hiring artists to hand-paint the space backdrops in 2001: A Space Odyssey or Project Hail Mary’s rotating sets. This collab between Baltic and SpaceOne has a similar feel. There’s no technical trickery going on, but the layering of transparent sapphire discs and a long, mighty second hand give this watch the look and feel of an instrument that might be found on the dashboard of an alien ship.Thank You, Newborn Infant, 8-Pound Baby Jesus, For This Watch: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Chronograph ‘Indy 500’I’m glad to see TAG continuing to innovate on the Formula 1, which it relaunched in March 2024 with a Kith collaboration. A beloved watch from the ’80s, the Formula 1 was originally made in a seemingly infinite number of colorways and co-branded dials. That creativity still fuels the modern version. The assortment of pastel-colored F1s was a hit, but my favorite is the Indy 500 version with the race’s winged-tire logo on the dial. One of the coolest OG F1s features the signature of Japanese racecar driver Ukyo Katayama on the dial. This Indy 500 version leans into those motorsport roots in a similar way.The Stealth-Wealth Award: Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Chronographe MystérieuxThis is PF at its absolute best: a pretty pastel dial, which feels as fancy as sitting in Delta One without needing diamonds or a big gold case, and an innovative take on a traditional complication. Here, PF takes the chronograph and executes it in the simplest possible way. Rather than sitting around waiting to be activated, the extra hands are hidden behind the minute and hour hands and only come out when called upon.The Great Value Award: Oris StarMade with Google AIEven now, months after trying on the Star at Watches and Wonders, I still can’t believe it’s only $2,300 and that more people aren’t giving it the attention it deserves. It’s everything I’d want in a starter watch: perfect size at 35mm, classic silver dial, and a genuine tie to watchmaking history. Oris originally released the model in 1966, after winning a decade-long legal battle with Switzerland’s most powerful brands over a law that prohibited watchmakers from incorporating new technologies in their pieces unless they had already been using them. The Star marked the first time Oris was allowed to use a lever escapement, the standard and most effective piece at the time for regulating power to the watch.The Future Heirloom Award: Rexhep Rexhepi RRCHF©Laurent Xavier Moulin / www.laurentxaviermoulin.chIt’s no longer accurate to call Rexhep Rexhepi the world’s next great watchmaker. The launch of his latest masterpiece, the RRCHF, is further proof of his arrival. The watch’s striking design flips the standard chronograph on its head—the actual timekeeping is relegated to a pair of sub-registers, while the chronograph complication occupies the main dial. From there, the RRCHF features all of Rexhepi’s bar-setting trademarks: his signature symmetrical movements; the high-end finishings typically employed only by bigger, more established luxury houses; and a deceptively slim silhouette, stuffing a flyback chronograph into a case that’s less than 10mm thick. (For comparison, A. Lange & Sohne’s comparable 1815 Chronograph clocks in at 10.8 mm). But to me, what’s most exciting about this piece is the statement Rexhepi is making by centering the chronograph function: that even in our increasingly digital world, watches still have meaning and value as tools.The Comeback of the Year Award: Universal Genéve CabrioletUniversal Genéve is back. The historic brand, which had been defunct for three decades, made a splashy return this week with a total of 36 new watches. Fan-favorite models like the Polerouter and Compax headlined the debut, but like the insufferable indie kid at your high school, I have my eyes on one of the undercard offerings. Like all of the watches in the revitalized UG’s catalog, the Cabriolet was plucked from the archives—but the brand was able to tinker with its design more than it could with an iconic timepiece like the Polerouter. What did UG do with that wiggle room? Cranked the funk up to 11 on the numerals, deploying a Roaring ’20s-era typeface called Bifur. My favorite of the new Cabriolets is the full gold number with a matching bracelet. The new UG watches don’t come cheap, and this one’s $63,286 sticker price is particularly eye-watering. But this is a list of my favorite new watches, not the best value buys.The Parisian Chic Award: Merci Instruments Geometric BeaumarchaisFrench brand Merci Instruments’ latest release packs a whole lot of interesting design into a $550 package. The case is the standout here, boasting a stop-sign-shaped bezel with sharp edges that swan dive into the dial. I’m a real sucker for star-shaped indices—the Rolex “Star Dial” is a grail of mine—and I love seeing them here on a very funky, ’70s-inspired watch.The Steph Curry “From the Logo!!!” Award: Squale SUB-37 LegendThis watch is a testament to the power of a good logo and a nice typeface. The new Squale earns a place here on the strength of its unbeatable shark mark (right above 6 o’clock)—a playful bit of design that also nods to the watch’s roots. Squale is famous in the dive watch community for its sturdy, dependable watches, but this new release might be its most wearable yet. The brand shrunk its signature diver down to just 37mm and amped up the vintage feel with toffee-toned indices and hand accents. The cursive “Automatic” and “30 Atmos” text is sexy too. Now, if only they could put this on a steel bracelet.The Tom DeLonge “Aliens Exist” Award: Kollokium Projekt 02 Variant BSwiss brand Kollokium makes some of the most interesting watches in the world, thanks to freaky dials that resemble miniature sculptures. I absolutely love the Projekt 02, which uses a series of 67 plates pressed together to create a surface that looks like the hills and valleys of a distant alien planet. The effect is intentional: Kollokium uses dark gray for the peaks, but casts the deeper recesses in a dark black. The brand knows you’ll want to stare, so it chose a sapphire crystal that shoots straight up and comes to a 90-degree angle at the top, like a pristine cake. The tall crystal allows you to look inside and appreciate the curves Kollokium created from all angles.The lume! Everything about this watch looks like it came from some far-flung civilization, right down to the neon-yellow seconds hand and hour and minute hand made of only a glowing white outline. And to truly see the Projekt 02 in its full glory, turn out the lights and watch the fully lumed dial come to life.The Most Daring Swerve Award: Audemars Piguet Neo Frame Jumping Hour“AP is not only the Royal Oak,” Sebastian Vivas, the watchmaker’s heritage and museum director, told me in the run-up to the Neo Frame’s release. “It’s much more than that.” While the RO is far and away Audemars’ most popular model, Vivas is out to prove there’s a lot more magic in AP’s back catalog. The new Neo Frame uses a design from the ’20s as a jumping-off point, but the result is spectacularly modern. The glossy black shell, created through physical vapor deposition, and rose-gold accents place the watch unmistakably in 2026. That’s an important distinction for a brand like AP, which is looking to establish another icon beyond its tentpole RO. The Neo Frame isn’t just some novelty pulled from the archives for a special edition—as a now-permanent part of the collection, it represents Audemars Piguet’s present and future.The Drive It Right off the Lot Award: Omega Speedmaster "Black & White”I’ve been calling this steel Speedmaster the “Audi of Moonwatches.” It’s not on the high end, like one of Colman Domingo’s diamond-set gold versions, but it’s also several steps above your typical base model. This is the sensible luxury Speedy with a slightly upgraded dial. Rather than a single plane with contrasting sub-registers, this iteration’s dial uses two plates—black on top and white beneath it—to add depth. The effect really works for me, especially since it creates a “panda”-style dial, which wasn’t available on a modern Speedmaster before this model debuted in January.The Two for the Price of One Award: Dennison Dual Time “Shades”COREY CRAWFORDDennison has made a name for itself on the strength and versatility of this Dual Time model. In 2025, the brand used it to fuse two different stones onto a single dial. Now, they’re opting for something much chiller. The new “Shades” collection leverages the two-faced dial with tonal hues of green, brown, and blue. The result is a trinity of really handsome and unique watches. Dennison has done something that’s critical for all good watches: found a function that inspires great form. Like Rolex’s bi-color bezel on the GMT-Master, these aesthetic flourishes aren’t there just for fun. On Dennison, they divide the two separate timekeeping sections. The tall, lean numerals—a new addition to the “Shades” collection—are a little cutesy for me, but not overwhelming enough to put me off this watch. Especially when Dennison is offering one of the best values in the biz: the new collection starts at $740.See all of our newsletters, including Box + Papers, hereCam Wolf is GQ’s Watch Editor. He joined the magazine in 2017 after working at Racked (RIP) as the site’s (first!) (and only!) Menswear Editor and Complex in the role of Style News Editor. Shortly into his GQ tenure, he immersed himself in the world of watches and quickly fell ... Read More