Best of the Best 2025: Watches

Best of the Best: Patek Philippe Quadruple Complication Reference 5308G-001

The Patek Philippe Quadruple Complication Ref. 5308G-001 unites four distinct complications, each of which would be extraordinary on its own. True to Patek Philippe’s tradition, it looks both forward and back—honoring its heritage while pushing technical boundaries.

At its heart lies the self-winding R CHR 27 PS QI calibre, driven by a platinum micro-rotor. Among its most remarkable features is an instantaneous perpetual calendar—a rarity in itself—with all indications advancing in unison. Achieving this without sacrificing energy to the other complications—a minute repeater, a chronograph, and a split-seconds mechanism—is a feat that speaks to the ingenuity of Patek Philippe’s watchmakers.

It is a watch that most, even among seasoned collectors, may never fully grasp, much less encounter. Only a select few will ever wear it. Fewer still will be invited to acquire it. For Patek Philippe, that’s just fine. From $1.3 million (Php 75.3 million).

Revival: Cartier Tank à Guichets

Introduced in 1928, the Cartier Tank à Guichets took the metaphor of an armored vehicle as a timepiece to its logical conclusion. Rather than revealing a delicate white dial with Roman numerals, its metal dial features only two small openings: one for jumping hours and the other for a dragging-minutes display.

A series of new limited-edition Tank à Guichets in the brand’s Collection Privée presents a modern iteration in one of three precious metals, but a special platinum version—for which the apertures are rotated at an angle—promises to become the collector favorite. Price upon request.

Perpetual Calendar: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Ref. 26674SG.OO.1320SG.01

A perpetual calendar tracks the day, date, month, moon phase, and leap year—generally without requiring manual adjustment for decades on end. But setting all those displays typically involves a special tool or a visit to your watchmaker. This sand-gold Royal Oak, released for the company’s 150th anniversary, solves that long-standing inconvenience thanks to its groundbreaking Calibre 7138 movement. The 4.1-mm-thick self-winding engine controls all functions via the crown, eliminating the need for case pushers. It can also be adjusted forward or backward without risking damage to the movement. Price upon request.

High Jewelry: Van Cleef and Arpels Ruban Mystérieux

This is the first unique watch from Van Cleef & Arpels in two years—and it is a masterwork of gem setting. Meant to evoke a ribbon that appears to wrap around the wrist, its 18-karat white-gold frame and instantly recognizable Mystery Set emeralds and sapphires are quintessential Van Cleef. Each stone took a master cutter two to four hours to achieve. They surround a 3.72-carat colorless, flawless DIF oval-cut diamond, which reveals the mother-of-pearl dial beneath. Beneath the jewelry work lies serious horology: the watch is powered by Jaeger-LeCoultre’s famous Caliber 101—the smallest mechanical movement in existence. Price upon request.

Material: F.P. Journe Chronomètre Furtif

There are plenty of sporty all-black watches, but none in tungsten carbide—until F.P. Journe managed it this year. The material is extremely hard and costly to machine, requiring diamond-tipped tools; it’s more at home on ski-pole tips than on a fine watch case. Here it forms a 42 mm shell for a dial finished in mirror-polished anthracite-gray grand feu enamel on white gold, with matte rhodium-plated steel hands for contrast. Turn it over and the mood shifts: an 18-karat rose-gold Calibre 1522 fills the back with traditional warmth, a sharp counterpoint to the stealth exterior. About $104,000 (Php 6 million).

Bespoke: Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication—La Première

An exercise in extreme watchmaking, Solaria assembles 41 complications from 1,521 parts, packing them into a movement measuring 36 mm by 10.96 mm and a case at 45 mm by 14.99 mm. The roster includes a Gregorian perpetual calendar, an equation of time on a tropical (solar) gear, and a Westminster carillon chime, alongside a split-seconds chronograph linked to astronomical indications that track when constellations—or a chosen star—will appear at the wearer’s location. Conceived and made by a single watchmaker at the manufacture, it stands as a statement of what’s still possible by hand and mind alone. Price upon request.

Giving Back: Chopard L.U.C Heritage EHG Moon 122

Set beneath an expansive aventurine dial and a 44 mm case in ethical rose gold is a northern-hemisphere sky, anchored by a hand-hammered and hand-engraved gold moon phase. Its precision is notable: a deviation of just 57 seconds between lunar reality and the display. Opposite sits a small-seconds subdial bearing a hand-worked gold view of the North Pole. The movement’s foundation comes from a Chopard base caliber supplied to students at the Geneva School of Watchmaking, with the moon-phase mechanism developed jointly—an investment in future talent as much as in the watch itself. About $90,300 (Php 5.2 million), limited to 20.

Craftsmanship: Greubel Forsey Hand Made 2

A truly handmade watch is rare in an era of CNC and robotics. Greubel Forsey’s 40.9 mm, hand-wound Hand Made 2 is 96 percent crafted by hand; only the sapphire crystals, spring bars, case gaskets, mainspring, and most jewels are not. Every component is finished to the brand’s exacting standard and assembled start to finish by a single watchmaker, resulting in a white-gold piece produced at a rate of just two or three per year. The result is less a throwback than a proof of method: what near-total manual production looks like in the 21st century. Price upon request.

Bracelet: Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds

Though the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is already available on a metal bracelet, its classic configuration is as a steel timepiece on a leather strap—its original form was created in 1931 for polo players in India during the British Raj. But a fresh pink-gold Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds on a matching pink-gold Milanese bracelet promises to pleasantly upset the norm: With its elegant looks and comfortable feel, the bracelet beautifully complements the watch’s precious-metal case, which measures just 7.56 mm thick. Flip the case over and a blank caseback reveals an ideal canvas for a personalized engraving, making the watch a perfect gift or heirloom. 

Métiers d’Art: Piaget Altiplano

Piaget is known for its expertise in jewelry techniques, but it also lays claim to some of the thinnest high-end watch movements in the world. Here, the brand combines both. The bridges of the 40 mm timepiece—powered by the 3 mm thick self-winding 1201D1 skeleton movement—are delicately adorned with diamonds and blue sapphires, which extend to the bezel in baguette cuts. The other half of the dial and bezel is decorated in a burst of varying blue, green, and purple hues in grand feu cloisonné enamel executed by the celebrated artisan Anita Porchet. But even the portion of the movement that is invisible beneath the enamel is set with diamonds and sapphires. With no surface left untouched, this piece wows at every angle.

World Timer: Louis Vuitton Tambour Taiko Spin Time Air Antipode

Building upon a legacy of imaginative complications, the new 42.5 mm Louis Vuitton Tambour Taiko Spin Time Air Antipode rethinks the world timer by displaying two cities at each of the dozen hour indices, thus making for 24 antipodes—points located at exact opposite ends of the globe. Emanating from the watch’s automatic Caliber LFT ST12.01 located at the case’s center, the city cubes appear suspended in air and spin 90 degrees as the world timer is adjusted. A brilliant feat of in-house engineering, the Antipode is proof that there is still plenty of room for visual and mechanical innovation. $99,500 

Design: Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Perpetual Calendar

Due to the amount of information contained in a perpetual calendar, the dials of these timepieces are often so packed they can be difficult to read or just look busy on the wrist. The 40.6 mm Toric Perpetual Calendar puts a new minimalist spin on the complication, using dual coaxial displays to convey all the relevant readings on two subregisters. The leap year and month are read on one subdial, and the day of the week and date on the other. The result is a stunningly simple and beautiful design that creates enough negative space to appreciate the beauty of the Golden Hour (pictured) or Morning Blue hues of the hand-grained dials. 

Dive Watch: Ulysse Nardin Diver Air

There’s something reassuring about the heft of a robust steel sports watch. But what if you could retain the tank like build without the bulk? That’s the promise of the 44 mm Ulysse Nardin Diver Air, officially the world’s lightest mechanical dive watch. Made from titanium and carbon fiber, it features a 199-part automatic movement designed to reduce weight to a bare minimum. A skeletonized dial, meanwhile, reveals a startling truth: Within the case, componentry makes up just 20 percent of the volume, while 80 percent is air. The result? A timepiece that clocks in at just under 52 grams, including its strap. 

Incoming Icon: Rolex Land-Dweller

Rolex’s new Land Dweller is a study in restraint with clear intent. The design nods to the archive while leaning into today’s appetite for integrated, multi-shaped cases—an aesthetic that has migrated from niche to mainstream. Crucially, this isn’t about chasing heat; the model answers a real gap for a fresh line that speaks to both everyday buyers and seasoned collectors. Beneath the case, a new movement debuts with updated technology, signaling where the brand plans to take its non-dive sport watches next. The message to the wider industry is unambiguous: when the category leader moves, it sets the pace.

For a complete list of Robb Report Philippines’ Best of the Best awardees, click here.