The Best Watches of the Past Month

In honor of Breitling’s 140th anniversary, the brand is launching a new version of its famed Navitimer watch. Doing away with the chronograph complication, Breitling has delivered a 41mm version of the Navitimer that retains its slide rule and beaded bezel and adds a GMT function. Available in stainless steel as well as an 18K red gold case, the watch comes in several different dial colors and is powered by Breitling’s COSC-certified, automatic Calibre 32 movement. Dressier than a GMT-Master but sportier than a Patek world timer, it’s a compelling new traveler’s watch in a down-to-Earth size.

Diameter: 41mm

Water Resistance: 30m

Movement: Breitling Calibre 32 automatic

A collaboration between Swiss watchmakers Maurice Lacroix and Label Noir, the Masterpiece Skeleton pairs a hand-wound, in-house, openworked movement to a black and anthracite DLC-coated 43mm case. Designed from the ground up to ensure chronometric reliability as well as beauty, the skeletonized Calibre ML134 is a highly decorated masterpiece with sand-blasted finishing as well as bridges with polished edges. Given its size, design, and sapphire caseback, the movement can be freely admired from any angle, making for a pleasing spectacle for the horoligcally curious.

Diameter: 43mm

Water Resistance: 50m

Movement: Maurice Lacroix Calibre ML134 hand-wound

Launched in 2020, Czapek’s Antarctique is a relative newcomer to the luxury sports watch scene — nevertheless, the collection’s clean lines, integrated bracelet, in-house movement, and good looks have captured the hearts of many a collector. The newest Antarctique, the Mount Erebus, represents the first entry in the product family produced in solid gold. Available in 5N rose gold or 2N yellow gold, each version boasts a gorgeous blue dial with applied indices and a date window above 6 o’clock, plus a matching bracelet in its respective metal. Limited to 100 and 50 pieces, respectively, the Antarctique Mount Erebus is truly a thing of beauty.

Diameter: 40.5mm

Water Resistance: 120m

Movement: Czapek SXH5.01 automatic

Even if you’re someone who places a high importance on mechanical movements, it behooves you to check out Bulova’s Precisionist High-Performance Quartz technology, which beats 16 times per second (262 Hz). The newest models to feature these calibers are the brand’s Marine Star “Series C” watches, divers with 200m of water resistance, screw-down crowns, and cool 43mm polygonal steel cases. Available in bright yellow on a black rubber strap; silver on a matching, stainless steel bracelet; or rose-gold toned steel with a chocolate dial on black rubber, each costs well under $1,000. (Maybe you’ve found your new summer watch?)

Diameter: 43mm

Water Resistance: 200m

Movement: Bulova HPQ

If you’re a music lover, we have just the watch for you: The Gold Waves from new Swiss watchmaker Vieren is inspired by sound waves, visually representing their propagation via a unique radial pattern on the gold-tone dial. Housed in a gold-plated, stainless steel case and paired to a matching seven-row bracelet with a double-deployant clasp, it uses the ETA 2671 automatic movement to power timekeeping as well as a unique date display: The rotating date ring is modeled after the volume meter on vintage Braun audio equipment.

Diameter: 27mm 

Water Resistance: 30m

Movement: ETA 2671 automatic

One can always count on Hamilton’s Jazzmaster collection for a lineup of handsome everyday watches at unbeatable prices. This spring, the Swatch Group-owned brand is debuting no fewer than 14 Jazzmaster references, our favorite of which has to be the snazzy new Automatic Chronograph 42mm. Available in a dark blue or pale blue dial, this attractive piece measures 42mm in stainless steel and comes on a matching bracelet, while its H-31 automatic movement powers a triple-register display with a date window at 4:30. At less than $2,500, there’s do doubt that these are serious value plays.

Diameter: 42mm

Water Resistance: 100m

Movement: Hamilton H-31 automatic

40mm Trip-Tick case? Check. 300m of water resistance? Check. Handy GMT functionality? Check. Handsome grey dial with vintage-colored lume, an internal 60-minute rehaut, and a matching, bi-directional bezel? Check. At $4,000, the new Bremont Supermarine Ocean S302, developed in partnership with marine biologist Ocean Ramsay and her marine conservationist partner Juan Oliphant, is a hell of a diving tool — though its good looks ensure that it can be worn table-side as well as beneath the waves during a long day of diving. Paired to a “Thresher Grey” rubber strap, it’s certainly not a watch that you’ll need to baby.

Diameter: 40mm

Water Resistance: 300m

Movement: Bremont BE-932AV automatic

A remarkably cool silhouette from an interesting Viennese brand, the Carl Suchy & Söhne Belvedere Midnight is the latest execution of a sporty collection made for everyday wear. Housed in a pearl-blasted, DLC-coated 40.8mm stainless steel case with a polished bezel, lugs, and case back, the Belvedere Midnight features a fluted bezel and a dial with a compelling complication. The date window changes position daily, offering visual interest above and beyond that generated by the watch’s compelling mixture of surfaces and finishes. Powered by the automatic Dubois Dépraz DD90010 movement, it’s expensive, to be sure, but certainly original.

Diameter: 40.8mm

Water Resistance: 100m

Movement: Dubois Dépraz DD90010 automatic

Love the Fifty Fathoms Automatique but want one in a smaller package? It would seem that Blancpain has heard your prayers and is keen to answer them: Meet the new Fifty Fathoms Automatique 42mm, available in satin-brushed Grade 23 titanium and red gold with blue or black sunburst dials. A contemporary version of one of the world’s first commercially available dive watches, the new FF is powered by the brand’s impressive Calibre 1315 automatic movement, which boasts a whopping 120-hour power reserve and a date at 4:30. Water resistant to 300m, it’s a serious diver with good looks to match.

Diameter: 42mm

Water Resistance: 100m

Movement: Blancpain Calibre 1315 automatic

Though most watch brands are shrinking their wares back to down sub-40mm sizes, there’s still an audience out there for larger timepieces, and Longines is heeding their call. The company’s Hydroconquest GMT, launched in 2023 in 41mm, is now available in a new 43mm size with black, blue, or green dials and a choice of stainless steel H-link bracelets or blue or black rubber straps. Powered by the Longines Calibre L844.5 with a silicon balance spring and 72 hours of power reserve, the Hydroconquest GMT is a good-looking, useful tool watch for just shy of $3,000 — not to mention an excellent travel companion.

Diameter: 43mm

Water Resistance: 300m

Movement: Longines Calibre L844.5 automatic

Following on the heels of its successful collaborations with MoMA, the Louvre, and other museums, Swatch is expanding its Museum Series of affordable, art-themed watches in a partnership with the Tate Gallery. Consisting of seven distinct designs inspired by art once exhibited at the Tate in London, the lineup includes models based upon the work of Léger, Chagall, Miró, Turner, Matisse, Bourgeois, and Barns-Graham. Quartz-powered, available in two sizes (depending upon the model), and costing between $100 and $110, these are fun, irreverent watches for those who want a bit of color in their lives.

Diameter: 34mm; 41mm

Water Resistance: 30m

Movement: Quartz

A love child born to the Raven Trekker and the Nodus Contrail, the Nodus X Raven Trailtrekker is a GMT-equipped adventure watch in DLC-coated stainless steel. Its gunmetal-looking, matte grey case and matching bracelet are paired to a sand-colored dial accented with applied indices filled with ample lume, plus a cool gunmetal handset and an orange-tipped GMT hand. Within beats the Miyota 9075, an automatic, Japanese-made GMT movement with local jumping hour functionality. Paired to a tapering, matching bracelet and shipping with an extra, OD-green NATO-style strap is a compelling value at just $875.

Diameter: 39.5mm

Water Resistance: 200m 

Movement: Miyota 9075 automatic

Another entry in the luxury sports watch category, Girard-Perregaux’s Laureato has been on the scene for nearly 50 years. The newest variant, the Chronograph Ti49, offers a case made of Grade 5 titanium, plus a matching grey dial in a beautiful Clous de Paris pattern accented with radial sub-registers for the 30-minute, 12-hour, and running seconds totalizers. Brushed and polished surfaces combine throughout the 42mm case to offer refined aesthetics despite the material’s generally utilitarian remit, while the Calibre GP03300 beating within includes a staggering 419 components. One thing’s for sure: at $20,000, you’d be hard-pressed to find a similarly compelling luxury sports watch.

Diameter: 42mm

Water Resistance: 100m

Movement: Girard-Perregaux Calibre GP03300 automatic