The Best Watches of April 2025

The third collaborative watch from noted collector William Massena and celebrated watchmaker Raúl Pagès, the Noctograph is a beautiful dress watch powered by a hand-finished, hand-wound movement, which is visible via a sapphire caseback. Inspired by historical models yet informed by Pagès’s minimalist sensibilities, the Noctograph takes the form of a 38.5mm stainless steel case with brushed sides and a polished bezel and lug tops paired to a striking dial. Centered around a vertically brushed plate in deep blue, it boasts a radially brushed rhodium chapter ring with a black railroad minute track, plus a large sub-seconds display at 6 o’clock and a set of steel feuille hands. With its dove-grey Italian leather strap, it’s a brilliant fusion of classical and modern horological design.

• Diameter: 38.5mm
• Movement: Massena LAB cal. M660 hand-wound
• Water Resistance: 50m

Among Paneristi — the die-hard Panerai collectors who delve deep into the company’s history and collect its watches — there is a subset that’s willing to shell out big money not only for a watch, but also for an experience. That’s what the new Submersible Chrono Marina Militare Experience Edition buys you: In addition to a 47mm titanium Submersible dive watch with a flyback chronograph, locally jumping hours and 500m of water resistance, it also gets the owner a ticket to join the Aviazione Navale (Italian naval aviation) for three days of training at the naval air station in Grottaglie, Puglia. At $63,000, the experience doesn’t come cheap — but these are three days that diehard Panerai collectors are sure never to forget. 

• Diameter: 47mm
• Movement: Panerai cal. P.9100/R automatic
• Water Resistance: 500m

Modeled on a hand-wound Viscount model from the 1970s, this new Timex field watch is a collaboration between the famed American-founded watch brand and Bespoke Post, an online resource for cool clothing, accessories and other gear. Measuring a vintage-inspired 36mm in a C-shaped, stainless steel case, it features a black dial with wedge and Arabic indices; an outer 1/5th-seconds track with 5-minute gradations in yellow; an inner 24-hour track in red; and a luminous sword handset. Paired to a green Cordura strap and powered by a quartz movement, it’s perfect for use in the great outdoors. (In fact, this author’s dad wore the original during his military service in the late ‘70s…and it still works!)

• Diameter: 36mm
• Movement: Quartz
• Water Resistance: 50m

Launched on Kickstarter to much acclaim back in 2021, Furlan Marri got its start making affordable versions of classic, unapproachable watches such as the ultra-rare (and expensive) Patek Philippe ref. 1463 chronograph. These days, the brand has moved slightly more upmarket. The new Red Hunter, which celebrates the brand’s fourth birthday, features a hunter case — one in which the double caseback hinges open to reveal the movement. Measuring 36mm in stainless steel and powered by the La Joux-Perret G100 automatic movement, it features a lacquered black dial with cream printing, a handsome alpha handset with a red seconds hand, and silvered Roman numerals. Paired to a stainless steel bracelet, it also ships with two additional French leather straps. Unfortunately, orders were only open from April 23 to May 4.

• Diameter: 36mm
• Movement: La Joux-Perret G100 automatic
• Water Resistance: 100m

Frankly, this affordable, 40mm skin diver from Shinola might be one of the coolest sub-$1,000 watches of the year — and an excellent potential gift. Available in four rad colorways, it takes the form of a vintage-inspired dive watch in stainless steel with short lugs, no crown guards and a unidirectional dive bezel with a thin insert. Beneath a sapphire crystal is a cool, colorful dial in either black, canary yellow, blue, or black with pink accents, each of which features an eye-catching set of bi-color indices combined with an inner minute track and a colored central seconds hand. Powered by the reliable Shinola Argonite 715 Quartz and paired to a rubber Tropic-style dive strap, it’s water resistant to 100m and also features a date window.

• Diameter: 40mm
• Movement: Shinola Argonite 715 Quartz
• Water Resistance: 100m

Swiss high-end independent brand H. Moser & Cie. always manages to inject just the right amount of irreverence into its watches without crossing over into kitsch. Take the new Pioneer Centre Seconds Sunny-Side Up, for example: A proper sport watch with 120m of water resistance, automatic winding and a white rubber strap, it features a decidedly upscale yellow fumé dial that, in the brand’s own words, “gleams like a sun-kissed yolk.” (We wouldn’t disagree.) Outfitted with the in-house cal. HMC 201 with a three-day power reserve and bi-directional pawl winding system, it manages to marry a pocket watch-inspired silhouette with modern conveniences — all without taking itself too seriously. 

• Diameter: 40mm
• Movement: H. Moser & Cie. cal. HMC 201 automatic
• Water Resistance: 120m

In late 2024, American microbrand Nodus overhauled the case architecture of its beloved Sector field watch. Now, it’s offering it in lightweight titanium — and pricing it at just $500. Available in Marina (blue), Sequoia (green), and Shale (black-grey) colorways, it features a dial inspired by both vintage military watches as well as “sector” dials more generally, i.e., those in which the dial is divided into different “sectors” featuring different colors, printing or finishing. The raised central section features a 24-hour scale, while an outer matte-metallic section features a conventional 12-hour scale in luminescent Arabic indices complemented by an outer minute track and lumed sword hands. Powered by the TMI NH38 automatic movement and paired to a black or grey hybrid TecTuff rubber strap with a titanium buckle, the Sector II Field Titanium is truly a tremendous value.

• Diameter: 38mm
• Movement: TMI NH38 automatic
• Water Resistance: 100m

There are clocks, and then there’s the Jaeger-LeCoultre Atmos. Invented by Swiss engineer Jean-Léon Reutter in 1928, the Atmos runs on minute changes in atmospheric pressure — even the slightest deviation in temperature will wind it, allowing it to operate without human intervention. A new, limited-edition version of just 100 pieces dubbed the Infinite ‘Halo’ presents a distinctly contemporary take on the clock’s nearly century-old architecture. Housed in a glass cabinet, it consists of a white lacquer dial fronting an open-worked mechanism that appears to float in thin air. (A second glass base held within the main case houses the Calibre 570’s balance wheel.) Existing at the intersection of mainstream horology and kinetic art, the Atmos Infinite ‘Halo’ may not be a wristwatch — but wristwatch lovers will no doubt find it fascinating. 

• Glass Case Width: 215mm
• Movement: Jaeger-LeCoultre cal. 570 
• Water Resistance: N/A

Hamilton’s military-inspired Khaki Field Auto now comes in two fun new colorways: dark blue and khaki green. Available in both 38mm and 42mm, each is contained within a brushed stainless steel case with a polished bezel; a prominent, signed crown; a sapphire crystal; and an open caseback. Both attractive new colors feature a combination of sunray and snailed finishing in a subtle sector design: Contained inside an outer minute track is a 12-hour track with luminous Arabic indices, within which is situated an inner 24-hour track in matching typeface. (There’s also a handy date window at 3 o’clock.) Powered by the automatic Hamilton H-10 movement, the Khaki Field Auto comes paired to a brown leather strap with a steel pin buckle or a stainless steel bracelet with a folding clasp.

• Diameter: 38mm/42mm
• Movement: Hamilton cal. H-10 automatic
• Water Resistance: 100m

Based in Malaysia, Horologer Ming creates wildly creative wristwatches that it designs in Kuala Lumpur and produces and assembles in Switzerland. Its latest, the 37.02 Ghost, is a non-limited release that features a grade 2 titanium case weighing just 35 grams and a circular-brushed concave dial. Like all Ming watches, its beautifully architected silhouette is distinctive, while its face is minimalist without referencing the Bauhaus or MCM. Water resistant to 260m and measuring 38mm by 11mm tall, it’s powered by a customized Sellita SW300 and features ample Super-LumiNova X1 on its hands and crystal, providing excellent legibility in low-light situations. Finished with a matching grey goat-leather strap, it retails for CHF 3,500 — an excellent value when taking into account its highly considered design. 

• Diameter: 38mm
• Movement: Customized Sellita SW300 automatic
• Water Resistance: 260m