The Best Watches of May 2025

A sequel to Unimatic x Massena LAB’s U1-SPG watch, the new UT4-SPT “NASA Artemis II” Time-Limited Edition likewise features a burnt-orange Cerakote case inspired by NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift rocket, which will launch in 2026 with the aim of carrying a team to the moon. Unlike the U1-SPG, however, the UT4-SPT is a time-only model with a fixed bezel and a Seiko VH31A meca-quartz movement, which features sweep seconds. Boasting 300m of water resistance and an in-house designed 360-degree protection system, it’s a serious tool watch through and through. Furthermore, it’s an excellent deal at just $650 — which other people realized, as it’s already sold out. You can still get on the waitlist though.

• Diameter: 40mm
• Movement: Seiko VH31A quartz
• Water Resistance: 300m

Resurrected from a prototype never put into production, the Zenith Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar was one of the coolest releases of 2024. Incredibly, Zenith managed to outdo itself by offering an awesome meteorite-dial version in collaboration with Hodinkee late last year. Now, it’s iterating upon this tried-and-true model yet again by offering a fresh version with a lapis lazuli dial, and boy is she purdy. Housed in a 38mm case in stainless steel inspired by the original A386 from 1969, it features a blue lapis face streaked with natural pyrite combined with silver chronograph totalizers. Powered by the automatic El Primero 3610 movement, it can measure discrete events down to 1/10th of a second.

• Diameter: 38mm
• Movement: Zenith El Primero 3610 automatic
• Water Resistance: 50m

The latest in Luminox’s collection inspired by the elite U.S. naval special operations unit, the Navy SEAL 3500 Series Carbonox is also the line’s lightest model. Machined entirely from Carbonox — a proprietary carbon-based material known for its hypoallergenic and temperature-resistant qualities as well as its excellent strength-to-weight ratio — it takes the form of a 45mm all-black watch with a matching bracelet. Powered by the Swiss-made Ronda 515 quartz movement with 50 hours of power reserve, it features the brand’s famous Luminox Light Technology, which uses tritium tubes to provide ever-glowing illumination on the dial. With its handsome sand-colored indices, it’s a compelling, affordable field watch. 

• Diameter: 45mm
• Movement: Ronda cal. 515 quartz
• Water Resistance: 200m

Never one to rest on its laurels, Moser has developed its first-ever smartwatch in collaboration with the pit crew of Alpine Motorsports, whose F1 team the brand sponsors. Dubbed the Streamliner Alpine Mechanics Edition, it borrows its case shape from the brand’s mechanical Streamliner collection but adds a host of digital features that should come in handy during a race: a “Race Mode” with countdown timers and alerts, a split-seconds chronograph with resolution to 1/100th of a second, a GMT function and a perpetual calendar are all present and accounted for. Furthermore, its digital dial retains the brand’s signature fumé appearance, while the battery life extends to a full year in time-only mode. But it doesn’t race alone: it’s only available as part of a pair with the mechanical Streamliner Alpine Drivers Edition.

• Diameter: 42.6mm
• Movement: H. Moser & Cie cal. DI0 digital
• Water Resistance: 120m

Launched in time to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Longines’s first dual-time zone watch, the new Spirit Zulu Time is a handsome, two-tone take on the brand’s popular GMT model. Measuring 39mm in stainless steel with a matching multi-link bracelet, it features a special 5N 18K rose gold-capped bezel with circular brushing and engraved numerals that lends an elegant touch to an otherwise utilitarian package. A black dial with matching gold-tone minute track, hands, indices and typography paired with white Super-LumiNova makes for a highly legible design, while the automatic Longines cal. L844.4 “flyer” movement boasts a 72-hour power reserve and COSC certification. As an alt to the classics from Rolex or Tudor, this one hits all the right marks.

• Diameter: 39mm
• Movement: Longines cal. L844.4 automatic
• Water Resistance: 100m

Based upon a watch from 1969, the Girard-Perregaux Deep Diver — a collab between the Swiss brand and London’s Bamford Watch Company — is a funky, colorful reimagining in lightweight titanium. Measuring 40.3mm by 38mm in a radially brushed cushion case, it features dual crowns: one to set the time and date, and the other to control the internal rotating dive bezel. The dial is a complete showstopper, with alternating orange, blue and white sections that scream ‘70s. Powered by the brand’s cal. GP03300 automatic movement with 46 hours of power reserve, it also features a subtle harbinger of things to come: Its 14-sided bezel was carried over to the Laureato, a collection celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

• Diameter: 40.3mm x 38mm
• Movement: Girard-Perregaux GP03300 automatic 
• Water Resistance: 200m

Canadian brand Marathon’s SSNAV-D watch, developed for pilots and paratroopers, is one of the best buys in field watches, full stop. The new “Blue Yonder” edition, however, introduced a bit of color into what has long been a highly reserved aesthetic. Honoring the U.S. Air Force, it features a deep blue dial and 12-hour bezel with bright white printing and yellow accents in the form of tritium tube illumination. Boasting a handy date window between 4 and 5 o’clock and powered by the workhorse ETA F06.412 HeavyDrive-PreciDrive quartz movement, it ships with a blue FKM three-piece rubber strap kit and a blue travel pouch. Perfect for frequent travelers as well as adventurers, it also happens to look like a million bucks.

• Diameter: 41mm
• Movement: ETA F06.412 HeavyDrive-PreciDrive quartz
• Water Resistance: 100m

Developed as a custom-made version of the Navitimer for astronaut Scott Carpenter, the original Breitling Cosmonaute was the result of several special requests, chief among them a 24-hour dial and movement modification to better keep track of the time in space. Though Carpenter’s personal watch was destroyed by seawater during his ocean-bound recovery following reentry to Earth, the Cosmonaute was subsequently put into regular production. This new version, which celebrates 100 years since Carpenter’s birth, is manufactured from platinum and features a handsome blue dial mirroring the look of the Earth from space. Limited to 50 pieces, it’s perfect for serious NASA fans with deep pockets. 

• Diameter: 41mm
• Movement: Breitling Manufacture cal. B02 hand-wound
• Water Resistance: 30m

Scottish watchmaker anOrdain, famous for its enamel dials, has so much demand for its wares that long waitlists are the norm. However, the Glasgow-based company is now offering its Model 2 Porcelain to new customers for the first time. The result of a three-year development process, it features a bespoke set of numerals with hand-applied Super-LumiNova, a new handset, the La Joux-Perret G101 automatic movement, and a 39.5mm stainless steel case. (Plans are in place to release a smaller 36mm version later in 2025.) Unlike an enamel-dial watch, the porcelain versions can be created in small batches of roughly 30 units per month, which should allow more customers access to the anOrdain collection. 

• Diameter: 39.5mm
• Movement: La Joux-Perret G101 automatic
• Water Resistance: 50m

One of several new models celebrating the company’s 250th anniversary, the new Breguet Tradition Seconde Rétrograde 7035 is a masterclass in integrating sophisticated métiers d’art and high watchmaking in a cohesive package. Housed in a 38mm Breguet gold case with a fluted caseband, it features a grand feu blue enamel dial and a subtle retrograde seconds display between 10 and 11 o’clock. (Once the seconds hand reaches 60, it instantaneously jumps back to zero and begins its journey anew.) Flip the case over and the Breguet cal. 505 SR automatic movement with platinum winding rotor is visible via a sapphire caseback. A blue alligator leather strap rounds out the offering. 

• Diameter: 38mm
• Movement: Breguet cal. 505 SR automatic 
• Water Resistance: 30m

Launched in 1957 along the Speedmaster chronograph and the Seamaster dive watch, the original Railmaster offered an impressive 1,000 gauss of antimagnetic protection for engineers, railway workers and other technical professions. The newest iteration, available in four references, makes use of the Aqua Terra collection’s case profile to combine modern convenience with vintage inspiration in a cohesive package. A 38mm Railmaster with a grey dial with black gradient comes on either a stainless steel bracelet or a leather strap, while a beige dial version with a black gradient features a small-seconds display and is likewise available on leather or steel. Both are powered by Omega Co-Axial Master Chronometer movements.

• Diameter: 38mm
• Movement: Omega Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 8806/8804 automatic
• Water Resistance: 150m

While a yellow gold version of the NH Type 3B launched in 2022, the new NH Type 3B-3 is a 37mm dress watch with moon phases inspired by the aesthetics of vintage pocket watches. With its hand-engraved Roman numerals and striking gold moon face against a lapis lazuli disc, it instantly calls to mind not only 17th- and 18th-century pocket watches, but also the best of 20th-century complicated wristwatches from top marques such as Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin. Powered by the hand-wound cal. 3021LU based upon the Valjoux 7750, it will be produced in just five pieces between 2025 and 2026, making it a rare bird indeed, and an object of desire among serious collectors everywhere. 

• Diameter: 37mm
• Movement: Cal. 3021LU hand-wound
• Water Resistance: 50m