What are our Authors' Most Worn Watches of 2025?

Our wonderful guest authors have worked incredibly hard this year to bring you the amazing content on the WatchGecko Magazine this year. And so, to celebrate their love of watches I wanted to hear from them about their most worn watches of 2025 and why they love it so much.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank them for all of their hard work and for writing some brilliant pieces over the last 12 months. I’m really looking forward to working with them more in 2026!

Chris took my ideas and, within a few days, the design was agreed upon and the watch was on its way to Scotland for him to wave his creative haggis at. A few weeks later, he’d completed the dial — and, as per my instructions, rotated it by 180°, effectively turning the watch into a destro model. That made my FXD a truly unique piece.

The moment I got it back on my wrist, I was over the moon. It was far better than I’d ever imagined. Now I have a watch I’d never sell, one with an emotional connection unlike any other in my collection. The Tudor Pelagos FXD was already the perfect watch; now it’s been elevated to another level, recognised and admired by enthusiasts at watch events.

If you’re thinking about commissioning a custom piece, be brave, and don’t hesitate.

I used to rotate watches daily. That habit died a death about two years ago. Now, I go in phases. I pick up one watch and wear it obsessively for a month or more. With the amount of time on the road, it’s a trait I’m glad to have developed. Maybe, however, it’s down to the fact I now have a swathe of watches that are just better suited to me.

I narrowed down this year’s selection to four pieces. Three of which, I had a hand in designing, and the other one comes from another brand I’m extremely close to. The latter, and the model that wound up in second place was the Fortis Novonaut (the standard, Legacy black edition). In third and fourth position were two Straum watches: the firs LE I worked on with the brand while I was at Fratello (the Jan Mayen “Lava Red” Limited Edition), and the recently released Jan Mayen Titanium “Stormy Seas” collaboration with my podcast, The Real Time Show.

But the watch that snuck into the top spot, was the first collab the TRTS podcast pursued (a watch that is still available): the Sherpa x TRTS OPS. I first wrote about this watch on Watch Gecko in February 2024 in an article entitled “My Holiday Watch — The Sherpa x TRTS OPS”. I’ve never been able to get over the ruggedness of this 40 mm wide, 13.5 mm tall, true compressor dive watch with a lug-to-lug of 49.3 mm and a comfortable weight of 160g. It never leaves me wanting and is now a frequent companion when travelling, training, or trying to socialise with other humans rather than timepieces and timepieces alone.

What does this mean for 2026? Well, I suppose it means I can continue slim down what now looks to be a very bloated collection indeed. Maybe I’m becoming more one-note, or maybe, after all these years, I just know what I like and who I am. All of the above watches reflect my lifestyle and personality perfectly, and I can only hope I meet more such pieces in the future.

Pequignet never compromises on quality. The finishing is absolutely superb and on par with Swiss watches worth two to three times the price. 

I really like the pop of color from the red second hand, which was made exclusively for this special edition sold only in Japan. Looking at it with the loupe, I was genuinely impressed by small details like the dome profile of the thermally blued hands, the polishing of the applied numerals, and the very thin steel ring highlighting the recessed sundial.

Sitting at 42mm, the watch is neither too dressy nor too sporty. Even after five years of ownership, it still finds its place around my wrist multiple times a week. Winding the large barrel takes around 100 turns of the crown, which add to its quirkiness, but I’ve grown used to it. It is also a great conversation starter, especially in the UK where the brand is still relatively unknown.

The perfect watch should feel like an extension of yourself, and for whatever reason, this one radiates the same warm, rich energy I like to think I give off. Does it smell vaguely like a penny? Absolutely. Does it turn my wrist green whenever I wear it on the bronze bracelet and break a sweat? Without fail. Do I care even a little? No f*cks given.

This is the watch that feels the most me. My mental health milestone watch. It’s going to patina right alongside me until I’m a knackered old son of a gun, and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

In second place, by just a couple of days difference, came my Newmark 71 (2020 relaunch) automatic diver/sports, a tough and durable 'beater' that I tend to prefer for swimming, gardening etc duties and/or travel ... yet pipping this to the post is my favourite GADA, the black, slate dial Omega Railmaster METAS (ref: 220.10.40.20.01.001) that I acquired in 2020 just days before the first Covid lockdown. See here for my in-depth review.

This was, and still is, my first brand new, expensive and higher end watch purchase and, sadly, for fear of damaging it I babied it far too much from the off, so sadly it stayed mostly in its box (gorgeous though it is) for the first year or two. Having a wake-up call to ask myself, "what good is a watch hidden away and unworn?!", I changed the habit and started to wear it in rotation so I could enjoy it and get better value out of it on the wrist, where it belongs. Back on the wrist it has over time picked up a few minor scuffs and dings along its journey, but now I can relax and enjoy it more ..it's almost a relief to get that first bash out the way and add some history to it. A watch, after all, is a tool to be worn, not just to be looked at (or kept hidden away), especially the Railmaster which was first developed almost 70 years ago to aid railroad workers by keeping accurate time whilst working within challenging environments.

I wear it for all matter of occasions, from weddings and other similarly formal events or with a t shirt and jeans; it can be dressed up or down in equal measure, with numerous strap options too which makes it such a versatile and near perfect watch, in my eyes, at least.

This particular iteration ceased production a year or so ago and was always seen as the lesser-known model within the Seamaster family. It's replacement, earlier this year, is a smaller and dressier (and much more expensive) variant, yet the overall design and aesthetics do hark back to the earlier models' designs. To me, despite the overall lack of love that the Railmasters seem to have received, this understated and underrated left-field cousin of the more popular Aqua Terra deserves far more appreciation. I personally don't quite understand why its seemingly so unpopular, but as per anything, beauty is in the eye of the beholder of course - and being fortunate to be the beholder here, I love it.

Maybe it's the fact that it's still new to me, or just the fact that it's plain fun, but I haven't been able to take it off my wrist and set it down. There's a certain novelty to looking down to your wrist and seeing a bicompax chronograph with a pizza dial staring back at you that hasn't quite worn off. The Seagull ST-1901 chronograph movement inside is easy to live with, and I just have to remember to wind it more than I think I should due to it being a manual wind movement.

Nonetheless, the Pizza Party is a lovely watch for what is quite a modest price point against other chronographs out there. Its stainless steel case is beautifully finished for the price, with a blend of polished and brushed surfaces, plus its raised sapphire crystal helps along its retro sensibilities that I'm a big fan of.

Having 20mm lugs and with the original strap being quick release also means it's very easy to change – I've just ordered a very red leather strap to go with it in an attempt to see what it looks like, plus it's quite festive to boot.

Thank you to all of the authors that shared their watch wearing stories from this year. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about each one of them and hope that everyone is able to achieve their collection goals in 2026. But until then I want to wish each and every one of them a very happy holiday season and new year and hope they get some well-deserved rest!

If you’re curious about the watch that Chris, Jorge and I wore the most this year, make sure to tune into the latest episode of Time to Unwind where we’ll be sharing our own watch stories from 2025.

Please comment below with what your most worn watch of 2025 was, and why you love it. I look forward to reading your responses!