August 2025's Best New Watch Releases

It’s that time of the month again and despite the height of summer holidays, there have still been many exciting releases from a wide range of brands. Here are my top picks that I think you should know about as we head into late summer.

And as always, these new watch releases are in no particular order, apart from my favourite, which is at the end.

I’m going through a phase at the moment. Well, I say a phase, but it’s lasted over a year now so maybe it’s just my taste and is time to admit that I love meteorite dials. I find the textures and patterning fascinating as well as the fact that it is cut from a piece of rock that has spent billions of years travelling through the universe and eventually crash landed on our little planet.

So, when the ‘Space Ghost’ was announced I was excited to learn more. And as I did, I found that there was much more to it than meets the eye. This is the first release featuring the new 41mm case size, a perfect addition to the existing 39mm and 43mm Essence range. The micro-adjustment on the clasp is now able to be set to three positions on the fly and while the watch is on wrist. There is a new screw-down crown that integrates with the proprietary case suspension system we all know from Formex.

And a tiny detail that shows the brand’s aim for small improvements adding up to an overall better watch, the screw pins on the bracelet now lock into place preventing them from becoming loose during wear.

This watch is limited to 150 pieces per year, and they have now all sold out. But the 41mm Essence will be a regular part of the Formex lineup and include these new features.

Price - £1,890

I have a bit of a soft spot for dual-crown divers. I like the dressier aesthetic of the internal rotating bezel as well as the mechanism itself and the fact that they are still functional tool watches.

This new colourway in the updated Duality II series has caught my attention. Blue dials and dive watches go hand in hand like warm toast and jam; it doesn’t get much better than that. With 300m of water resistance and a Miyota cal.9015 regulated by Nodus to +/- 8 seconds per day, this is a very capable tool. It’s slim too at just 11.5mm meaning it could fit under a dress cuff just as easily as over the top of a dry suit.

You can also choose between a 60minute or 12-hour internal bezel giving the watch two roles as a diver and tracking two time zones.

Price - $800USD/£601GBP

Atelier Wen’s combination of French design with Chinese craftsmanship seems to have been one of the best Franco-Chinese collabs since five-spice confit duck! The Ancestra is a dressier addition to the brand’s lineup which had previously included two integrated bracelet sport watches and the Porcelain Odessey which has now been retired. The standout feature of the Ancestra is a hand hammered and enamelled dial with that beautiful blue to white gradient.

The heavily customised Pequignet Calibre EPM03 features a new rotor and an inscription of an ancient Chinese poem on the ¾ bridge. I was lucky enough to get a preview of this watch at Hands on Horology and there is a certain feeling about it that reminds me of F.P. Journe, and I love that. Something I also love is that it’s not priced like an F.P. Journe!

Price - £4,350

I honestly don’t know how they keep doing it. But the team at Time+Tide know how to surprise us again and again. I think Andrew McUtchen needs to reveal his morning routine. The dial has been crafted from pieces of Australian mother of pearl that have been arranged in a marquetry style. The slim quartz powered dress piece is perfectly proportioned and I love the romantic spin reminding us of the importance of date nights.

A final finishing touch is an engraving of the entrance to the Discovery Studio in London. A beautiful reminder of a very special location.

Price - £745

We all knew that it would happen eventually, but I don’t think we saw it coming in this way. And did we expect that the ones to make it happen would be Seiko? Probably not, but they’ve gone and done it anyway. The official partnership for a Pepsi watch is here and limited to 7,000 pieces per model. There is a diver with a day and date complication and then a GMT, naturally. Both models feature red and blue colourations on the bezel and come in a box shaped like a Pepsi can, how sweet.

Rolex have been suspiciously quiet since this launch.

Price - SRPL99 - £330 SSK047 - £470

I am not normally a fan of Panerai. For me they’re just too big. But I love their design language and military heritage. The new Submersible is a beast at 44mm and 300m water resistance and was designed for use by the Marina Militare (Italian Navy), celebrating their 115-year partnership. I love the green gradient to the textured dial and the dark green ceramic on the bezel. Powered by an in-house movement with shock resistant technology this watch could withstand any military operation.

Price - £10,300

I am a big Pilot’s fan. Not a big fan of the Big Pilot, but a big Pilot’s fan. Anyway, I love IWC and the Pilot series, especially any watch that utilises their slightly more manageable modern case sizes. I’m also a fan of light blue; I have it on a few things including my car, one of my guitars, a few watch straps and so I was very excited to see this new IWC colour in collaboration with Pantone.

Miramar is a town in San Diego, California nicknamed “Fightertown” as it’s where the advanced navy training location was situated during the 1980s and 1990s. The inspiration for the colours in the Top Gun range have all come from locations significant to the US Navy and specifically the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program aka ‘Top Gun’. Talk to me, Goose!

Of the two, I’m taking the steel with the Miramar dial. I do love the use of coloured ceramic but £11k is just a bit too punchy!

Pilot’s Chrono 41 - £5,900

Top Gun Pilot’s Chrono 41 - £11,100

I don’t know what’s got into me, but we’ve had two months back-to-back where my top pick has been an integrated sports watch. Maybe next month I’ll fall in love with an AP but I won’t worry about that now.

This latest release from Christopher Ward is a clear step up for the Twelve series. Another indication of CW’s moves toward Haute Horology priced for the everyday watch enthusiast. They have shown how successful they can be in this space already with the Bel Canto, Twelve X and C12 Loco. And while the 660 takes a more minimalist approach, I believe that this was the best route to go down.

The super slim case, manual wind movement, minute and hour only, plain textured dial all add up to make something beautiful, timeless and elegant. This is my favourite CW model to date, and I hope a sign of many more great things to come from the UK based brand.

I have written a full review of this watch and produced a video for our YouTube channel. So, if you would like to hear my full thoughts then make sure to go check those out.

Price - The Twelve 660 in steel is £1250 on the black rubber strap and £1395 on the integrated bracelet.

Price - Twelve 660 in DLC black is £1295 on the rubber strap and £1495 on the DLC black integrated bracelet. 

There we have it, another month gone and another round of exciting watch releases. Which were you favourites, and which do you think I should have included in my list? Let me know in the comments below and I look forward to what September will bring us.