Grand Seiko, Patek Philippe, NOMOS, and Hublot at Watches and Wonders 2026

Reece takes a closer look at some of his favourite brands exhibiting at Watches and Wonders 2026 and has highlighted the releases that have caught his eye...

For Watches & Wonders 2026, Grand Seiko seems to be answering the calls of many enthusiasts with its new Spring Drive U.F.A. Ushio 300 Diver. It marks the smallest dive watch in the brand's collection at 40.8mm, taking on-board both the calls of enthusiasts and the general industry trend we've seen of more petite pieces in recent years.

It's available in two colour variations, with either Ushio Blue (ref: SLGB023) or Ushio Green (ref: SLBG025) available, and features a titanium case for lightness and up to 300 metres of water resistance. The case is also just 12.9mm thin, with the watch coming on a bracelet with a new locking extension clasp with micro-adjustment to ensure a comfortable fit.

The Spring Drive U.F.A. Ushio 300 Diver is powered by Grand Seiko's new Caliber 9RB1 movement that features up to three days of power reserve, which is now displayed on the dial side, rather than the rear of the piece, while this movement also doesn't include a date complication. As a Spring Drive movement, it's immensely accurate, and is rated to +/- 20 seconds per year, which is where it earns the U.F.A (or ultra-fine-accuracy) classification in the Grand Seiko range.

For the dial, Grand Seiko has employed its Ushio pattern that's inspired by the seas that surround Japan, with the blue representing the vastness of the sea with a gradient finish and the green referring to the shallower coastal waters near the shores. The hour and minute hands have a striking finish to enhance legibility alongside larger, diamond-cut indices with a rectangular shape so they can hold more Lumibrite. There is also a 120-click unidirectional bezel with a colour-coded ceramic insert to match the dial.

The Spring Drive U.F.A. Ushio 300 Diver will be available from Grand Seiko boutiques and select retailers in June 2026, for around £10,500.

Grand Seiko is also introducing a very luxurious boutique piece called the 'Mystic Waterfall' that the brand says is inspired by the clear stream of the Tateshina waterfall, located near Shinsu – that's where the Spring Drive movement comes from.

The watch has a 40mm case made of 950 Platinum, and is just 9.6mm thick, making it slender and very wearable. The case has also been engraved by skilled artisans, meaning no two pieces of this watch will be identical, with the dial carrying an equally mesmerising pattern.

The 'Mystic Waterfall' is available on either a black Kyoto leather strap, or a black crocodile leather strap, and features a manual-wind Spring Drive calibre 9R02 movement inside with a tolerance of +/- 1 second per day, making it very accurate, and up to 84 hours of power reserve.

It's going to be limited to 50 pieces worldwide and at Grand Seiko boutiques from July 2026, with a cost of £74,500, likely making it very desirable if you can even get your hands on one.

Patek Phillipe has launched a fair few watches for Watches & Wonders this year, but I've got a couple of particular favourites from this year's rather enviable selection.

The Patek Phillipe Celestial has often been a ridiculous grail piece for me, and it's been updated for 2026 with the new Sunrise and Sunset model. This new astronomical grand complication features a multi-layered dial that supplements the existing complications with a world's first that displays sunrise and sunset times. These can also be adjusted for summer and winter times with a simple push of the corrector on the side of the case.

Alongside the new sunset and sunrise complication, this new 6105G reference has stacked discs that rotate independently to display the night sky and the movement of stars as seen from Geneva, plus the phases and orbit of the moon. This piece required five years of development and is associated with six patents, if it's any indication of the time and effort taken.

This piece is powered by Patek's new 230 240 C UL CL LCSO calibre, which comes with a 48-hour power reserve and a 22-carat gold micro rotor, which is housed in a 47mm white gold case with a lugless design and an 'integrated' black composite strap with a triple folding clasp.

The 6105G Celestial Sunrise and Sunset is priced at CHF 350,000.

2026 also marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most legendary watches ever made – the Nautilus. To celebrate its birthday, Patek has unveiled three limited edition time-only models:

Firstly, there's the 5810/1G reference, which refers to a white gold ultra-thin case variant of the Nautilus, which is limited to 2000 pieces, plus the 5810G-001, a white gold limited edition of 1000 pieces. You also have the smaller, 38mm platinum version, reference 5610/1P-001, which is limited to 2000 pieces. All of them are powered by Patek's calibre 240 movement, with prices to be confirmed.

Also, as part of the 50th anniversary of the Nautilus, Patek has taken the decision to unveil the first ever Nautilus pocket watch, reference 958G-001, with a white gold 50.7mm case, a blue embossed dial and baguette diamond indices. 

The hand-wound 31-505 8J PS IRM CI J movement features up to eight days of power reserve on two barrels, and displays the hours, minutes, date, day of the week, small seconds and power reserve. 

It's limited to 100 pieces, comes without a chain and has a clever feature that allows you to convert this piece into a very expensive desk clock!

Glasshutte-based Nomos has updated its longstanding Tangente model for Watches and Wonders 2026 in a smaller size and with some extra style points with the Tangente Neomatik 38 Update.

The case has been downsized to 38.5mm in diameter, while a slender 7.4mm height means it's likely to wear a little smaller. This piece is also being offered in 18K gold for the first time for added style alongside the stainless steel option, while the classic Bauhaus styling is retained beautifully.

The size of this Tangente Neomatik 38 Update may have changed, but the core of the piece hasn't, as Nomos has retained the watch's signature 31-day ring date around the edge of the dial alongside a small seconds dial at 6 o'clock.

The watch is powered by Nomos' in-house DUW 601 calibre and comes complete with the brand's signature Swing System Escapement, offering up to 42 hours of power reserve. It ships on a Cordovan leather strap in black or brown.

Price-wise, the new Tangente Neomatik 38 Update retails for EUR 3680 for the steel and EUR 12,400 for the gold version.

A lot of Hublot's focus for Watches & Wonders 2026 centres around its celebration of the 25th anniversary of its Big Bang range of watches.

The centrepiece of this collection is the new Big Bang Reloaded model, which brings the in-house Unico chronograph movement to the fore that has been used in these watches since 2010, with Hublot leaning more into a skeletonised finish with this piece.

The 44mm case on the outside gets a two-part bezel for sharper contrasts, while each watch comes with two straps - a fabric-inspired rubber and a black rubber option. 

There are five references available, with four ceramic options – All Black, Blue, Dark Green and one with the scratch-resistant Magic Gold. The final model pairs the black ceramic with titanium, which is a nod to the original Big Bang Unico from 2013.

Hublot is also offering a limited-edition collaboration model with Usain Bolt that comes in black ceramic and carbon with a yellow gold bezel. There are also nods to Bolt's record-breaking 9.58-second 100m time from 2009, with the numerals that appear between n 6 and 8 o’clock are 6-5-8—it should actually be read as “9.58” as the “5” is inverted.