LVMH Watch Week 2025 recap: key takeaways from CEOs and novelty highlights
Zach BlassEditor’s note: The video below was made when I got back to my NYC studio right after the intense 2-day LVMH Watch Week 2025 exhibition concluded – which kind of begs the question of why it is referred to as a watch ‘week’. But we don’t have time to dissect that and instead should focus on highlights from each of the participating brands and some interesting insights from my conversation with their CEOs. So, let’s dive right into it.
Zenith
Zenith is celebrating its 160th anniversary this year, so the brand may have elected to reserve its more elaborate novelties (for lack of a better phrase) for Watches and Wonders. For LVMH Watch Week, the brand debuted three new references. Two were new Defy Skyline Chronograph Skeleton watches that create continuity within the Skyline range – bringing a more symmetrical dateless aesthetic to the Skyline Chronograph. The third, which certainly made a visual splash amongst the group’s releases of the week, is a new Chronomaster Sport Rainbow: the first-ever Chronomaster Sport to have a white gold case and bracelet. The watch, priced at US$112,100 and limited to 50 pcs per year, is set with 5.36 carats of gemstones across the bezel and dial – a rainbow mix of sapphires with diamonds incorporated into the bezel to offer a sense of the 1/10th of second timing scale.
While I was very pleased to see and hold these new watches, a highlight of the meeting for me was Zenith CEO Benoit de Clerck’s elaboration on the recently revealed expansion of Zenith’s movement production – and the seeds of this expansion are already blooming. Though they had planned to do this regardless, Zenith is looking to refine the El Primero movement further, reducing the number of components and the amount of time required for assembly. This will allow more movements to be produced and the other LVMH watch brands to have an easier time utilising the movement in their own efforts.
Bulgari
This is a perfect segue into the biggest news out of Bulgari this week: the brand’s new pint-sized BVS100 Lady Solotempo automatic movement, exhibited in new Serpentis. In the future, Zenith will be tasked with industrializing it for use within the LVMH family. Incredibly, despite its size, 19mm wide and 3.9mm thick, the automatic movement has a 50-hour power reserve, has a full balance bridge to resist shocks, and does not increase the thickness or overall size of the Serpenti watches compared to their quartz equivalents (which will remain in the catalogue as well). The movement has been rolled out in a range of various Serpenti models in various metals and, according to Bulgari CEO Jean-Christophe Babin, was created to fill a gap in its daily watches for women and add a layer of authenticity for the Serpenti as a watch that is also available with true mechanical watchmaking – bolstering the brand’s perception as a true watchmaker across its entire catalogue.
Hublot
Speaking of mechanical elevation… Hublot, amongst a new coloured ceramic trio of Spirit of Big Bang watches and a green Saxem Big Bang Tourbillon, really headlined LVMH Watch Week with a fresh take on the Big Bang Meca-10 which debuted a new HUB1205 10-day hand-wound movement that allows for a smaller 42mm case. You have titanium, carbon, and King Gold, but for me, while the more compact case is very cool, I am equally excited by the incorporation of hand-finishing on the calibre without an increase in the retail price of the watch – which starts at US$23,000 in titanium.
In speaking with Julien Tornare, CEO of Hublot, when I raised my surprise at the introduction of hand-finished bridges without a price increase, his response was that he was comfortable, where possible, in decreasing the brand’s margins to elevate quality even further – a burden the brand is willing to bear in the name of raising Hublot quality and market proposition to even higher heights. According to Tornare, this element of hand-finishing will not be necessarily found in every watch, but it will be found in more watches down the line.
He also made it clear that, though there is no formal timeline, presumably within the next two years, he plans to transition the catalogue, whether in-house or externally sourced, to only premium movements. This suggests, despite being a best seller from the brand, that we can expect the Sellita-based Classic Fusion to be possibly phased out. We have already seen movements like the Zenith El Primero leveraged by Hublot in its Spirit of Big Bang. It will be interesting to see what calibres Hublot will seek out, whether from Zenith or beyond. But again, the Meca-10 is emblematic of Hublot’s strength as an in-house movement maker.
TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer introduced new models across various collections, with a new purple duo of Carrera Chronograph watches (one chronograph and one chronograph tourbillon), new Carrera Chronograph watches with diamond-set bezels, a new set of smaller Carrera Date 36 watches, and a new pair of ChronoSprint pieces with TAG Heuer’s distinct variable-pace chronograph complication that pays homage to Porsche history. However, the marquee novelty has to be the new Formula 1 Chronograph range that comes off the heels of LVMH securing its F1 partnership with TAG Heuer as the official timekeeper.
The watches, while timely, were developed before the cementing of the F1 partnership, and are more so a pursuit that stems from – according to newly-appointed TAG Heuer CEO Antoine Pin – the brand’s core mission: delivering timepieces that are synonymous with counting time, or elapsed time which of course the world of chronographs and motorsports.
The collection, comprised of three watches and one special Red Bull Racing edition, finds itself in a new 200-metre water-resistant 44mm titanium case that is only 47mm lug-to-lug thanks to its redesigned integrated case style. A notable element that both the collecting community and the press were quick to point out was that they all have a closed caseback and use the Calibre 16, a movement based upon the historic ETA 7750. It is an element those who prefer fully in-house calibres may not love, but Antoine Pin explained this was a calculated move to keep the price of these chronographs down – the collection starting at a price of CHF 4,600 compared to say, an in-house calibre-driven Carrera Chronograph Purple, which is priced at CHF 6,500. The ETA-derived calibre also explains the closed caseback, which Pin noted keeps the watch thinner and less costly for the consumer. He also believes exhibition casebacks are best reserved for the brand’s in-house movements.
On the subject of F1 and accessibility, I raised the point that, with TAG Heuer’s imminent increase in visibility within the sport, the OG Formula 1 – which we saw last revived in collaboration with streetwear brand Kith – would be an excellent platform to create a more accessibly priced watch for F1 fans to indulge in. Since the Kith collab, we have had no formal word if this was a one-time thing or if the revival would enter the regular catalogue. With a smile, Pin cheekily remarked we are only 20 or so days into the new year, and that his remark is perhaps telling of the answer to my question. So, I would say keep your eyes peeled for developments on that front. It would seem the revival was not a one-and-done affair…
L’Epee
Before diving into the Louis Vuitton side of the equation, which also includes Daniel Roth and Gerald Genta, Tiffany & Co. and L’Epee made their first-ever LVMH Watch Week debuts. It was great to get more intimate with L’Epee’s sculptural kinetic timekeeping objects, better understand its uninterrupted history since 1839, and how its CEO Arnauld Nicolas believes the acquisition of the brand by LVMH last year has not made them any less independent – quite the opposite. As a brand really in its own lane with little to no competition, it appears LVMH seeks to only support L’Epee’s artistic freedom. Its sole novelty this week was a new high-end fully mechanical watch box made of transparent acrylic glass, which, upon pressing down on the lid, opens it and springs the watch cushion up to present your timepiece to you. Closing the box winds the mechanism back up so that once you press the lid down to open it again the mechanism once again activates. It has a price of US$12,000, which I suspect most of you reading this would prefer to reserve for your next watch purchase. However, for mega-collectors, this is a very deluxe presentation box to store your watch in.
Tiffany & Co.
I have to confess, I thought I would not be super fascinated by Tiffany & Co’s watch creations, but during my visit, my perspective completely changed. As the ‘King of Diamonds’, holding these various watches – which admittedly skew more towards being artistic and high-end jewellery – was marvellous. The brand’s distinct perspective and mastery of diamonds leads to intriguing details such as watch crowns that are shaped and set in the same manner you would see a diamond earring. Plus, to be fair, the brand has dabbled in high complication with pieces like the Bird on a Flying Tourbillon, a high horology evolution of its famed bird on a rock motif, that is driven by a 60-hour flying tourbillon movement developed with Artime that has diamond-set bridges. I had never seen that before. Trust me, it is insane in person.
Tiffany & Co. as a watchmaker I think is a bit misunderstood: its retail partnership with Patek Philippe often overshadows the fact Tiffany opened its own manufacture in 1874 and has long produced quality watches on its own throughout its history. It is clear the brand is very comfortable playing at the high end, but I hope to see proportionally more accessible creations down the line. I also believe the brand is a perfect candidate to explore Bulgari’s new Lady Solotempo movement once industrialized and manufactured for the group at large by Zenith.
Louis Vuitton
Okay, onto Louis Vuitton. The key throughline for the brand’s watch debuts was the introduction of a new Tambour Taiko case shape – named after the large drums used in Japan for ceremonial occasions. This new case shape still retains signatures of the Tambour profile seen in the lineup of new bracelet watches but has been refined to be slimmer, including a new lug design that requires hand-finishing on their reverse side, and a domed caseback that decreases perceived thickness and increases ergonomics and comfort on the wrist.
The new 37mm Tambour Taiko case is used within the new Convergence range, a handsome watch that introduces the visual curiosity of a dragging digital hours and minutes display. Because the display does not jump, and instead smoothly drags, the watch has a less static feeling display and the aperture can be larger rather than simply framing the current hour or minutes. On the rose gold model, the case is entirely mirror polished to the point you can not only check the time quickly but also check your hair or makeup – it really is a mirror on the wrist. In platinum, however, this mirrored real estate is replaced with a full diamond setting that is comprised of seven different stone sizes and requires 32 hours of meticulous work to complete for each watch. Both are driven by the first fully in-house calibre, the 45-hour automatic LFR MA01.01, which is exhibited to reveal its fine finishing on both casebacks.
In 39.5mm and 42.5mm iterations of the new Tambour Taiko case, the next generation of its Spin Time collection, six watches in total, were introduced – the throughline being a distinct dolphin blue colour scheme throughout all of the watches. The larger four 42.5mm Time Spin Air watches have the distinction of being transparent and varied in complication, such as a world timer and tourbillon, but for the two 39.5mm variants, which are both time-only and outfitted with a closed caseback, the pair does have the advantage of being more water-resistant with a higher depth rating of 100 metres. There is much to explore within this new range, so stay tuned for a dedicated video down the track.
Gerald Genta
Gérald Genta’s Gentissima Oursin Fire Opal is not something I felt I would initially find the most fascinating, but, again, in hand, it was one of the watches that caught my interest the most during the fair. This is undoubtedly a “but look closer” watch in which you discover details like a sapphire crystal that is faceted on its underside to create reflective lines on the orange carnelian dial that create the illusion of a three-dimensional surface while also keeping the 36.5mm watch thin below 10mm thick. Its 9.64mm case thickness can also be attributed to its usage of the Zenith Elite movement, which is only 3.65mm thick. The thing that really blew me away, however, is that despite all of the artisan mastery within the group, it was said that only one person in the business is capable of setting the 137 fire opal gems onto the 3N gold case and that all of the others who had attempted do so were unable to complete this meticulous operation. Looking at the watch, I would love to see this piece on the wrist of someone like Jeff Goldblum at the next Met Gala – it would suit him so well. And I wouldn’t mind taking it for a spin myself.
Daniel Roth
Last but certainly not least, Daniel Roth revealed its next subscription series limited to 20 yellow gold pieces. The new Daniel Roth Souscription Extra Plat watch is dimensionally identical to the original time-only Daniel Roth it was inspired by, but utilises a brand new in-house DR002 movement developed by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. Measuring 35.5mm wide, 38.6mm in length, and 7.7mm thick, the case is made the old-fashioned way – with each lug a separate component that is soldered by hand one at a time to the case middle. The dial is also fabricated in a very traditional way, comprised of a base and chapter ring made of solid gold. Both components are turned in-house, and each dial requires 10 hours of work to create using engines and machines that date back to 1850. While faithful, it is a shame the new 70-hour DR002 movement is hidden beneath a solid caseback as its perlage, bevelling, and striping decorations are performed to a very high standard befitting of the brand. Though this yellow gold piece is limited, the brand has stated that an Extra Plat model will follow it to join the Daniel Roth catalogue. Of all the pieces introduced, this would certainly be the connoisseur’s novelty of choice.
LVMH Watch Week 2025: final thoughts
Overall, while I won’t say every single novelty of the fair was necessarily showstopping, the single biggest key takeaway of the fair was definitely the future of the LVMH Watch Division, its synergy, cohesiveness, and in-group collaboration, which will ultimately serve to uplift all of its watchmaking and allow each brand to produce its best work. Most CEOs I met with all in some form or another mentioned the idea of honing in on what they do best, not trying to do everything – rather the right things for their brands. It is already a strong bunch of watchmakers, and all signs are pointing that the group will only get better and better. And this is only a taste of what is to come, with Watches and Wonders only a few months away.