The three watches Russell wore most in 2025 are…

Russell Sheldrake

It’s hard for me to pinpoint these three watches this year. Last year, it was easy; there was no real movement in what I had available to wear last year, and so the rotation stayed pretty tight. However, 2025 has been a big year of change for me, and with that change has come a lot of shifting in what has spent time on my wrist. The most notable edit has come from the biggest life change, and that is becoming a first-time home owner, and to facilitate the biggest single purchase I have ever made, I had to say goodbye to my beloved birth year Tudor Submariner.

Saying goodbye to such a nice watch weeks before we announced our official retail partnership with Tudor was tough, but we all have to grow up at some point and owning property in London on a journalist’s salary is not an easy thing to do. I may do a more in-depth article further down the line on the process of me selling this special watch, but that is for another day. So, now this sentimental timepiece has left my collection, I had to fill its wrist time with something else, and I think you’ll see from the list below that I have gone a little off-script with my high rotation for 2025.

Christopher Ward The Twelve 660

This was a watch I reviewed for the site back in August, and after we were sent the press sample, I did not want to send it back. This is the only time this has happened in my career, but it took the brand’s lovely PR to send me an email to finally demand this watch back, as other publications wanted to shoot it. So I reluctantly sent it back; however, there are some perks to working for the sole retail arm of Christopher Ward, and so I now have one of my very own.

I opted for the black-on-black model, and I have zero regrets about that. This monochromatic piece fell into some heavy rotation as soon as it arrived. Being the only British watch I owned, it felt like I needed to represent my home nation, especially as the only member of the editorial team from the UK at that time. Whether I was attending our own British Watchmakers’ Weekender event or just knocking about London, this thin timepiece felt right at home: stealthy enough to wear in Mayfair, yet classy enough to have on my wrist at high-end events. It became a conversation starter and quickly something I couldn’t take off my wrist.

I’ve never owned an integrated bracelet sports watch before, and while I have been lucky enough to try on plenty in my career (and that includes several original vintage pieces, including a Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 3700 and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak ref. 5402!), this piece felt like it had proportions better suited to that era than today. I haven’t come across another watch in the last few years that has created this feeling with me, and for that reason alone, it has spent more time on my wrist in the last few months than anything else.

Baltic x Time+Tide Hermètique Night Mode

Our collaboration with French brand Baltic has become somewhat of a daily beater, or GADA watch, for me over the last 12 months. I understand that it looks like I might be going through a bit of a goth phase, with two of my three most-worn watches being completely blacked out, but I think it is more about ease of wear. Black goes with everything, and so there is no debate about what colour dial I should be reaching for on a day-to-day basis. Having this watch on a black rubber strap has been incredibly comfortable and practical. If I have found myself doing anything that requires a bit more ruggedness from my outfit, then this was my automatic go-to. Especially when my one main critique of the 660 is its very low water resistance.

The clarity and visibility that comes from this watch’s high-contrast dial is unmatched in my book. Those lumed indices and hands jump out at you from this dial, and when you add in the DLC-coated case, nothing is distracting you from the pure function of telling the time. I have also really fallen for how the crown integrates into the case, and I am now wishing that all watches did this from a comfort and aesthetic perspective.

Before I joined Time+Tide, I was never a massive microbrand guy, and I had never owned a watch made by one of these young upstarts, but I’m very glad I have the ability to wear this now that I’ve had so much exposure to this side of the industry. To me, this is one of the most wearable pieces that has come out of these young brands in the last five years. Its proportions are excellent, with the long lugs ensuring it maintains a good presence on the wrist despite its smaller case diameter. It feels like a sleeper hit now that it has been out for a couple of years. It might now be the first watch someone notices, but when they realise what it is, there is a level of recognition you don’t find everywhere.

Universal Genève Gilt Shadow

This is the only watch that has stayed consistent from last year to this year for me. This is my go-to dress watch: a 1970s masterpiece that comes out whenever I need to wear something elevated, and there is a smart occasion on the cards. I bought this watch just after joining Time+Tide from the incredible dealer Kibbles Watches (find him on IG), and it will never leave my collection. To me, it is the ultimate ellipse design with that oval shape allowed to shine thanks to the minimal integrated bracelet that seems to just kiss the case rather than dominate it.

The lightly brushed black dial still catches me off guard when it hits the light just right, yet it disappears when you enter a dimly lit room. While I certainly paid a good price for this watch, anyone who spots it on my wrist instantly thinks it is worth 10x that amount. Of course, the fact that it is gold-plated and not solid makes a difference, but also its thin profile and classical design will always make this appear in a higher price bracket than it actually is. (Although, with the relaunch of the brand, I wouldn’t be surprised to see prices of this model start to creep up soon.)

As is tradition in the London watch industry, the end of the year brings a slew of events, dinners, cocktails and lunches for us to attend, and during that period, I don’t think this watch saw the inside of my watch box once as it was in constant use due to the heavy, yet festive, schedule. It does see a drop in usage as we enter the new year, but once the summer weddings start to roll around, it will be back on the wrist with alarming regularity.