About The Watch Awards

The Oracle Time Watch Awards exist to answer one question: which watches of the past twelve months actually mattered to the people who follow them closely? Not to a panel, not to advertisers - to readers.

It runs in two stages. First, pre-selection: anyone can nominate any watch released in the last year, in any style and at any price, with no categories to choose from. The watches nominated most often become the shortlist, and we sort those into ten categories for the second stage.

Then the main vote. One nominee per category, open for a month, with the most-voted watch in each category taking the award. There is no editorial override at any point - if a microbrand outpolls a manufacture, the microbrand wins, and we print it.

Eligibility is deliberately broad. Any watch released or announced in the twelve months to September 2026 qualifies, from a £200 quartz diver to a seven-figure grand complication. Availability matters more than price: pieces that exist as prototypes only tend not to make the shortlist, because readers cannot form a view on something they will never see.

What the awards are not: there are no paid categories, no entry fees for brands, and no way to buy a nomination or a place on the shortlist. Brands cannot submit their own watches. Nothing about a brand's advertising relationship with Oracle Time affects any stage of the process.

Winners are announced on 1st December 2026 and covered in full in the December issue of the magazine, alongside the runners-up and the vote breakdown by category.