2025 has had some of the most unexpected wristwatch trends in a while with the dominance of vintage inspired proportions, stone dials and jump hour complications standing out as major factors in watchmaking across the past 12 months. While it’s all but impossible to predict that a specific complication or design will revolutionise the industry, there are a handful of trends that we expect to continue or get stronger in 2026. So without further ado, here are some of our top watch trends to look out for in 2026.
Accessible Haute Horology
Christopher Ward C12 The Loco with open balance, £3,795
Haute horology, aka high watchmaking, is typically seen as the zenith of the watchmaking craft featuring the most complex and intense watch complications and mechanisms. Tourbillons, perpetual calendars, minute repeaters, unusual movement architecture, all these and more demonstrate extreme watchmaking skill. As such, they have traditionally been exclusive to the high-end ateliers and maisons producing watches that are not realistically affordable by the vast majority of collectors.
However, across 2025 we have started to see the ceiling of haute horology come down – Grandeur’s Lumillion features a luminescent tourbillon at £1,575, Frederique Constant’s Classic Perpetual Calendar brings a Swiss-made perpetual calendar to sub-£10k at £8,695. The Christopher Ward C12 Loco features an open balance at £3,795. I fully expect watch brands to continue exploring new accessible route to haute horology in 2026, especially with brands like Behrens and BA111OD really pushing for high quality independent design at reasonable prices.
Colourful Dials
Seiko 5 Sports x The Pink Panther Limited Edition with colourful pink dial
As was highlighted by our recent feature on Watchfinder & Co.’s global report, colourful watches are likely here to stay. While black and white will likely continue to be the single most popular colours, their overall share of the market is steadily declining as more diverse colours come to the fore on people’s wrists. Tudor’s Blue Flamingo, Rolex’s pistachio Oyster Perpetual, the Seiko 5 Sports x Pink Panther, even the majority of stone dial watches – the most talked about watches from across 2025 have all been bright and colourful.
I don’t see any reason for the expansion of colourful dials to slow down in 2026. A lot of watches are already in a handful options that normally include black, white and blue at a minimum, so it won’t take much for that to start encompassing green, red, pink and other popular colours.
Return of the Large Watch
Norqain Wild One, 42mm
This is the first trend I’m flagging for 2026 that runs against what the prevalent trend was in 2025. Across the past 24 months really, we’ve seen smaller, vintage-inspired proportions become popular with slim 38mm or even 36mm watches being the norm. Recently, the standout is the downsized Tudor Ranger 36. However, the number of watches being downsized has slowed down dramatically in 2025 compared to 2024 where there were smaller watches being released all the time, such as Christopher Ward The Twelve Ti 36 and King Seiko KSK 36.
In 2026 I could easily see watch sizes creep back up as 40mm starts to feel like the standard sizing already across tool and dress watches. When it comes to sport watches specifically, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a return to the 41mm, 42mm or even larger sizes that were popular in the 2000s. Panerai stepping back into the limelight with their 44mm Luminor Marina, sports watches like the Norqain Wild One at 42mm. Trends being circular in nature is not a new concept.
Improvements in Sustainability
Detrash Cali Melting Ice Cap Blue uses recycled stainless steel
A few years ago it was a major story whenever a brand introduced a new production method to increase sustainability. I remember specifically Panerai’s Submersible eLAB-ID, which was made from 98.6% recycled material. Now, it’s much more common to find a tech spec for any watch that you might come across to read recycled steel or recycled titanium for its material. Similarly, recycled straps are much more prevalent with names like #tide earning recognition among the dedicated collecting community.
The notion of quiet sustainability I think is an important one, where being sustainable and responsible in the creation of watches and luxury goods becomes the de facto mode of operation rather than something exceptional. Perhaps it’s more of a wish than a trend but I hope to see the words ‘recycled’, ‘sustainable’ and ‘ethical’ continue to pop up in tech specs as they become standardised. At the same time, more large scale projects in the area of sustainability, such as ID Genève’s solar furnace would be exciting.
