In mid-January, for the sixth edition of LVMH’s annual “watch week,” the world’s largest luxury goods company brought nine brands—Bulgari, Daniel Roth, Gérald Genta, Hublot, L’Epée 1839, Louis Vuitton, TAG Heuer, Tiffany & Co. and Zenith—to New York City to showcase their 2025 novelties.
The event, which used Tiffany’s Landmark building at the corner of 5th Avenue and 57th Street as its epicenter, put the spotlight on gem-set pieces, high-end finishing details, and chronographs. Below, Gem + Jewel watch editor Victoria Gomelsky reviews seven of the week’s most alluring timepieces:
Bulgari Serpenti Seduttori Automatic
Since 1948, when Bulgari introduced its first Serpenti watch, the snake motif has been practically synonymous with the brand. This year, a new caliber, the small-sized Lady Solotempo BVS100 automatic movement, designed to fit perfectly inside the Serpenti’s ovoid-shaped head, is the center of attention.
Three years in the making, the new “Solotempo” (time-only) caliber—indicating hours, minutes and seconds—measures just 19 mm in diameter and 3.90 mm in thickness yet delivers 50 hours of power reserve. The new Serpenti Seduttori Automatic, a 34mm yellow gold watch featuring a bezel set with 36 round brilliant-cut diamonds, is among a slew of new bracelet models—in white, rose and yellow gold; two-tone gold and steel; and steel-only—equipped with the small but mighty movement. $36,700; bulgari.com
Daniel Roth Extra Plat Souscription
Momentum continues to build behind the dress watch trend thanks to stylish introductions such as Daniel Roth’s new Extra Plat Souscription model, a tribute to the ultra-thin dress watch that the brand’s founder and namesake presented in 1990.
Like the original, the new version is housed in Daniel Roth’s trademark 18k gold double ellipse case, which retains the same measurements (35.5 mm wide by 38.6 mm lengthwise) as the tourbillon model introduced by the brand in 2024. The case of the Extra Plat, however, is thinner than that of the tourbillon’s thanks to its new ultra-thin DR002 movement—plus, it features subtle updates such as gently rounded lugs that have been arched downwards for a better fit.
The 18k gold dial offers a master class in finishing. Comprised of a base and an applied chapter ring, it is distinguished by a clou de Paris guilloche pattern created using antique engine-turning machines owned by La Fabrique du Temps, Louis Vuitton’s timepiece manufacture in Geneva. Each dial is the product of 10 hours of work by a single artisan—all of which helps explain why the Extra Plat Souscription is limited to just 20 pieces. 45,000 CHF (about $49,742); danielroth.com
Gérald Genta Gentissima Oursin Fire Opal
The legendary watch designer Gérald Genta was on a vacation in Corsica in 1994 when he became enchanted by a sea urchin. He promptly began sketching a spiny watch case set with beads to evoke the textured look and feel of the sea creature.
This year, the brand that bears his name introduced a bold take on the “Oursin” model in a 36.5 mm yellow gold case set with 137 fire opal beads and paired with a dial made of bright orange carnelian. “The idea behind this is to have something very warm, like the sun, like fire,” Matthieu Hegi, artistic director of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, tells Gem+Jewel. Mission accomplished! Price on request; geraldgenta.com
Hublot Big Bang Meca-10
The hero of Hublot’s LVMH Watch Week introductions is the new Big Bang Meca-10 model, now available in a more compact 42 mm case in three executions: King Gold, titanium and frosted carbon.
Introduced in 2016, the Meca-10 stood out for its skeletonized manual-wind movement, inspired by Meccano-type toy construction sets. When Hublot’s engineers revisited the model, their challenge was to reduce its size from the original 45 mm without sacrificing its robustness. Equipped with a powerful 10-day power reserve, displayed in its own subdial at 3 o’clock, the new and improved Meca-10 is as bold as the original (especially in Hublot’s proprietary reddish King Gold incarnation), but wears better now that smaller watches are in vogue. $42,700 in gold; $23,000 in titanium; $27,400 in frosted carbon; hublot.com
Louis Vuitton Tambour Convergence
Louis Vuitton’s new Convergence collection, a sub-line of its popular Tambour series, features two stylish new models—one in pink gold featuring a plain gold dial (see it at top) and the other in platinum with a snow-set diamond dial—that display the time via a guichet, French for “via a window” or “via a counter.”
The line’s name nods both to the fleeting nature of that display as well as to the merging of watchmaking expertise that brought the models to fruition—including movement design by La Fabrique du Temps, casemaking by La Fabrique des Boîtiers and rare handcrafts by La Fabrique des Arts. The 37 mm case houses a new in-house automatic movement, Calibre LFT MA01.01, visible through the transparent case back. $33,500 in gold and $60,500 in platinum; louisvuitton.com
TAG Heuer Formula 1 Chronograph
Shortly after the new year, TAG Heuer announced that it had replaced Rolex as Formula 1’s official timekeeper. At watch week, the brand wasted no time in celebrating that accomplishment by introducing five new timepieces in the TAG Heuer Formula 1 collection: four chronographs and a special Formula 1 Chronograph x Oracle Red Bull Racing special edition in honor of the 9-year-old partnership between the two brands.
The pieces in the core collection, like the racing red model in a 44 mm titanium case featured here, are awash in small but meaningful details that evoke the F1 universe—such as the micro-perforations on the aluminum tachymeter bezel, which allude to the brake discs on F1 cars. $4,900; tagheuer.com
Zenith Chronomaster Sport Rainbow
Few timepieces capture the essence of sporty style better than the new Chronomaster Sport Rainbow from Zenith, a 41 mm white gold high-frequency chronograph featuring a rainbow bezel and hour markers set with 50 baguette-cut gemstones: 3.9 carats of multicolored sapphires plus an additional 1 carat of diamonds. $112,100; zenith-watches.com
Top photo: Louis Vuitton Tambour Convergence watch (all images courtesy of brands listed)
