The Best Chronograph Watches of 2025

More a complication than a category or style of watch per se, the chronograph still ranks high in brands’ portfolios. As the end of the year is fast approaching, it’s time for the MONOCHROME team to elect its favourite watches of 2025, and that includes the best chronographs we’ve seen over the year. Plenty of them, of course, in all possible price ranges or styles. From one of the most appealing vintage-inspired models, to the most innovative take we’ve seen on the complication in years, to a couple of timeless classics, here are what we believe are the best chronograph watches of 2025. 

Angelus Chronographe Télémètre

When it comes to finding the near-perfect vintage-inspired, slim, compact and mechanically grounded chronograph, the Angelus Chronographe Télémètre is king. In a world where most chronograph watches measure well above 40mm in diameter and 13mm in thickness, Angelus delivers historically relevant proportions of 37mm and only 9.25mm in thickness. And then come the looks, with a beautiful sectorized dial available in salmon and taupe, with a monopusher layout and uncompromised elegance and vintage flair. Turn the watch around, and you’re treated to a movement that is slim, beautifully decorated, highly traditional in conception, and with a pedigree that’s enough to justify adding it to your collection (you can read about the historical part here).

For more details about the Angelus Chronographe Télémètre, please consult our hands-on article here.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo Chronograph RD#5

You can’t talk about the best chronographs of 2025 without including the Audemars Piguet RD#5. First of all, we’re looking at the first-ever Royal Jumbo with a chronograph function. But a Jumbo is a very specific concept, with strictly defined proportions, and to combine it with a chronograph (and an automatic winding and a flying tourbillon) was not a walk in the park. So here we have the RD#5, the last of AP’s R&D series, and a movement that redefines the chronograph interface entirely. The RD#5 inaugurates a new clutch mechanism, pushers as smooth as a click on a smartphone, brand-new kinetics for the chronograph functions, and a function selector. And all of that is housed in a watch that’s 39mm x 8.1mm, the same as a classic Royal Oak Jumbo Extra-Thin 16202ST, a far simpler time-and-date watch. This is AP at its best!

For all the technical details about the Royal Oak Jumbo Chronograph RD#5, you can consult our in-depth article and video here.

Breguet Type XX Chronograph 2075

Possibly the quintessential French pilot’s watch, the Type XX was relaunched in 2023, and the result sparked debate: 42mm, modern with a date window and a high-tech automatic movement. Not exactly what collectors expected. But Breguet has a new CEO and jumped on the 250th anniversary celebrations to release a pair of stunning watches, the Type XX Chronograph 2075. For now, special editions in gold (steel models for the permanent collection should arrive in the future), these watches return to the original design and proportions of the 1950s Type XX, with a no-date dial and a hand-wound movement. The result is truly stunning in the metal and on the wrist, especially the black version below, which couldn’t be more historically accurate.

For more details about the Breguet Type XX Chronograph 2075, please check out our hands-on article with video here.

Montblanc 1858 Split Second Chronograph Burgundy

Some watches should be worn reversed… And this is often the case with watches made by Montblanc featuring a historic Minerva movement. And while the reverse concept actually exists – check the Unveiled Minerva Chronograph – we decided to elect another watch for this best of, the 1858 Split Second with a gorgeous burgundy dial. And this watch is equally appealing on both sides. As is often the case with Minerva-powered watches, we’re looking at a rather sizeable model measuring 44mm. But this steel and white gold watch made our list thanks to the stunning hand-wound, rattrapante 38mm movement based on Minerva pocket watch calibres developed in the 1930s. Intricate and exceptionally finished, the movement itself justifies getting one of these watches. And the burgundy dial is certainly attractive too.

To discover more about the Montblanc 1858 Split Second Chronograph, check out our hands-on article here.

TAG Heuer Monaco Flyback Chronograph TH-Carbonspring

For the last watch in this selection, we’re moving from the past to the future, with the Monaco Flyback Chronograph TH-Carbonspring. And here, it’s not really about the watch, even though this blacked-out, full-carbon take on the Monaco certainly has arguments. What matters is what beats inside the watch, an automatic, in-house movement equipped with a rather revolutionary solution, the TH-Carbonspring technology. Created as an alternative to the patent-protected silicon hairspring, TAG Heuer’s carbon hairspring is finally seeing production. Produced in the hyper-controlled environment of a laboratory, it’s all about science applied to watchmaking, offering high magnetic resistance, strong shock resistance (up to 5,000Gs), and a lower mass that reduces inertia and improves isochronism. An impressive moment for the brand, which befits the TAG part of its name.

For all the details about the TH-Carbonspring technology and the Carbon Monaco, check out our in-depth article here.