Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The Retrospective of 2025 with our Favourite Videos
With more videos published this year than ever before, narrowing the best of the best becomes a bit of a challenge!
Last year was already our most productive year when it comes to video content, but this year we did it all over again, plus a bit more! We published almost 100 videos and generated close to 6 million views with our channel, which is just amazing. We did tons of video reviews throughout the years, and a huge number of in-depth videos to get you behind the scenes on some of the most amazing watches as best as possible. In retrospect, selecting our favourite ones of 2025 is quite challenging, even though there are some very obvious choices! Here’s our ‘Best Of’ selection, all dedicated to the craft of watchmaking we hold dear to our hearts!
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo Chronograph RD#5, a complete reimagination
Audemars Piguet went back to the drawing board of the chronograph mechanism and came up with an ingenious system to improve on the concept of measuring elapsed time. The Royal Oak Jumo Chronograph RD#5 is the result of 5 years of development and engineering, and it’s quite remarkable what the AP team has come up with. Of course, housed in a classic Royal Oak Jumbo case, the RD#5’s movement uses a system of cams and levers based on the catch-and-release principle of a retrograde indication to drive the chronograph’s kinetic chain. It’s all pretty darn clever, and explained in our in-depth video:
The Schwarz-Etienne manufacture, a true integrated watchmaking gem
While big brands tend to hog all the spotlight, we try to shine it on some of the lesser-known but hugely interesting names of the industry whenever we can. The manufacture of Schwarz-Etienne is such a name, and a true watchmaking gem, doing virtually everything in-house. The brand is even capable of producing its own hairsprings, which is a true rarity in the industry. The movements are constructed in a modular way, so complications and components can be swapped out to create manual or micro-rotor automatic ones, or even include a tourbillon regulator if desired. Check out the full video on this marvel of independent watchmaking below:
Ferdinand Berthoud Naissance d’une montre 3, this year’s absolute best
Few watches made such a lasting impression on us as the Ferdinand Berthoud Naissance d’Une Montre 3. This passion project, backed by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and the Time Æon Foundation, is an absolute masterpiece in traditional watchmaking and took more than 11,000 hours over a six-year period. Literally everything is done by hand, in the most traditional sense of the craft. Some techniques even had to be re-learned to achieve the best possible execution. The design is typical Berthoud, but the Naissance d’Une Montre is much more than “just” a watch. It’s a testament to the craft, aimed to preserve and protect it for generations to come, and for that, we can only express our admiration. Check out the full video on this stellar watch here:
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon, The definitive world’s thinnest
How do you go about creating the world’s thinnest tourbillon watch? We’ve asked ourselves this question many times, and it’s Bulgari who provided us with an answer this year, in the form of the Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon. With a height of just 1.85mm, the Bulgari team has managed to pull off the unthinkable and create a masterpiece of modern watchmaking engineering. Fabrizio Buonomassa Stigliani and Philippe Stark guided us through how this watch came about and the biggest challenges the team had to overcome, in our in-depth video on the Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon, now the world’s thinnest tourbillon watch:
The fascinating world of Minerva, A hidden marvel in the Jura Mountains
Speaking about manufacturers that deserve all the attention they get, Minerva is another one of those often-overlooked gems of traditional watchmaking. Owned by Montblanc, it operates out of its historic Villeret manufacture. Yet despite this ownership, Minerva does most things pretty much on its own, keeping watchmaking traditions alive with beautiful hand-finished movements. Prime examples of Minerva’s unique approach to watchmaking are the 1858 Split-Seconds Chronograph and the 1858 Unveiled Minerva Chronograph. In this in-depth video, we learn more about its history and craftsmanship through Global Managing Director Laurent Lecampe:
The IWC Ingenieur Automatic 42 Black Ceramic, a stealthier take on an icon
Black is slimming, as they say, and in watchmaking, this is proven by IWC’s stealthy Ingenieur Automatic 42 Black Ceramic. Unexpectedly sized up to 42mm over its stainless steel and gold 40mm siblings, the Black Ceramic edition actually looks and wears smaller than it is. It also poses a unique take on the iconic Ingenieur, combining not only Gérald Genta’s design legacy but also the brand’s pioneering spirit in the field of ceramic watchmaking. In this video, we learn more about the what and why behind the Ingenieur Automatic 42 Black Ceramic, as well as the challenges it posed:
Zenith GFJ Calibre 135, the revival of a legendary calibre
Birthdays are to be celebrated, and to honour its 160th anniversary, Zenith decided to bring back the venerable Calibre 135. A remarkable time-only movement from the golden age of observatory chronometry competition, the Calibre 135 deserves all the praise it gets. In an exclusive run of 10 watches, the GFJ Calibre 135 houses restored 135-O movements, which were in production between 1949 and 1962. Housed in platinum and fitted with a dial made by master Kari Voutilainen, the GFJ (for Georges Favre-Jacquot, Zenith’s founder) is a superb blast from the past. In this in-depth video, we explained why this is such a special watch, and even more so, such a legendary movement:
Louis Vuitton Tambour Taiko Spin Time Collection, Revamped and remastered
Since Jean Arnault has taken on the role of head of the watchmaking division for Louis Vuitton, we have seen a dramatic change in the approach to the craft. Using the capabilities of the La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton manufacture to full effect, one by one, all cornerstone collections have been dusted off, polished and revamped. One of the most striking new releases was the Tambour Taiko Spin Time collection. Incorporating the emblematic rotating 12-cube display, the collection comprises the Taiko Spin Time, the Taiko Spin Time Air, the Taiko Spin Time Antipode (the worldtimer, which is brilliant!) and the Taiko Spin Time Flying Tourbillon. Our editor, Brice, explained all about the history of the Spin Time concept, as well as the variations within the collections this detailed video:
