Watches I Can't Stop Thinking About - My 2026 Picks (So Far)

Hello watch lovers! Well it's been a very busy year for watches already so I thought it might be nice to catch up on what's been happening and I'll be talking about some of the biggest watch releases and also throwing in a few of my favorites that you might have missed. So let's get started with the Grand Seiko Ushio Diver Spring Drive UFA. It's a high performance dive watch from the Evolution 9 collection that's packing Grand Seiko's advanced spring drive technology. That's the caliber 9RB1 movement and it carries the UFA designation for ultra fine accuracy. According to Grand Seiko the movement achieves an annual accuracy rate of plus minus 20 seconds making it one of the most accurate mainspring powered wristwatch movements available. It comes in either blue or green dials with the Ushio texture that's inspired by the tides surrounding Japan with the blue or green gradient dials evoking the beauty of ocean waters and featuring the Evolution 9 style indexes and sharply faceted hands. They come in 40.8 millimeter cases of high intensity titanium and ceramic with a unidirectional rotating bezel screw down crown and 300 meters of water resistance. Inside is the aforementioned spring drive movement the new caliber 9RB1 with a 72 hour power reserve that's hand assembled at the Shinshu watch studio in Japan. The Ushio Diver is scheduled for release in June priced £12,400. This is very exciting stuff from Grand Seiko and I'm already looking forward to more UFA spring drive based excitement from them in the future. Next we have the Jaeger LeCoultre Master Hybris Inventiva Gyro Torbjorn Astratosphere demonstrating advanced watchmaking that's just on another level. This model marks the start of a new collection from the brand alongside the Hybris Mechanica and Hybris Artistica lines the Hybris Inventiva focuses on a single groundbreaking complication designed to push the boundaries of watchmaking innovation and the main attraction here is the patent pending triple axis gyro torbjorn consisting of three titanium cages that rotate on different axes allowing the mechanism to cover 98% of all possible positions in order to counter the effects of gravity for increased accuracy. The movement also uses a cylindrical balance spring and ceramic ball bearings to improve isochronism whatever that is and reduce friction. The triple axis torbjorn alone contains 189 components but it only weighs just 0.783 grams. Just to put that in perspective that weighs roughly the same as about two fat ladybugs. The watch also showcases JLC's flair for artistic finishing with the caliber 178 decorated using 16 different finishing techniques including guilloche, enamelling, lacquering, beveling and cote de geneve striping. Meanwhile the front movement plates are in 18 carat white gold and feature sunray guilloche beneath translucent blue enamel with opened work bridges filled with blue lacquer. All this is housed in a 42 millimeter platinum case and comes with an admirable 50 meters of water resistance. This watch is produced as a limited edition of 20 pieces price upon request. Next we have a supremely cool luxury sports watch this is the Vacheron Constantin Overseas Torbjorn. It's a Torbjorn watch with the sleek and stylish design of the Overseas made entirely from lightweight grade 5 titanium. The watch features a 42.5 millimeter case with a thickness of 10.39 millimeters and the dial is finished in a deep red sunburst satin lacquer with a velvet finished minute track. It includes 18 carat white gold hands and hour markers while the small seconds display is integrated directly into the Torbjorn. Also the Torbjorn is housed within a cage resembling a Maltese cross, the emblem of the brand. And that's all part of the self-winding caliber 2160 that comes equipped with a peripheral oscillating weight in a 22 carat yellow gold allowing for an unobstructed view of the movement through the sapphire case back. The watch comes supplied with a grade 5 titanium bracelet alongside two additional rubber straps in white and burgundy so that you can dress it up from smart to really smart if needed price upon request. This is the R Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Torbjorn Perpetual Calendar Lumen. Another mega watch this one has a Torbjorn Perpetual Calendar moon phase display and Lange's signature outsized date and also features a semi-transparent black sapphire dial design revealing the movement as well as the displays which have all been given the lumen treatment which gives the watch an ambient glow when the lights go out. Now there's no dial side view of the stop seconds Torbjorn but it can be seen through the exhibition case back which displays the rest of the manufacture caliber L2251 which is a stunning movement comprising of 685 parts an 18 carat white gold winding rotor edged with platinum and hand engravings of tiny stars and offering a 50 hour power reserve. It's just pure Lange. The case measures 41.9 millimeters in diameter and 13 millimeters thick and it's made from 950 platinum. This is impeccable watchmaking artistry and contemporary design together in one hell of an impressive package. It's just too good so only 50 pieces have been produced. Price upon request. Here's a new release from Audemars Piguet that isn't plastic and overhyped and that I didn't immediately forget about. This is the Audemars Piguet Neo frame jumping hour. Now gather around my sweet watch enjoyers because jumping hour complications are having a moment. Now the jump hour is a historic complication that's been around for ages where instead of using traditional hands the hours are displayed in a window and the numerals jump every 60 minutes and this one from AP draws inspiration from the brand's jumping hour watches from the 1920s and 30s and here time is displayed with dual apertures where the jumping hour is paired with a rotating minute display. This is the first model in Audemars Piguet's new Neo frame collection and the watch combines streamlined design and art deco inspired elements. It comes in a rectangular case of pink gold that features gadroons, aerodynamic lugs and a black sapphire dial with gold toned apertures. So much classical and elegantly on offer here and it will cost you around £56,000. Right time to move away from fantasy watches and get back down to earth for a minute. Quite literally because here we have some watches that you can wear outside in the fields and the doit. Here we have some new Seiko 5 sports field watches. So there's a few variations each featuring a bi-directional rotating bezel with compass indications. There's two in 41 millimetre stainless steel cases with dials in fatigue green and coyote brown that both come with a durable khaki nylon strap made from cordura which is hard wearing and gives off that classic military vibe. The dials are sunburst and feature all the arabic numbers and these are powered by Seiko's 4R36 automatic movement with a 41 hour power reserve along with day-date functionality and 100 metre water resistance. These ones cost £340. There's also a couple of more contemporary designs that feature steel bezels and bracelets with black or white dials. Also in 41 millimetres they boast all the same performance and reliability but with a more cleaner modern look and these ones are £360. Then Seiko also delivers a cheeky GMT model too. This is the Seiko 5 sports over white field GMT for a rugged military style travel watch type deal. It features a crisp bright white dial with a grainy texture and raised numerals and that's paired with a brushed silver coloured 24 hour bezel and a bold orange GMT hand for tracking a second time zone. This one uses Seiko's automatic calibre 4R34 movement and is visible through a see-through case back as well. You get 100 metres of water resistance from the 39.4 millimetre diameter stainless steel case and it comes on a five link steel bracelet. This is a sweet looking versatile sports watch with all the goodness of a Seiko 5. This one costs £410. Right that's enough time spent down to earth now let's go into space with this the Baltic and Space One Second Mejour. A collaboration watch between Baltic and Space One. A partnership that grew out of the friendships formed among the French watchmakers. The Second Mejour combines vintage inspired watchmaking with a futuristic approach to telling the time where instead of traditional hands it uses sapphire discs with a jumping hour display at 12 o'clock and the minutes display at six o'clock and then there's a large central second hands that sweeps across the dial. The sapphire discs while cool and futuristic looking also allow view of the jumping hour mechanism with the central control wheel star wheel and jumper spring which can all be seen in action advancing the hour display instantly every 60 minutes. The dial itself is cut from a single piece of Mejour also known as German silver but this is a French watch so Mejour. Which not only serves as a structural component but also has a warm golden hue which is accented by the visible gears and the tan Alcatara strap. It comes in a stainless steel case and is available in two different dial finishes brushed or charbonnay. This one is available for pre-order for 3,500 euros. Next we have two new take on me models from G-Shock in a special collaboration with artist Joshua Vidas and in what seems to be a continuing artistic theme for G-Shock recently following on from the manga and origami editions. We now have these two models in the artist's signature black and white comic book style aesthetic in either the classic square DW 5600 design or the big boy DW 6900. The hand-drawn design is applied across the entire watch including the dial bezel and band for a high contrast monochromatic borderlands look. The artist's signature traffic cone motif is also hidden on the dial and only visible when the backlight is activated. Both models of course come with all the standard G-Shock durability features and functionality and these are two more really cool G-Shocks to add to your collection. These ones cost £139. Next we have the new Girard Perregaux Laureato chronograph. This is a 42mm luxury chocograph with a sporty style contrasting sportiness and refinement and everyday comfort with high-end finishing. This model features a two-tone construction with a steel case paired with a pink gold bezel crown and pushers. The dial consists of three sub-dial counters, a date function and a chocolate hobnob I mean hobnail texture and powering the watch is the in-house automatic calibre GP03300 chronograph movement which comes with smooth pusher action, accurate timekeeping and enhanced finishing techniques such as chamfering and straight graining. It's also water resistant to 100m. This Laureato chronograph is a classy integrated sports watch that's both casual and elegant and this one costs £21,600. And then finally we have this recent limited edition from Nevada Genshin. This is the Nevada Genshin Antarctic Erotic collection and this is a reinterpretation of the brand's classic Antarctic watch. This is a serious tool watch that builds on the heritage of the original Antarctic model which is tied to Nevada Genshin's mid-century history of expedition watches inspired by Antarctic exploration. It features an understated dial in six variations and comes in a 38mm stainless steel case, 100m of water resistance and is powered by a modified hand-wound Soprod P054 movement. And oh yeah there's a mechanical animation on the case back activated by winding the crown that depicts two penguins having a special cuddle. Well there you go that wraps up this catch-up on some of the best watches of the year so far and if you want to check out more amazing watches then why not head over to watchfinder.com and find your next pre-owned luxury watch. Check it out and I'll catch you next time. Goodbye!