Gold Rush At Watches And Wonders 2025: Top 5 Gold Watches From The Event
6 min read
The appeal, enticement and lure of gold is a periodic table doing. That’s why out of the 118 elements that find an abbreviated residence in a tabular array, only gold draws societies’ entice. This attitude towards ‘Au’ is however bizarre, for the element is chemically as uninteresting as it could be. The explanation? It’s chemistry, but not boring. I promise.
In the assortment of all elements, some occur colorless, others are liquids at everyday temperature, many are vapors, while some - they’re just plain poisonous. There are however a select few elements that pose as favorables in ‘use-as-currency’ regards and we’ve conveniently chosen to call them “noble.” Among these, gold stands out for being the least reactive and hence chemically uninteresting. Who knew apathy was precious!
So, after all it’s down to gold’s nobility that society has always chosen to use it as currency. This historic value-establishment with gold has permeated generations and even today, we see gold beyond its warmth as a hedge against inflation and a solid asset category. Not just jeweled ornaments, gold is a hefty feature in watchmaking executions as well. Despite a record rise in its prices (40% surge since Jan 2024), at the latest edition of the Watches and Wonders Geneva, brands fiercely banked on its flamboyance offering a high volume of novelties basking in its eternal brilliance.
Here are the ones that literally shone in abandonment of restraint.
A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus Honeygold
In almost every published wrap-up and recap of Watches and Wonders 2025, the A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus Honeygold has been a recurring highlight. In many ways, it’s emerging as a clear favorite from this year’s event. After five subsequent iterations, following the debut stainless-steel Odysseus of 2019, Lange dresses the benchmark sporty-elegant watch in its proprietary alloy - Honeygold. Now this interesting metal is of principal interest in the Odysseus Honeygold, with the exact half its appellation dedicated to the warm hued wonder.
Pairing the watch is a complementary brown dial with a two-layer construction. The heft of this precious metal wonder is undeniable and among the elements of its chief prestige, its being an aside to the usual Lange recipe of refined understated elegance, makes it a must-have, especially for purist A. Lange & Söhne collectors. With allocations restricted to just 100 pieces, not many will however be destined to savor its visceral delight.
Hermès Cut Le Temps Suspendu
Finding its genesis on the appealing foundation of the Cut, the new Hermès Cut Le Temps Suspendu is many wonders condensed in a wristwatch. The cardinal of all has to be its poetic and philosophical “suspension of time.” At a simple press of the button at 8 o’clock, the hour and minute hands gracefully converge into a V-shape around 12 o’clock, vanishing time as a distraction.
Beyond its serene detachment from the time notion, the Cut Le Temps Suspendu is fiercely gripped by Midas-mania with an all-rose gold construction for its 39mm case as well as the two-link bracelet with polished center links. The contrast from polished to brushed finishing is a consistent feature across the timepiece which gets two options for dial color - opaline silver and sunburst red, with the latter limited to a single “one-shot” production batch.
IWC Ingenieur Automatic 35
For IWC at Watches and Wonders 2025, it is the Ingenieur collection that gets a diverse rendering of aesthetic and mechanical upgrades. It truly becomes an execution of fan-feedback distilled in a compact true-to-vintage size with the new model in 35mm. This simple yet straightforward re-proportioning of the Ingenieur Automatic is exhibited in a trio of iterations, of which the tone-on-tone 18k red gold Ref. IW324903 is of particular interest.
The IWC Ingenieur Automatic 35, despite being the smallest descendant of the iconic Gérald Genta form, retains the chief genetic markers of the true Ingenieur portfolio. In its all-gold execution, the watch pairs a 35mm x 9.4mm red gold case with a gold-toned grid dial and an integrated bracelet in complete tonal accord. The resulting product is a compact, more versatile and vintage-ish timepiece punctuated by a generous infusion of gold.
Piaget Sixtie
Shaped cases are all the craze in the current watchmaking trend. The over-saturated occurrence of a simple round case is somewhat a lead attribute in the emergence of non-round asides. The transition lends a wonderful geometric execution in the Piaget Sixtie - a trapezoidal asymmetrical square honoring a 60’s creation.
The Sixtie, measuring just 29mm x 25.3mm at just 6.5mm thick is a fundamentally feminine timepiece where the choice of pink gold, not to affirm any stereotypical associations, proves to be an exceptionally fitting and stylish expression. This trapeze timepiece features a case where complexity transcends mere geometrics as the bezel occurs in a stepped construction with five delicate steps carving a gentle slope from the crystal to the case flank. The new collection finds a pairing with a new five-link bracelet. In its bold trapeze form, the Piaget Sixtie is a distinct purveyor of the shaped-case renaissance in contemporary haute horlogerie.
Patek Philippe Cubitus 7128
For those finding ease in predicting Patek Philippe’s next moves, the new Cubitus 7128 in 40mm wouldn’t have been a surprise. But I seriously doubt anyone finding credit in that. The new Cubitus 7128/1R is a rose gold novelty for Patek Philippe at Watches and Wonders 2025. Its medium-sized diameter is destined to appeal all wrists and definitely delight those with a leaning towards downsizing. Consider this your just reward for exercising admirable restraint against the urge to own its oversized predecessor. Strategic patience does pay off!
This squared-off Nautilus in rose gold is a heavily borrowed aesthetic with a design that’s lazy and bold at the same time. In the warm hue of rose gold, the baby Cubitus demonstrates an original brutalist form with an in-hype dressing of brown on its dial. This small-sized Cubitus is a giant-sized leap for Patek Philippe in regards to its restraint against curating a one-model definitive catalog. While this departure from the Nautilus 5711 is easy to be creatively dismissed, it signals a deliberate and calculated recalibration of Patek Philippe’s integrated bracelet sports watch aesthetic.
A Fierce Focus On Gold Amid An All-Time High
Watches and Wonders 2025 demonstrated an all-round centering of collection novelties around gold. With its price touching 95,000 inr per 10 grams - a record high, this lean towards what Investopedia considers ‘a barbaric relic with no monetary qualities,’ is a stark disparity from brands trying to bank in on the trend of premiumization as well as the purchasing power of the super-rich.
Here, the touch of Midas is a pointer for the ever-so-omnipresent polarization in the industry and also its trust in gold.
