The Time+Tide Team picks their favourite summer watch from 2025’s haul of hot releases
Time+TideSeasonal watch novelties aren’t anything new, but 2025 has seen an absolute bumper crop of summer watch releases, with watchmakers at every price point trying to out-compete each other with colourful, sporty, warm-weather-ready pieces during these summer months in the Northern Hemisphere. As an Australian (albeit increasingly global) publication, it’s funny seeing all these summer watches drop whilst we’re shivering in our winter… Or maybe we’re just getting a horological head start on the Southern Hemisphere’s summer. We asked the Time+Tide writing team around the globe to pick their favourite 2025 summer watches – here’s what we all chose.
Tom’s pick: IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 TOP GUN Lake Tahoe
It’s one of the best summer watches of the year, yet it’s flown so far under the radar when it dropped, you’d have thought it was in camouflage ceramic! The way IWC launched this watch was cool in itself. Released at Watches and Wonders a few months ago, it was nonchalantly added to the Pilot’s Watch line-up with no fanfare or celebration; it just appeared out of nowhere like an effortlessly cool guy at a party. This Lake Tahoe three-hander isn’t the most revolutionary piece out there, but it doesn’t need to be. In that bright white ceramic, it looks damn cool, and paired with a white rubber strap, it suits pretty much any summer outfit going, especially if you’re rocking a decent sun tan.
The already punchy black dial stands out even more on this watch, with the hands and hour markers matching the monochromatic look. In 41mm, it balances wrist presence with being loud and fun, and is another great example of IWC not taking things too seriously (as is their new sky blue Miramar ceramic). As a package, I think it’s the perfect summer combo.
Pietro’s pick: Tudor Black Bay 54 Lagoon Blue
Chances are you won’t be needing to dress as formally during the summer holidays as during the working part of the year, and this should be reflected by your timepiece as well. But summer is also the time when beach (or mountain) visits are more common, and you need a robust watch able to withstand that. The latest iteration of the Black Bay 54 perfectly brings together these two aspects, giving an exciting twist to an already beloved model.
Sure, the lagoon blue dial is not that surprising to see, given recent releases of the Maison in pink and light blue, but compared to those chronograph models that had a similar colour treatment, it’s not just a new dial colour. There is a new sand-like texture that adds to the summer charm, a fully polished steel bezel that drifts away to the vintage inspiration and a 5-link bracelet for a less understated look compared to the original model from 2023. Both the shiny polished bezel and the centre links add to the wrist presence and completely transform the feeling of the watch, making it a perfect companion for a more tanned wrist. After all, if a watch can’t sparkle during the summer, when is the right time to do so?
Russell’s pick: Baltic Hermétique Summer
For me, summer is all about being carefree, relaxing, and being a bit more expressive – and nothing released this year embodies those qualities more than the latest quartet of releases from Baltic, the Hermétique Summer collection. Yes, they may just be four new dial colours of a watch we already know and love here at Time+Tide, but the use of such bright shades and the way they all vibrantly clash together just screams summer to me.
Am I one for wearing bright colours, even during the summer? No. But I think that adding a splash here and there with your watch or a pair of trainers can add that bright twist that summer should be all about. I’m based in London, and so when winter hits, it’s all very dark, cold, and depressing, so I want a summer watch that is going to allow me to make the most of the three days of proper sun we get. I also want to be safe to wear when walking around central London: I would even feel safe wearing one of these after buying it at our London Discovery Studio. But enough shameless plugs, these watches add so much fun to your summer without the worry of wearing a mortgage on your wrist, and the last thing I want to do when the sun is out is worry.
Alex’s pick: H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Small Seconds Concept Pop
Summer in Australia is all about living vibrantly and spending more time at the beach than at home. Moser’s new Endeavour Small Seconds Concept Pop would be my choice for a new age classic take on the stone dial trend that is fit for warm weather vibes. Utilising bright, crystallic turquoise for the dial and a blood-orange coral small seconds, the Concept Pop series stands out for its playful palette – but with no logo and no numerals, you can stay under the radar while being under the sun. Its HMC 202 movement is beautiful, too: taking the watch off to check out the display caseback will reveal partially skeletonised bridges, the Moser signature double stripes, an 18K solid gold rotor and a blinding watch tan in the shape of the 38mm case.
I’m the type to dip a toe in the Pacific rather than get abused by the current, so the 30m of water resistance in the Concept suits me just fine and with only 28 pieces made of each of this collection, I’ll get to bask in exclusivity as well as the white wash. I know Moser has also released the Pioneer Spiced Aqua trilogy, which is very explicitly summer-focused, but I’d still be picking this stone-dialled Endeavour once summer comes around Down Under.
Jamie’s pick: Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tech 45mm
I could have just as easily picked Omega’s new orange-tinted take on the Seamaster Diver 300M for my vote, as this new non-limited-edition version of Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms Tech follows exactly the same playbook: take a black-dialled dive watch, a format of watch that inherently lends itself to summer wearing, and make it a bit tropical with orange highlights and strap options. Both watches demonstrate that you can radically change the vibe of a watch with small but meaningful changes, like changing the strap. However, I think Blancpain’s summer tweak is the more interesting of this Swatch Group pair, as it goes beyond being just another colourway: it’s Blancpain’s take on a fashion watch.
Don’t believe me? All of Blancpain’s marketing material for this watch has revolved around it being a style statement – “depth-tested, street-approved, lifestyle-ready” – emphasising the Fifty Fathoms Tech’s positioning as a sportier 21st-century take on the classic Fifty Fathoms formula. It’s also the fact that it has a white rubber strap option alongside the orange and black. That sheer white strap, combined with the FF Tech’s glossy “Absolute Black” dial and orange highlights? It’s a real statement, as is the orange. And it’s a statement we’re not used to seeing from the likes of Blancpain, even in their ceramic watches. It’s a unique blend of proper tool watch toughness and aesthetic playfulness that really speaks to me… It’s just such an appealing design object.
Zach’s pick: Hublot Big Bang Unico Summer 2025
I hate that picking a Hublot is somehow innately a hot take or contentious shout-out, but the brand is irrefutably in an excellent position to produce marquee novelties with a summer theme. With expertise in material innovation and the colouring of such materials in particular, Hublot can curate a summer look in its cases that no other brand is able to realise. I got a sneak peek at the 42mm Big Bang Unico Summer 2025 at Watches and Wonders, though it was not released at the show, and I was blown away by Hublot’s flex of its mastery of coloured ceramic. I get that having a borderline Everlasting Gobstopper straight out of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on your wrist is not to everyone’s tastes, but I think we have to appreciate that the brand can fabricate all this flavour in one watch.
Furthermore, it is not just the fact that the brand can execute sky blue, orange, and white ceramic all in one watch, but the manner in which it can finish the ceramic. The Hublot Big Bang Unico Ceramic Orange made headlines as the first watch with an orange ceramic case, but the case was executed with more typical satin brushed and polished surfaces. Here, Hublot has performed a microblasted finish to the ceramic, which I suspect is incredibly hard to realise. It is a bit toyish in look, but playful, childlike expression pairs well with summer vibes. Love it, hate it, it is undeniably a summertime conversation starter on the wrist. Price: US$31,300 (limited to 100 pieces)
Borna’s pick: Casio G-Shock x Crocs Echo Wave
Keep your ceramic chronos and deep divers: what I really need this summer is a sartorial upgrade. As the weather heats up, that generally means lighter fabrics like linen, and having to give up layering, which I thoroughly enjoy during the winter. Thanks to Crocs and Casio, now I can combine what’s probably the best pound-for-pound value watch with a vast improvement in personal style.
Not only does this avant-garde Croc design come with a CasiOak pouch, but they’re also made out of a glow-in-the-dark material. That means that even if the little light on your CasiOak goes out, you can graciously swing your leg over and illuminate the dial. As for wearing the watch on your ankle, I can think of a couple of potentially useful scenarios, but I’ll let your own imagination run wild here. I’ll be leaving these puppies in sports mode, thank you very much.
Honourable mention: Zenith x Time+Tide Defy Skyline Skeleton White Surfer Ceramic
Yeah, yeah, you probably saw this coming – we had to include this one as an honourable mention, because of course this is one of our favourite summer watches! We designed the ‘White Surfer’ to be a summer watch; indeed, to be the ultimate summer style statement. The acres of refreshing white ceramic, the refreshing gradient blue openworked dial, the option of a rubber strap and surf-ready water-resistance… It’s been really cool seeing White Surfer owners share photos and videos of them enjoying their new purchase by the beach or with a summer cocktail in hand. This is a watch that just makes you want to feel the sea breeze and sun on your skin.