The Wind Up – Watch News #329

Welcome back to The Wind Up, our weekly series highlighting the newest watches of the past seven days. We are nearing the halfway point of 2025 and while much of the world’s most coveted timepieces have already been revealed (thanks to Watches & Wonders), there are still a bevy of great new timepieces hitting the market every week. Make no mistake, the watch showcase may be over, but the world’s biggest brands are back on the design block, unveiling a string of incredible haute horology pieces, daily drivers and unique novelties.

From dive watches and sports timepieces to the latest in classy dress watches and grand complications, the last few weeks have offered no shortage of stand-out announcements. What’s more, it isn’t over yet. This week, the world’s biggest watchmakers—and a few budding independents—kept the good vibes rolling. In this latest instalment, we’ll be featuring some of the coolest new watches, including pieces from the likes of Blancpain, Tudor and Seiko. Happy reading, fellas, and I hope you have a great week ahead.

Tudor Black Bay 54 Lagoon Blue

• Brand: Tudor
• Model: Black Bay 54 Lagoon Blue
• Reference: Ref. 79000-0001
• Diameter: 37mm
• Thickness: 11.24mm
• Material: Stainless steel
• Movement: Calibre MT5400
• Power Reserve: 70 hours
• Water Resistance: 200 metres
• Price: AUD$6,300

The Black Bay 54 collection is among Tudor’s best-loved and most successful, and to capitalise on this, the Swiss watchmaker has dipped into the summer playbook. Tudor unveiled a new Black Bay 54 ‘Lagoon Blue’, which features a grainy textured blue dial and a mirror-polished steel bezel. According to the brand, this timepiece is designed to exude the kind of shimmering summer vibes you expect during the warmer months and it’s hard to disagree. As our own Jacob Osborn wrote upon its release, the colour pops, to say the least, and instantly makes good on the visual motif of sea, sun, and relaxation.

Outside of the obvious colour and dial design choices, Tudor has wisely fitted this timepiece with the “five-link” bracelet, giving it a far more interesting and ergonomic feel. Of course, as part of the Black Bay 54 family, “Lagoon Blue” measures a compact 37mm in diameter and runs on Manufacture Calibre MT5400 with a silicon balance spring. It’s also water resistant to 200 metres, should you decide to take one for a plunge.

I’ve always loved the Black Bay Steel, and in the Black Bay 54 Lagoon Blue it seems Tudor is revisiting its past hits. The series at large reimagines the brand’s very first dive watch from 1954 through a contemporary lens, drawing a direct line to the past without coming off as overly retro. On the strength of the exemplary dial colour alone, there’s no mistaking this watch for anything but a modern creation.

Seiko Prospex JAWS 50th Anniversary Limited Edition

• Brand: Seiko
• Model: Prospex JAWS 50th Anniversary Limited Edition
• Reference: Ref. SRPL81
• Diameter: 45mm
• Thickness: 13.20mm
• Material: Stainless steel
• Movement: Calibre 4R36
• Power Reserve: 41 hours
• Water Resistance: 200 metres
• Price: AUD$1,200 (Limited to 5,000 pieces)

To mark 50 years since Steven Spielberg’s remarkable summer blockbuster Jaws was released, Japanese watch producer Seiko has unveiled a stunning new limited edition. The Ref. SRPL81 Prospex model takes inspiration directly from Roger Kastel’s original movie poster, most notably in the dial design.

Here, you’ll find a unique ocean-themed pattern, complete with a gradation of colours aimed at expressing the surface of the sea. Peer a little closer and you may spot the eponymous shark lurking in the background, appearing at different angles depending on the light, while the Jaws title logo appears at the 6 oʼclock position.

On the caseback, Seiko has continued the Jaws theme, adorning the limited edition timepiece with the image of the Orca, the boat made famous by the film, with a shark’s dorsal fin piercing the waterʼs surface from below. The words “JAWS 50th / LIMITED EDITION” and the serial number are also marked. For movie buffs, the timepiece also arrives in a special box with the 50th anniversary logo of the film. Even the cushion to which the watch is secured is printed with a graphic from the film, making this a cool, very different yet very capable timepiece that is a mix of Hollywood nostalgia and quality watchmaking.

TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph x Festival of Speed

• Brand: TAG Heuer
• Model: Carrera Chronograph x Festival of Speed
• Reference: Ref. CBN2010-NS
• Diameter: 42mm
• Thickness: 14.5mm
• Movement: Calibre TH20-00
• Power Reserve: 80 hours
• Water-Resistance: 100 metres
• Price: 6,450 GBP

You may have already seen TAG Heuer getting well and truly amongst the Formula 1 action this year, but the Swiss luxury brand’s connection to motorsports runs even deeper than that. This year, the watchmaker has extended its support of motoring ingenuity across a multitude of different categories, including the Porsche Carrera Cup and the Indy 500. This week, the brand confirmed it would be returning to another grandstanding event, reprising its role as the official timing partner of the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The theme of the 2025 event will be “The Winning Formula – Champions and Challengers” and will serve as a succession showcase of the 75th anniversary of Formula 1. The event centres around the hillclimb, a timed competition that covers 1.88 kilometres over an elevation of nearly 100 metres, with an average gradient of close to five per cent. It is a remarkable moment of the motorsports calendar and one that Antoine Pin, CEO of TAG Heuer, couldn’t pass up in 2025.

“Motorsport is not just about the competition, it is a cultural force, just like TAG Heuer, and we are honoured to return as Timing Partner at the Goodwood Festival of Speed,” Pin said. “Celebrating the artist expression of the automotive universe and those who shape it, while providing a moment to look to the future of innovation in the industry, we could think of no better event to partner with and share our passion for these topics.”

Never one to pass up an opportunity to celebrate, TAG Heuer marked the announcement with a stunning new take on its much-loved Carrera timepiece. The latest Carrera Chronograph x Festival of Speed model pays homage to the iconic event through the use of British racing green on the dial, which the brand explains was inspired by the eponymous Goodwood Green and sophisticated hobnail texture.

Inside, the limited edition 42mm release is powered by the Calibre TH20-00 movement, which offers supreme accuracy and 80 hours of power reserve. Most importantly, however, this watch isn’t for everyone. TAG Heuer has confirmed that the watch will be a limited edition of 100 pieces that will initially be offered to members of the Goodwood Road Racing Club before going on general sale.

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Automatique 38mm

• Brand: Blancpain
• Model: Fifty Fathoms Automatique
• Reference: Ref. 5007-3644A-NABA / Ref. 5007-3644A-B52 / Ref. 5007-12B44R-NAFA / Ref. 5007-12B44R-98S
• Material: 18ct Red Gold (Smoky Black) / 18ct Red Gold (Smoky Black) / Titanium Grade 23 (Petal Pink) / Titanium Grade 23 (Petal Pink)
• Diameter: 38.2mm
• Thickness: 12mm
• Movement: Calibre 1153 self-winding
• Power Reserve: 100 hours
• Water-Resistance: 300 metres
• Price: AUD$47,500 / AUD$28,200

Speaking of iconic releases, the Fifty Fathoms remains one of the most significant timepieces ever produced and with its latest update, Blancpain extends its arm to a new consumer. The latest announcement sees Blancpain introduce two super cool variations of its vintage-inspired Fifty Fathoms Automatique in 38mm. The two models offer the best of both worlds from Blancpain, that is wonderful build quality and now some genuine wearability. The first model boasts a titanium case with a pink aesthetic, and the second is clad in red gold and features a black look.

Importantly, the range extension marks the first time a 38mm case has featured in the iconic line. Blacnpain has noted that this release is geared towards a female audience, describing it as a ‘feminine wave of the legend’, but I have to say, these new models do play in the sweet spot for wearability. The 38mm case hasn’t exactly been reduced, either, with Blancpain explaining that the smaller size comes by way of a ‘complete rework with redesigned and balanced, harmonious proportions’.

The pink model has a mother-of-pearl pink dégradé dial and comes on a matching-colour NATO, a titanium bracelet. The gold model has a mother-of-pearl black dégradé dial and comes on either a tropic or NATO strap. Both models are powered by Blancpain’s calibre 1153, with a 100-hour power reserve and a silicon balance spring. These new Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Automatique 38mm models are supremely cool, classic by design and open the door to smaller-wristed collectors. 

Kollokium Projekt 01 Variant F

• Brand: Kollokium
• Model: Projekt 01 Variant F
• Diameter: 40mm
• Thickness: 11.95mm
• Material: Stainless steel
• Water Resistance: 50 metres
• Movement: Calibre La Joux-Perret G101
• Power Reserve: 68 hours
• Price: CHF3666.66 (Limited to 399 pieces)

Kollokium has released its latest piece, the Projekt 01 Variant F. Founded in 2020 by Manuel Emch, Barth Nussbaumer, and Amr Sindi, Kollokium has since released six distinct models. The Projekt 01 Variant F boasts a similar aesthetic and size to Kollokium’s past releases and is just about as cool as an avant-garde project gets.

The dial of the Projekt 01 Variant F boasts 488 hand-applied pin elements in six different sizes, all of which are luminous. The effect is truly something completely out of this world and unlike anything I’ve seen. While its rather obscure look might be too much for some to handle, I think that Kollokium has definitely hit that proverbial nail on its head with the Projekt 01 Variant F.