April is always a lovely time in the world of watches, and largely due to the fact that Watches and Wonders, the largest watch show of its kind, brings about new releases from all of our favorite watch brands.
There are countless amazing articles and stories to read about this year’s show, and my attempts at chronicling the entire show would be futile at best, much less of the same calibre as the amazing journalism that exists in our industry.
I would, however, love to speak to a few of the watches that caught our eye. And you’ll notice there might be a theme.
For a quick note, it’s worth mentioning that Watches and Wonders is THE watch event of the year for many folks and is the talk of the industry during its show season. It offers a tremendous chance access to all of the brands you know and love, check out their new releases, and get some wrist time with the new releases.
I find these kinds of events to be rather exciting and I’m only about 3% jealous that I am not there. 2026 isn’t far off and we just might have to make it out for that one! And candidly it’s not even fully about the watches themselves, but rather the community and camaraderie that an event like this represents. It is no secret that there are a litany of outstanding questions regarding tariffs, their impact, timeline, etc. I don’t have the answers to any of them, but I know for a fact that it was the talk of the week behind the scenes for any brand, collector, reporter, and anyone wearing a watch at the event.
And THAT is what I love about events like this. We all operate within the silos of our own companies, and having a chance to talk in person with the global community in person during current events like the ones we are witnessing, is what Watches and Wonders offers.
But of course we can’t have a watch blog without talking about watches. So without further ado, here are 3 of my favorite watch releases from Watches and Wonders 2025! Seeing the footage from the people experiencing them in person has made me green with envy.
IWC Ingenieur Automatic 40 | Green Dial
Green and gold might be my favorite color combination, and IWC comes along with a stunning example of this combo in an equally stunning watch.
I’ve seen quite a few of the Ingenieur’s come through the doors of Rocky Mountain Watches, and even had one of these 40 models as a daily driver for a few months. If you are into watch history at all, you of course know that this design of the Ingeniuer was a Gerald Genta design, and his work can be seen on display with this latest piece, too. These watches wear well, and spark quite the conversation with other watch collectors who haven’t experienced these watches in person before.
It shares the same design features of the existing Ingenieur line, with a 40mm case size, a date complication, and IWC describes this watch as so: “The Ingenieur Automatic 40 with a green “Grid”-patterned dial is inspired by a bespoke watch worn by main character Sonny Hayes in Apple Original Films’ movie F1”. Another nuance is this color combination will be limited to 1000 pieces world wide!
Pricing wise, these have an MSRP of $12,900. Which is more than some of the other Ingenieur models, but about in line with what I would have expected from this piece.
Rolex Sky-dweller | Yellow Gold w/ Bright Green dial
Rolex might be the brand with the most anticipation behind their releases at Watches and Wonders each year, and the Crown has great reason to command this.
This year was no different, and while everyone was talking about the brand new Land-Dweller, some of us were still focusing on the skies (ok, bad joke). The Sky-dweller has been the most complicated movement offered by Rolex in a watch, and in a world of GMTs and Datejusts, is an exciting option to have in the collection.
The watch itself remains unchanged. It still has the familiar annual calendar, dual time zone display, and the cleverly designed Ring Command bezel that lets you set all of the functions on the watch. What has changed is the addition of the Bright Green dial, which offers a sunray finish that has various sheens depending on the lighting.
The MSRP on these will be $54,600 from Rolex. On the secondary market, precious metal version of popular Rolex models actually trade a touch under MSRP. However the right dial can shoot the price up significantly in the pre-owned market, and I wager that this green dial could be in that latter category. Time will tell!
Vacheron Constantin Solaria Ultra Grand Complication
To be honest, I’ve actually no clue where to start with this because there is SO much. And I mean that in the best way possible.
The Solaria Ultra Grand Complication has been announced as the most complicated wrist watch ever produced. Over the last 8 years, one watchmaker has spent the time to put together a watch that has a whopping 41 complications and 1,531 individual components.
Those 41 functions are thoughtfully grouped. Timekeeping covers a 24‑city world timer, dual‑time GMT, and a tourbillon. A Gregorian perpetual calendar adds ISO week and day numbers, and lunar data extends to spring and neap tides. Five astronomical displays track sunrise and sunset, equation of time, sidereal hours, a rotating sky chart, and real‑time solar positioning. A Westminster minute‑repeater supplies the chimes, and a split‑seconds chronograph offers precision timing. The headline innovation, to me, is a patented mechanism that calculates the interval until a chosen star or constellation appears—a first for any wristwatch. This is ridiculously cool as a star lover and amateur astrophotographer.
But that’s where I’ll leave the conversation on this one. This watch will be a hyper scarcity piece and kept the most discerning of collectors with the Vacheron family. The odds of me being able to see it in person outside of Watches and Wonders will be slim. And even if I could buy it, well, the price tag would likely make me shed a tear or three.
Closing thoughts
If you were able to figure out the theme being “watches with green dials and other bits and bobs”, then you win our prize (a high five at next year’s Watches and Wonders perhaps?!). The industry is certainly no stranger to extraordinary watches with green dials and accents, but a few of the releases this year brought some fresh offerings in this category. And green happens to be my favorite color, so.. winning.
We can’t wait to get many of these pieces (ok maybe not the Vacheron, as it likely won’t be seen on the secondary market any time soon) on our wrist. Make sure to stay tuned over the coming months for even more in-depth coverage of these pieces after we’ve had a chance to spend some 1:1 time with them out in the wild.
The watches in here represent a small, small fraction of the announcements that came out of Geneva this week, and I encourage all readers to take some time to go and see what your favorite brand has released.
See you next year!
-John
John O’Brien is the owner of Rocky Mountain Watches, and spends his time with watches, golf, the outdoors, music, and more. You’ll see articles from him from time to time as well as a host of other amazing writers and contributors.
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