I will be the first to admit that selecting the top watches of the year under, over, or between certain price points is an arbitrary exercise and perhaps not all that useful. Still, it’s the end of the year, and the end of year is all about list making (and reflecting on the last 12 months, making goals for the future – but mostly it’s about lists).
Figuring out where the “value” is in the current watch market is a challenge, so setting the top price for the “Best Watches Under…” article does actually kind of mean something this year. One of the predominant story lines on our blog, in Instagram and YouTube comments, and at Windup Watch Fairs and other other meetups all year long has been price sensitivity. Specifically, that watches are far too expensive, and we’ve entered a period where you’re now expected to pay more, but receive less.
That narrative makes a certain amount of sense when you examine specific sectors of the industry. But I think there are still pockets of great value and excellent design if you look for them and have a somewhat adventurous sensibility. As I looked back at some of my favorite releases of the year that represent what I think of as genuine value, it felt like the $4,000-$5,000 range was the sweet spot, with some great options well below that as well, and this list reflects that trend for the most part.
I’ve tried to stick primarily to smaller makers, indies and microbrands, for the purposes of this particular list, because, well, that’s what I like at this price point. I also think the price creep upward is a little more defensible from smaller brands who operate on super tight margins and continue to push the envelope when it comes to design and offering something unique to their customers.
I’m quite certain that every watch on this list, at one point or another, has been deemed “too expensive” by Instagram commenters and the like, and that’s an opinion that those who hold it are entitled to, even if they have only seen renders on their iPhone. That said, it’s my opinion that all of these watches, at their retail price, are compelling options that push their respective brands forward in some way, and are among the best watches under $5,000 that have been released in 2025.
anOrdain Model 2 Porcelain – $2,592
The new release from anOrdain this year, a watch in their Model 2 case (either 36mm or 39mm) with a gorgeous jet black porcelain dial, is an important release from a business perspective, first and foremost. The brand’s excellent enamel dialed watches are waitlisted for years at this point thanks to the inherent difficulty in manufacturing them, so it follows that there must be a real need to bring some more regular revenue into the growing company.
Porcelain dial making is an old world craft that produces a watch with a rich, black dial with a ton of character. Importantly, unlike enamel dial making, porcelain dials can be made in batches. That means production can be scaled up, and anOrdain can sell you one of these watches right now. The challenge for anOrdain will be convincing the curious that it makes sense to go for the porcelain immediately over waiting years for the enamel. I think that can be solved by seeing the watch in person, because it’s wonderful and has an altogether different impact than the brand’s enamel dials. Not better or worse, but very much its own thing.
The Model 2 Porcelain also feels, in some small way, like a statement from anOrdain that they can do more than just enamel. Their motto is “New Hands, Old Crafts,” and the plural there is important. anOrdain, on some level, must know that in a competitive market they can specialize in enamel dials, but that can’t be the only thing they do. The Model 2 Porcelain proves that they have the flexibility and nimbleness to step out into other types of dial craft, and it’ll be fun to see how they develop the porcelain line in years to come, and hopefully expand to additional craft techniques when the timing feels right.
Beda’a Eclipse II – $4,500
There were a bunch of cool jump hour watches this year, and the Eclipse II from Beda’a was easily one of the best. The Qatar based brand is somehow still under the radar in spite of a string of strong releases, but that takes nothing away from the originality of their design or their unique perspective.
The Eclipse II is full of drama. The architectural case with those long, arching lugs (the diameter is 37mm but the lug to lug is 47mm – quite the ratio), the aventurine dial, and sand dune inspired texture all work together to create something completely unique, executed authentically. The watch is truly unusual, with its 6:00 crown and a jumping mechanism that results in a charming “wobble” when the hour advances. At around $4,500 after currency conversion, it feels like a lot of watch for the money when you consider the low production numbers, the jump hour complication, and the one of a kind design where every element is bespoke for the brand.
echo/neutra Rivanera Picollo – $1,980
For the second straight year, echo/neutra has released a Rivanera model that has blown me away. I was a pretty big fan of the original, and I think, upon a lot of reflection and adding it and then taking it out of my cart on the brand’s website, that I like this new version even more. It’s somehow even more stripped down, experimental, and quietly audacious.
The headline of course is that the Picollo is smaller and smaller and squarer than its predecessor. If the original was a reimagining of the classic Tank, the new watch is an alternate universe version of 1970s cocktail watches. Postage stamp sized but still somehow offering real presence on the wrist thanks to its subtly complex case architecture and modern, bead blasted titanium finish. The addition of a rubber strap option for these new references (which also fits the original Rivanera) is the secret weapon, making what most would classify as dress watch adjacent into something entirely different.
Fears Arnos – $4,500
Look at that, another rectangle. This watch also benefits from the inclusion of a rubber strap, and for the same genre conflating reasons as the echo/neutra. Recontextualizing something we inherently understood to be true about a watch is always going to be a thing that piques my interest and gets me excited.
The Arnos seen here is the first watch in an entirely new collection for Fears, and with a new collection comes a lot of new possibilities and a lot of excitement. But we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves imagining what future iterations of this platform will look like just yet. The existing watch is a wonderful thing on its own, making excellent use of negative space with a CNC guilloche surface surrounding the small blue dial, it has all the charm and sophistication you expect from Fears in a new but still familiar form factor. And it wears exceptionally well – they nailed the proportions, and the case curves just enough to make this watch work well on a variety of wrist shapes and sizes.
Longines Ultra-Chron Carbon – $4,900
Longines had a really solid year, and it began in early January with this release. It’s a strange one – many commented that the bezel should be of the rotating variety, and I don’t disagree, necessarily, but I wanted to recognize a watch from a big brand that I thought challenged some conventions here.
The Ultra-Chron is an important, historic collection for Longines, and I think that one that most people will likely point to as a favorite from this year will be the Ultra-Chron Classic, a fairly straightforward interpretation of the most classic Ultra-Chron reference. But I’m partial to the idea that this watch can be something else entirely in the 2020s, and I appreciate that Longines is using the branding of one of their most tech-forward sports watches in a new context that feels appropriate.
The use of carbon fiber as a material here works really well as it’s incredibly lightweight and makes an otherwise ungainly watch from a dimensions standpoint wear remarkably easily. It also has a real aesthetic impact. This is not the type of watch we’ve come to expect from Longines in recent years, a period during which they’ve leaned heavily into resurrecting watches from their immense back catalog with a curatorial expertise that is unrivaled by any other heritage brand. But that’s exactly why it’s so striking. It shows that in 2025 (and hopefully in 2026 and beyond) Longines can straddle the line between past and present with relative ease.
Note: this watch has creeped to just over $5,000 since it was launched at the beginning of the year. A sign of the times if there ever was one.
