Jamie Weiss
2025 was a year of contradictions for me, at least when it came to what watches were in my high rotation. I handled, tried on and wore more vintage watches in 2025 than I ever had previously, although only one vintage watch made it into my top three most worn. I also wore more new watches than I ever had, thanks to Time+Tide’s ever-increasing cadence of watch reviews, yet it was also a year where I didn’t buy any new watches. Perhaps that’s indicative of how my taste in watches is changing, as well as my crippling decision paralysis and prevaricative nature when it comes to adding pieces to my collection…
Anyway, my top three most-worn watches of 2025 were something old, something new, and something borrowed (but not something blue – I don’t have a blue watch in my collection, so let’s see if that changes in 2026!)
Tudor Black Bay Pro – my “something old”
I know, I know, this watch only came out in 2022, but it’s my “something old” because it’s something that’s been in my collection for a few years that returned to high rotation in 2025. My Tudor Black Bay Pro returned to my top 3 in 2025 after being a bit shelved in favour of my Grand Seiko SBGE257 in 2024. I’m on the record as saying that GMT watches are my favourite complicated watches, and therefore shouldn’t have any qualms about swapping between two different GMT watches, but nevertheless, my Tudor got less wear time… But in 2025, it came off the bench and was easily my most worn watch of the year. It’s on my wrist right now as I write this, actually.
Indeed, I’ve found a solution for having two GMT watches: I set the second hour hand for London time on one, and New York time on the other, in honour of our different studios (and also to keep track of Zach and Russell!) Turns out I’m not the only member of the Time+Tide team who loves the Black Bay Pro. Andrew O’Connor and Jason Lee, who both joined the T+T writing team in 2025, are also proud owners of Tudor’s Explorer II ref. 1655 revival – Andrew rocking the same OG black dial model as I do, and Jason adding the new white “polar” dial model to his collection after its launch. Tom Austin, like I, put it in our picks for our best three-Tudor watch collections, too – great minds think alike!
I still reckon the OG BB Pro is the best, though. Indeed, this is my favourite watch, with its frequent use in 2025 only reminding me of how much I love it. It just wears so nicely on my 19cm wrist: the thickness doesn’t bother me one bit, while the comfort of the T-fit bracelet is unparalleled. I like to wear my watches quite loose, but then like being able to cinch in my Tudor’s bracelet when driving a manual car, for instance. Also, my BB Pro, for whatever reason, really lucked out from a chronometry perspective: I’ve timegraphed it dozens of times over the years, and it’s always recorded +/- 0.1 seconds a day. No joke.
Furlan Marri x Time+Tide Outback Elegy – my “something new”
Next up on my horological podium for 2025 was my Furlan Marri Outback Elegy. This watch was produced in collaboration with the hot Swiss independent for our 10th anniversary celebrations in 2024, and in my opinion, was the standout of the three collab watches we produced for those celebrations (hence why it made its way into my collection). I didn’t wear it much in 2024, but found that I wore it very frequently in 2025. Indeed, it became my ‘nice watch’ of choice last year, being enlisted for date nights, black tie events and casual outings alike. It was also one of only two watches I wore to Geneva Watch Days in September, alongside my Grand Seiko.
I don’t think I’ve ever received more compliments on my watch than when I’ve been wearing my Outback Elegy. In general, Furlan Marri is a real ‘if you know, you know’ brand that tends to get a lot of praise in enthusiast circles – especially in Geneva – but the Outback Elegy is (again, in my totally unbiased opinion) the brand’s most intriguing watch design yet. There’s just something about its sultry, dark ochre-red dial with its slight gold shimmer that really appeals. It’s dapper, elegant, different and practical all at once, with its 68-hour power reserve making it properly weekend-proof, too.
Eterna Airforce II – my “something borrowed”
Finally, I’ve got my “something borrowed”, my dad’s Eterna Airforce II. As I mentioned last year in our article about watches with family ties, this is the watch that got me into watches: some of my earliest childhood memories include my dad taking his watch off after a long day of work, handing it to me and letting me play with it. I remember marvelling at how its seconds hand seemed to sweep so gracefully compared to the quartz clock on my bedroom wall, and putting the watch to my ear to hear it tick, moving it around to hear the rotor swing. To be able to wear it regularly as an adult has been exceptionally meaningful.
This could also be my “something old”, truth be told, but it’s technically neo-vintage rather than vintage, being a watch from the 90s. It fills the field watch void in my collection, and has a charming, timeless, function-over-form aesthetic. Its beads-of-rice-esque bracelet is quite comfy, but I decided to mount it on an Artem Loop-less Hydroflex strap early in the year, which really suits it. However, I’ve got to be honest here: it made the top 3 because I wore it to death in the first few months of 2025, but since then, it’s stopped working. I’ve been having problems with it ever since taking it to Watches and Wonders in April, and now it’s completely conked out. I don’t think it’s ever been serviced, actually…
