Watch Trends 2025: Classic Steel, Wrap Around, & Leather Bands

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There’s nothing more elegant than a wristwatch. Whether classic in design, bold in color, or eye-catching via texture and details, a good timepiece is a great investment. Watches are an easy way to add chic sophistication to an outfit. A watch pairs gracefully with a little black dress and looks effortlessly cool with jeans and a T-shirt. They aren’t limited to seasons or events. It’s more about picking out a watch that best suits your lifestyle and personal aesthetic.  

Watch trends for 2025 are taking us down memory lane, paying homage to where it all began. During Paris Fashion Week, guests were photographed wearing timepieces that featured watch charms, which is the only type of watch design women were allowed to wear in the early 19th century. It is believed that the first women’s watch was created in 1810 for Caroline Murat, the Queen of Naples and sister of Napoleon Bonaparte. At the time, women’s dresses didn’t permit them to carry pocket watches and wrist watches were reserved for men, so designers made bracelets with watches as pendants. Today, brands like Hermès and Fossil are bringing them back. 

Keeping with that theme, we’re also seeing an emphasis on delicate and dainty designs. That means small faces and skinny bands. In contrast, however, there are styles that take a bolder, more masculine approach. Models strutting down the Chanel spring/summer 2025 runway, rocked watches that had a larger than life feel, taking up most of the space on the wrist. Similarly, fashion show attendees like Aleali May donned a large timepiece with a thick metal band. 

Of course, you don’t have to stick to the classics. Taylor Swift had stirred fashionistas into a frenzy when she donned a watch choker at the 2024 Grammy Awards. The bespoke Lorraine Schwartz choker featured a vintage Concord watch that was attached to a chain of black diamonds. Swift’s statement came after the brand Münn had models wear leather band watches around their necks during the spring/summer 2023 show.

To learn about more trends, and advice on where to shop, keep scrolling.