At Watches and Wonders 2026, while no one was busy smashing world records for the thinnest watch on Earth, something perhaps more interesting happened. There were simply more genuinely brilliant ultra thin watches than ever before. Brands that usually shout about tourbillons and perpetual calendars were suddenly whispering about slim profiles and elegant proportions. And frankly, that deserves applause.
Take Bulgari and the new Octo Finissimo Automatic 37. The undisputed king of thinness returned, but instead of playing the usual game of making the impossible even thinner, it decided to become more wearable. Revolutionary stuff. The Octo Finissimo Automatic has been reduced from 40mm to 37mm, which sounds small until it is on the wrist and still feels like a piece of architectural sculpture. Yes, it is now slightly thicker at 6.45mm, but the trade off is comfort, elegance and versatility. More importantly, it is not merely a smaller version of the old watch. It comes with its own new calibre, the BVF100, delivering a rather impressive 72 hour power reserve. And if silence is not your thing, there is even a 37mm Minute Repeater for people who like their thin watches to sing.
Then there is the Cartier Santos-Dumont, a watch so naturally elegant that people often forget how thin it actually is. At just 7.3mm, it remains one of the slimmest pieces in the maison’s catalogue, though thinness here is less about engineering bragging rights and more about visual grace. This year, Cartier gave it yellow gold and platinum editions, paired with either the classic silver dial or a rather moody obsidian stone dial. But the real headline is the bracelet. A new multi link metal bracelet gives the Santos-Dumont an easy sophistication that feels wonderfully relaxed, like James Bond on holiday. The Piaget based hand wound 430P movement inside quietly keeps things slim and civilised.
Chopard also turned up with the wonderfully named L.U.C XPS Prussian Blue. If the name sounds like a grand European train route, the watch itself is equally refined. At 7.2mm thick, it retains the elegant proportions of the earlier Forest Green version, now dressed in a handsome Prussian blue sector dial. The micro rotor movement inside is the real star, slim, sophisticated and very much the sort of thing collectors like to casually mention over expensive coffee. At 40mm, it could perhaps have been slightly smaller, but it remains one of the most attainable and genuinely beautiful pieces in the L.U.C family.
Jaeger-LeCoultre arrived with something rather interesting in the new Master Control Chronometre. It marks the maison stepping into the integrated bracelet arena, which is a bit like arriving late to a very fashionable dinner party. Thankfully, it has dressed well. At 38mm wide and only 8.4mm thick, it feels wonderfully slim on the wrist, and the bracelet is properly executed. Some may argue the design is a touch generic, and yes, the bezel perhaps lacks a little theatre, but the proportions are excellent and the new precision certification gives it serious credibility. Sometimes subtlety is the luxury.
Then there is Patek Philippe and the Nautilus 5610P, a watch that celebrates fifty years of the Nautilus by doing what Patek does best, being quietly smug. No fireworks, no shouting, just pure restrained confidence. The 38mm platinum case pays tribute to earlier mid size Nautilus models, and inside sits the venerable ultra thin Calibre 240. The result is a thickness of just 6.9mm and a watch that feels like silk and steel had a very expensive child. Time only, no seconds hand, no unnecessary drama.
And finally, Vacheron Constantin gave the world what many felt was missing, the Overseas Self-Winding Ultra-Thin 2500V. For years, the Overseas needed a true rival to the Royal Oak and Nautilus in the pure ultra thin category, and now it has one. Powered by the new in house micro rotor calibre 2550, only 2.4mm thick, the watch itself comes in platinum, measures 39.5mm across and a glorious 7.35mm in thickness. Add a salmon dial and no date display, and it becomes dangerously close to perfections.
A special nod must also go to Konstantin Chaykin and the ThinKing Mystery. Not officially part of Watches and Wonders, but impossible to ignore. At just 1.65mm thick, it remains the thinnest mechanical watch ever created, which frankly sounds like witchcraft. The new Mystery edition adds transparent discs and even more visual mischief, proving once again that independent watchmaking can be wonderfully mad. Ultra thin watches are not about disappearing. They are about proving just how much brilliance can exist in the smallest possible space. And at Watches and Wonders 2026, that brilliance was everywhere.
