By Mikhail Gomes
Held on September 20 & 21 at North York’s Meridian Arts Centre, the Toronto Timepiece Show 2025 hosted the inaugural Timepiece World Awards — celebrating the roaring innovations of contemporary watchmaking and sheer Canadian passion.
Founded by Jason Hutton, his humble yet ambitious idea, conceived over a friendly lunch two years ago, has emerged as a landmark (annual) event in Canadian horology. Returning in its second edition, the two-day Toronto Timepiece Show 2025 welcomed nearly 6,000 attendees, showcasing Canadian tales of time and exquisite collections from 85 participating brands. Gathering a pantheon of North American industry leaders, homegrown and international watchmakers, and discerning collectors, the weekend briefly turned Toronto into the horological center of the world.
Timepiece World Awards 2025
On Saturday, September 20, the Timepiece World Awards felt equal parts red carpet gala and spectacle of watchmaking’s finest creations. Held at Meridian Art Center’s Lyric Theatre, the award ceremony opened with Jason Hutton expressing his heartfelt gratitude to the seven-member jury, the tirelessly hardworking awards committee, and all gathered attendees. The stage was then graced by the evening’s host, Colin Mochrie, star comedian from ABC’s Whose Line Is It Anyway?, who comedically toured the audience from one award category to the next.
Here’s a list of winners from each category of the Timepiece World Awards 2025:
Time Only: Isotope Mercury Shadow
Isotope’s Mercury Shadow makes us rethink the multi-faceted concept of mercury. Enigmatically embracing the metal’s lustrous fluidity, mercury is one of nature’s most fascinating substances — a muse for Isotope. With a captivating grey dial, it boasts a subtle, vertical satin-brushed finish and a small seconds dial at six o’clock. Housed in a mercury-esque stainless steel case, we see Isotope’s signature “lacrima” teardrop-shaped lugs. Inside, the calibre I-7 offers a 42-hour power reserve.
Chronograph: Angelus Chronographe Télémètre (0CHC.SG01A.V010S)
Captivatingly vintage and fluent in complication, Angelus’ Chronographe Télémètre is an exceptionally perfect chronograph for a multitude of reasons. Cased in 37 millimeters of stainless steel, its grey-titanium dial struts a stamped grained center along with a satin-finished flange. Surfing on a delectable vintage wave, it features a bi-compax dial layout and counters at 3 o’clock for 30-minute elapsed times, and at 9 o’clock for the small seconds. The in-house A5000 manual-winding mono-pusher chronograph is showcased via an open caseback. Completed with a sage calf-skin strap.
Sports: ORIS Aquis Great Barrier Reef IV Limited Edition
Tagging along on a deep dive with ORIS, this represents the fourth installation of their Great Barrier Reef Limited Edition series as a part of our long-standing commitment to the Australian Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest reef system. Its exquisite turquoise-to-blue ombre dial simulates the sunlight’s limited reach under the ocean surface. Retaining every Aquis Date signature, including a 43.5-millimeter stainless steel case, six o’clock date window, and a lollipop seconds hand, it houses an automatic-wound calibre 400, which offers a 120-hour power reserve. The caseback features a spectacular Great Barrier Reef motif engraving and its limited-edition number.
GMT/Worldtime Watches: DOXA SUB 250T GMT Professional (855.10.351.10)
Adorned with a burst of neon vibrancy, this DOXA SUB 250T marks the line’s return to the GMT function. Fusing top-notch diving durability with world-time sensibilities, it strikes the perfect balance of sporty ergonomics and technical excellence. Water resistant to 250 meters (820 feet), its 40-millimeter stainless steel case houses a DOXA Swiss self-winding movement with 50 hours of power reserve. Ensuring legibility during post-sunset dives, the bright neon orange dial is contrasted with white hour hands and indexes, and a skeletonized GMT hand.
Tool Watches: Marathon Watch Company ADANAC SSNAV-D PILOT’S AUTOMATIC
Launched in 2025 to celebrate Canada Day (July 1st), this special edition oozes Canadian pride and now cements Marathon Watch Company’s name in history. The ‘ADANAC Red Maple’, based on the Navigator (SSNAV-D Auto) model, is draped in Canada’s iconic white and red maple leaf flag, celebrating its 60th anniversary. Also, the SSNAV-D's ‘D’ means date, ergonomically residing at 4:30. Proudly Canadian, the dial features a maple leaf at twelve o’clock, complemented by a matching red seconds hand. Limited to 500 pieces, the 41-millimeter 316L surgical-grade stainless steel case houses a Sellita SW200-1 movement.
Innovative Complication: Fears Brunswick 40.5 Jump Hour ‘Edwardian Edition’
Fears honors its Edwardian past with the Brunswick 40.5 Jump Hour ‘Edwardian Edition’, a rare melding of the era’s styling and contemporary Swiss mechanics. Limited to just 10 pieces, this special release features a 40.5-millimeter cushion case crafted from hallmarked 925 sterling silver, complete with a diamond-set “onion” shaped crown. The porcelain white dial is crafted from multiple layers of hand-polished lacquer, printed in black with Edwardian-inspired Arabic numerals. The hour display jumps via a disc at 12 o’clock, while a single black varnished minute hand sweeps across a minute track. Inside, the watch is powered by a Sellita SW200, delivering a 38-hour power reserve.
Exceptional Materials: GoS Fullerö Sword - Midnight Blue
Forging an intersection between Viking legend and avant-garde metallurgy, the GoS Völund Fullerö Sword – Midnight Blue takes inspiration from the Fullerö sword discovered and preserved in Sweden. Masterfully employing Damascus steel for its dial, it shimmers in hues of deep blue, purple, and black, recalling Viking-era steel blades. Cast in 41.5 millimeters of stainless steel, it boasts Viking braid engravings and a crown shaped like a sword hilt. Inside beats the La Joux-Perret G101 automatic, offering a 65-hour reserve, showcased with dark rhodium finishes and a Triskele-engraved rotor.
Jewelry & Artistic Craft: AWAKE Sơn Mài – Frosted Leaf – Green
Sơn Mài – Frosted Leaf ‘Green’ channels centuries-worth of laquer craftmanship into a convergence of Vietnamese artistry and Swiss mechanics. Limited to 50 pieces, its dial is delicately crafted using the ancestral Sơn Mài technique, silver-leaf gilding, and natural pigments, yielding a textured green surface that illuminates like forest canopies seen from orbit. Housed in a 39-millimeter recycled steel case, it features sapphire crystals on both sides and 50-meter water resistance. At its heart beats the La Joux-Perret G101 automatic with a 68-hour reserve. Paired with a light grey nubuck leather strap, it embodies AWAKE’s mission of sustainability.
Foundation: Studio Underd0g The 02SERIES Gimlet (02GIG)
Studio Underd0g's 02GIG, known as The Gimlet, is an ultra-luminous tribute to British watchmaking. Limited to just 200 pieces, this 38-millimeter cushion-cased timepiece features seven layers of custom Super-LumiNova pigments on its dial, creating a strikingly vibrant lime green hue reminiscent of its cocktail namesake. Encased in 316L stainless steel, the watch boasts 12-millimeter thickness and a lug-to-lug measurement of 43.5 millimeters. Powered by the Swiss manual-winding Sellita SW210-1 movement, it offers a 42-hour power reserve.
Exception: KUDOKE 3 Flakes gold
At first glance itself, it’s evident why the KUDOKE 3 truly is exceptional. Featuring a hand-engraved upper dial and yellow-gold-plated polished bevel, it challenges the status quo of timereading. The engraving technique called “Flakes” is characterized by gradually cutting out tiny flakes of a material. Minutes and indicated by a large, blue steel hand on the upper dial ring, while hours are displayed via a three-section plate set on the lower dial. This fascinating mechanism merges simple elegance with intricate mechanical complexity.
Pinnacle: Vianney Halter Art Deco Metropolis
The Art Deco Metropolis is Vianney Halter's tribute to the geometric elegance and dynamism of the 1920s. Its 39.8-millimeter titanium case, adorned with 18-carat gold rivets, evokes the streamlined forms of the era's industrial design. The dial, a harmonious blend of hand-engraved titanium and solid gold, features diamond-cut radiating rays and a blued circle-brushed ring with railway indices, creating a captivating interplay of light and shadow. Powered by the VH122 automatic movement, it delivers a 56-hour power reserve and is fitted with Halter's patented "mysterious" winding mass, visible through the sapphire caseback. Limited to 5–7 pieces annually.
People’s Choice
Isotope Watches’ Chronograph Moonshot Terra Maris and Christopher Ward’s C12 Loco Pasadena Blue drew for the People’s Choice in the Chronograph and Innovative Complication categories, respectively.
