TAG Heuer released the Carrera Chronograph x Team Ikuzawa on July 30 in Tokyo. Its second run with Team Ikuzawa and Bamford Watch Department after a Japan-only 2023 edition, the 39mm watch is built on the Carrera Glassbox and draws on Team Ikuzawa's Roadmaster stopwatch. The white Clou de Paris dial uses printed indexes, and the automatic TH20-10 drops running seconds so the Team Ikuzawa signature sits at six o'clock. Limited to 150 pieces, $10,500.

Ulysse Nardin released the Blast Moonstruck, 20 pieces, in a 45mm case pairing an 18k rose gold upper with black DLC titanium. A three-dimensional Northern Hemisphere sits at the center of the dial, viewed from the North Pole, ringed by five linked indications: moonphase, lunar month, tidal coefficients, worldtimer, and the positions of the sun and moon. $118,250.

Swatch closed applications for the MoonSwatch Mission to the Moon 1969 on July 21 with roughly 1.2 million entries for 1,969 watches, more than 600 applicants per piece. Notifications went out from July 27. Each approved buyer has 48 hours to pay online, then collects in person with matching photo ID.

The watch carries 11 grams of Omega's Moonshine Gold across the dial, hands, crown and pushers, melted down from Omega spare parts dating to 1969. Rather than a frenzied lineup to buy the watches on release day, Swatch ran a 32-question application called ESTA, Electronic Swatch Timepiece Application, open July 16 to 21, with a 2 hour 15 minute limit Swatch says is around the time Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent on the lunar surface. Every answer had to be right to qualify, and an internal jury picked from there. The answer key is now published.

Swatch priced the watch on the gold rate of July 21, 1969, when 11 grams of 18k ran about $11. It lists at $570. StockX asks have passed three times that within days.

Swiss watches entering the United States now carry a 12.5% duty. The 10% Section 122 surcharge that had applied since late February expired at its 150-day statutory ceiling at 12:01 a.m. Eastern on July 24, and Section 301 tariffs replaced it in the same minute. They cover 60 trading partners accounting for 99.4% of U.S. imports, at 10% or 12.5%, with long carve-outs. The stated basis is that those governments failed to curb imports made with forced labor in their supply chains, an allegation they deny. For Swiss watches, 12.5% is the fifth U.S. rate in fifteen months. Read a deep dive into the tariffs here.

The litigation is live. Collective Horology, the Ventura, California retailer that represents roughly 20 independent brands, sued in the U.S. Court of International Trade alongside New York spice importer Burlap & Barrel, one of two challenges filed July 24. The plaintiffs are represented by the Liberty Justice Center, which won against the IEEPA tariffs at the Supreme Court in February. The claim is that USTR never made the findings Section 301 requires: a specific act by each government, how it burdens U.S. commerce, and why the tariff would stop it. They want the duties voided and refunds paid with interest. Read a deep dive into the tariffs here.

Bucherer will open or take over four more U.S. showrooms across 2026 and 2027, starting with a Rolex showroom in Seattle in fall 2026. Next is the Rolex USA flagship on Fifth Avenue, 43,000 square feet over four floors, the largest Rolex store in the world and more than four times the size of the current record holder in Dubai. Bucherer takes over its management at the end of this year or in early 2027. Washington, DC and Brooklyn’'s Williamsburg follow in 2027. Rolex bought Bucherer in 2023 and Bucherer now runs 40 U.S. showrooms, eight of them in New York.

David Edwards, Managing Director of Seiko UK, has died at the age of 58. In a statement, Seiko UK said "It is with great sadness that we share the news that our Managing Director, David Edwards, passed away on Friday 24th July, surrounded by his family. Under his compelling leadership since 2018, Seiko UK reclaimed its place at the forefront of the UK watch industry."

Watch Week Aspen runs August 13 to 16 in Aspen, Colorado, its third edition. Founded by Elizabeth Smith Hrubala and the team at Oliver Smith Jeweler with the Aspen Chamber Resort Association, it puts A. Lange & Söhne, Blancpain, Glashütte Original, Hermès, IWC and Omega across downtown boutiques and galleries rather than one hall. A Blancpain and Betteridge welcome party opens. Gerald Charles is running tennis and pickleball, NORQAIN a 3K run. Most events are free; the August 15 collector's dinner is ticketed.

Geneva Watch Days runs September 2-6 in Geneva, its seventh edition, with nearly 70 houses spread across the city rather than a fairground.