Luxury watches are the peak of horology. The industry makes up for at least 9.6 billion in the 281 billion of all the luxury goods worldwide. But with the rise of quartz technology as well as smartwatches, mechanical watchmaking has seen a decline in sales in the past few years.
But that’s not to say that the luxury watch industry is dying. More of, it’s on a decline. Luxury watches almost always carry with it the best mechanical or automatic movement the brand has, but some, like jewelry watches, focus on the number of jewels and materials in which the watch will be made. If you’re looking for the best luxury watches you can buy right now, albeit not from Rolex, here are your options:
Oris Aquis
The Aquis line of watches from Oris was born from the company’s drive to raise awareness on the importance of water. The Date Relief in grey, in particular, is a stunning watch both inside and out. It’s a diver’s watch, with an automatic winding date movement. The dial is in a shade of luminescent grey, which the company likened to stormy seas.
The Oris Aquis Date Relief is made from top of the line materials – stainless steel bezel and accompanying clasp, with domed sapphire crystal on both sides. The glass has an anti-reflective coating on both sides, but the case back is in see-through mineral glass. It has a water-resistance of up to 30 bars, the standard for most diver watches.
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Patek Philippe Grand Complications
Every single watch connoisseur will tell you that getting a Patek is as important as having a Rolex. The legendary watchmaker has been in the industry for so long that it’s an institution by itself. While there are numerous remarkable timepieces that the company has churned out over the years, nothing is as iconic as the Grand Complications.
In its latest iteration, the Grand Complications line features a minute repeater, a tourbillon, and a perpetual calendar. The tourbillon is outfitted inside the moon phase indicator. Inside, the watch is powered by a manual-winding mechanical movement. The dial is in enamel black, with hour markers set in gold, with a gold dial plate. Talk about luxurious, huh?
A Lange & Söhne Perpetual Tourbillon
The premier German watchmaker, A Lange & Söhne, prides itself on the most complicated watches in the world. The Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon from the brand is a study of watch complications. By itself, the company says it has 729 complex parts! The watch in question also features three major complications: a flyback chronograph, a perpetual calendar with moon phase display, and a patented tourbillon technology.
There are only two models from this line – the white gold in rose gold dial and platinum in the black dial. While the latter is a classic, we’d say, if you have the money to spend on this masterpiece, go for the former. It’s limited to 100 pieces, and there is no word from the company yet if they’re doing more. In the meantime, get that appointment now if you want it.
Breguet Classic Tourbillon
This watch from famed Swiss watchmaker Breguet is not for the faint of heart. It’s an open-worked watch with a proprietary self-winding movement. If you’re one to appreciate open-worked or the “skeleton” aesthetic – the one where the watch face shows the inner working of the watch itself – then you’d get a kick from this watch.
It’s available in 18-karat rose gold and platinum, a water-resistance feature of 30m, and a balance spring and escape wheel in silicon. The movement has double the industry standard of power reserve at 80 hours, so you can rest it for at least 3 days without the watch stopping its movement. Oh, did we mention it also has a tourbillon complication?
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Takeaway
Getting a luxury watch is one of the few things in life that you can indulge in to celebrate yourself and your achievements. Having a watch in your wrist that represents the highest form of horology can incite pride, as well as a sense of satisfaction. Reward yourself with a luxury watch today, and start a tradition of passing it to your kids when the time comes.