How exciting. Five watches to buy with an unlimited budget. These are very personal choices, and with my favourite genre being the humble tool watch, there are unlikely to be any gold or bejewelled models in my new collection. Dare I say it, some of my choices will be affordable; however, I trust each is sufficiently different to generate interest.
A warning: my definition of a dress watch differs from the norm. As I told a colleague in a podcast this morning, I don't see why a Rolex Submariner cannot be considered a dress watch. If you were lucky enough to go to a black tie function over Christmas, your Rolex Submariner will look fantastic with this outfit; Egro it is a dress watch. However, in the spirit of this fun exercise, I will pick an eclectic five I would desperately love to own if I had the spare money and space in the watch box.
Dive Category – Rolex Sea-Dweller
Rolex Sea Dweller - Credit WatchGecko
Let's be clear: I'm not a diver, but I do love a fine dive watch. There is something uncompromising about any machine built to operate underwater, and when you get to the Tier 1 level of dive watches, the build quality is immense. Nothing typifies this better than the Rolex Sea-Dweller. I had a Rolex Submariner 5513, which I foolishly sold. I could never stretch to a Sea-Dweller, so it's remained a grail watch. The absence of the Cyclops lens always made the watch look a bit tougher than the Sub, and the knowledge that it could dive to impossible depths sealed the deal. That's why my choice would have to be a vintage model because, on the current 2023 iteration in 43mm, we find a Cyclops lens, which looks too much like a Submariner. My choice would be a beautiful 1990s reference 16600 Sea-Dweller with drilled lugs, and then, naturally, I would put it on to a 1973 Military Nylon. Simply the best dive watch in the world. Cost around £10,000 for my vintage model.
Chronograph Category – Breitling Navitimer
Breitling Navitimer - Credit WatchGecko
If you're going to have a chronograph, have a complicated one. Have one capable of almost any calculation, one so capable you could wear it on your wrist as you orbit the Earth. The Breitling Navitimer is the quintessential chronograph. It is supremely clever, and the wonders never cease once you learn to use a circular slide rule. You can calculate fuel usage, convert metric to imperial, and if you get bored, you can tell the time.
The Breitling Navitimer has rightly established itself as the pinnacle of chronograph watches, even more so than the venerable Omega Speedmaster. It just feels so much more robust. We had one of each model not long ago in our office, and the Breitling felt so much better built than the Speedmaster. It gave me more confidence. Cost around £5,000 for an excellent pre-owned steel model.
Pilot Category – Laco Padderbord Erbstück Fleiger
I've taken a different swerve on pilot watches because traditionally, you might think this entry would be a complicated chronograph, a bit like their Breitling above. However, a pilot watch has the potential to be something very different, something historic which is evocative and conjures up a particular era in aviation.
As we salute yet another anniversary of the Battle of Britain, our minds go to the aircraft, pilots, and equipment involved in that conflict. No doubt, Lacos would have been used in those pivotal aerial battles. The classic pilot watch from Laco is a definitive watch of the genre, with its sizeable outer track displaying the minutes and a smaller inner track showing the hours. Laco makes a formidable range of Fleiger watches; however, if you want yours to look like it has seen genuine service, then the Erbstück range, which has been expertly weathered, is a visual treat. This finish is divisive, no question, but when you handle one, it conjures up something, and you cannot help but appreciate the artisan's work artificially ageing this watch. Without a story, a watch is just a watch, and handling the Laco Padderbord Erbstück Fleiger takes you to another place. For me, that is a fundamental part of any good wristwatch. Cost around £2,000.
Dress Category – Grand Seiko Suwa Lake
Grand Seiko Suwa Lake - Credit WatchGecko
My top five dilemmas become a little unstuck here because I'm not too fond of traditional dress watches. The chances of you finding me wearing a 5mm thin gold watch on an equally thin leather strap are almost zero. However, I saw one watch for the first time this year at a Seiko boutique that could be a model I would wear to the most glamorous occasions. It is the Grand Seiko Suwa Lake. The dial on this watch is breath-taking. Artistry and elegance are sublime. And elegance is the key word because it's not a term I could normally apply to watches in my collection. The Suwa Lake is an inspirational dress watch for me. But, I would do exactly what we did for our photo shoot. I would take remove the exceptionally well-made steel bracelet and put the Seiko on a leather strap just to give it more of a dress feel. This is one of those occasions when we picked a strap swap and thought the watch looked better than how the manufacturer had presented it. Cost around £10,000.
GMT Category – Brellum Pilot LE2 Chronometer
Brellum Pilot LE2 Chronometer - Credit Brellum
Unsurprisingly, I have the word Pilot in my GMT watch title – the two are inextricably linked. GMT watches are an odd mix that looks slightly complex but must be legible and functional. Unfortunately, many designs are based on one iconic GMT watch with large bold indices and heavy bezel. They can all start to look similar.
Brellum has never subscribed to this norm and design underrated and stunning timepieces. From their wonderfully proportioned dials to imaginative case backs with rotors that remind you of the front windshield of a B-29 Superfortress. The Brellum LE2 looks like a watch you could take through life and across the globe as a partner in the journey, and part of this fictional journey would almost certainly be in a vintage aircraft where you would need a GMT hand as you hopped time zones.
Some very famous GMT watches are on the market today, but there are also some lesser-known gems. The Brellum LE2 is such a watch and is the best-looking GMT to come on the market in the last few years. Cost around £2860, but this model was limited to 23 pieces, so you may be out of luck!
