Luxury Watches

Luxury watches used to be the preserve of high society, but changing times and technology have brought them within reach of wider audiences. While Jay-Z’s diamond-encrusted Hublot cost a cool $5 mil, there’s a massive choice of surprisingly affordable new or pre-owned luxury watches out there.

Perhaps you want to mark a milestone in life, like a big birthday or a proud achievement, or simply invest in something that’ll become a cherished family heirloom.

A fine watch is a superb piece of precision engineering – the apex of centuries-old horological tradition, often with a case and dial crafted with the same exquisite attention to detail as the movement itself.

Opt for a historic timepiece from a rollcall of illustrious Swiss watchmakers, from Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet to Longines, or from high jewellery virtuosos like Cartier.

More modern brands – Bremont, Bell & Ross – inject a 21st-century design philosophy into watchmaking, while many trusted luxury Maisons draw on their mastery of fashion to design collectables like Chanel’s iconic chain watch.

Talking Points

When you buy a top-of-the-range luxury watch you get hand-wrought assembly, finishing, and mechanical perfection executed by skilled experts, and a keepsake that will be enjoyed by generations after you.

Many luxury brands issue exclusive limited editions. Others, such as Longines, meticulously record the serial number of every watch sold, making it easy to trace the pedigree of your luxury timepiece.

A finely crafted mechanical watch is about the most luxurious thing you can wear in the smartphone age. Now a wristwatch is no longer a utilitarian necessity, you can treat yourself to it as an object of beauty.

Rolex is the most recognised luxury watch brand in the world, making a Rolex a sound investment, with a higher average resale value than any other prestige timepiece on the market.

Vacheron Constantin (est. 1755) is the oldest continuously operating watchmaker in the world. In 2015 it completed the world's most complicated watch – 8 years in the making, it boasts a mind-blowing 57 complications.

History of Luxury Watches

Many luxury watch brands like Audemars Piguet, Breguet and Ulysse Nardin are named after people whose 17th- and 18th-century inventions drove forward the history of watchmaking. These ingenious craftsmen chiefly came from Switzerland, which explains why Swiss watches dominate the luxury market even today.

Originally crafted entirely by hand by skilled watchmakers and jewellers, mechanical timepieces took so long to make that only the very richest could afford one. Groundbreaking new complications and innovations were introduced over time and the mechanical movement design was perfected.

Highly regarded premium watch brands sprang up in Britain, Germany, Japan and elsewhere, challenging Switzerland’s supremacy.

Industrialisation has brought down production costs over the decades and the luxury watch market is now broader than ever, ranging from exclusive handmade mechanical one-offs to latest-generation wearable technology (a.k.a. high-end smartphones) with countless built-in functions.