Many ask me which watch to buy. I often answer a smartwatch. They are practical, full of functions and thanks to the apps who knows what they will be able to do one day. In 2022 they are what quartz was in 1969 : one of the many indispensable innovations of that endless process called progress.
But whether it’s a pocket or wrist watch, even after centuries, the watch is still the best friend a man can always carry with him.
Whether they cost a few tens of euros or unattainable figures, you can look at them just to be pleased with your choice and when others do, understand who you are. Smartwatches – all the same – no, or not yet. When I am in a club I observe that many have the exact same model on their wrist , like having an iPhone. But a telephone is usually not a personal object, a watch is.
If you are thinking of a sports companion, look for it from a robust everyday model or a timepiece that is water resistant to 100 meters. If you think of an elegant model do not stop at the first appearance and look beyond: sometimes it is enough to replace a strap to change its face and at the same time it will become even more your personal effect.
Do not neglect to choose a size suitable for your wrist: it is useless to buy a watch just because it is famous (and others like it) if you will soon see that it is not suitable for you.
What you will see is not a ranking of the best watch brands but a selection of the men’s watches that the undersigned would buy now . In this list you will find prestigious watches as proposals for all budgets.
Ordain Model 1 Smoked
You never had the courage to even ask how much a watch with a Grand Feu enamel dial costs but today you can even afford it. anOrdain is an independent watchmaking workshop located in Scotland and makes around 380 watches a year. The translucent, smoky reflections of this particular version of the Model 1 dial are thrilling. It mounts a reliable and basic Sellita SW200-1 and you can also choose various colors of the straps. A handcrafted product sold at a staggeringly cheap price. Only on order. They also build other more informal models.
Armin Strom Gravity Equal Force
This men’s watch by Armin Strom, an independent Haute Horlogerie brand, might just be the case for those who have the mechanics running through their veins. It is a watch whose movement has a special winding barrel: deeply modified, it contains a system for stopping and disengaging the automatic winding. The goal is to always guarantee constant strength. A mechanical feat to drive the most competent of watchmaking enthusiasts mad with envy.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo Extra Flat
It is not out of place to say that what you see is one of the most incredible men’s novelties of 2022. This year the Royal Oak celebrates the solemn anniversary of its first 50 years. For the occasion at Le Brassus they wanted to equip it with a brand new ultra-thin in-house movement, and a skeletonized winding rotor for the occasion depicting “50 years audemars Piguet”. This is the Jumbo version, unavailable in steel because it represents the most genuine Royal Oak.
Bell & Ross BR V2 -93 GMT 24H
Bell & Ross has made a name for itself with its famous square clocks that reflect the instrumentation of the dashboard of airplanes, the BR 03 series so to speak. I chose this more traditional BR V2 for its connotations of a vintage military watch and for the presence of a second GMT time zone marked with a nice orange arrow. 41 mm steel case, waterproof up to 100 meters, playing with straps of different workmanship and different color you could wear it on many occasions.
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Barakuda
Contemporary to the Submariner, but released a year earlier, the Fifty Fathoms is the quintessential diving watch. Powered by caliber 1151, a high-end automatic with a silicon hairspring, this 500-piece limited version takes up the early 1960s models and has a 40.3mm case (five less than the standard models).
Braun BN0021
I love the Bauhaus and all the design inspirations it has generated. Also of German origin, designed in the 80s, like the Max Bill also the Braun BN0021 is the transposition of a kitchen clock into a wristwatch. Recently increased in price, however, it remains one of the best watches that you can find under 200 euros. Seeing it pop out of the cuff makes a beautiful impression. Endless class at an affordable price.
Bulova Lunar Pilot
Also called “the other Moonwatch”, it is the faithful copy of the Bulova Chronograph that accompanied astronaut David Scott commander of the Apollo 15 Mission to the Moon. Immediately after the original model was found and sold at an auction for the crazy sum of $ 1,650,000 Bulova has remaked it and has been on sale since 2016. If your wrist can afford the 45mm case diameter it’s a super best buy.
Cartier Santos de Cartier Chronograph
After completely reinventing the Santos in 2018, Cartier added several new and large chronographs to the collection in 2019. I chose the steel version with a bezel coated with a black ADLC treatment that continues on the stainless steel bracelet. With 43.3 mm on the wrist it certainly does not go unnoticed and its movement reveals a gem on the case: the long start and stop button of the chronograph is centered on the left middle while the reset to zero takes place by pressing a button coaxial to the winding crown. .
Cartier Santos Dumont XL
New men’s watches 2020 Cartier returns to pay homage to its legend, the reckless aviator Alberto Santos Dumont who in 1904 asked his friend Louis Cartier to make him a wristwatch to be able to read the time without having to take his hand off the controls. The new edition has been revised in design and proportions that have grown considerably in the XL version. Quiet, the satin-finished dial, the sword-shaped hands and the unmistakable slender Roman numerals are always there in their place. The case of this oversized version measuring 46.6 X 33.9 mm is in steel with a rose gold bezel. It is powered by the slim hand-wound 430 MC caliber and is also available with a gold case.
Casio DW-5600BB
Everyone should have at least one G-Shock always ready in the drawer. It is the “rugged” watch and is ideal to wear in situations where you think you will take a few more hits than expected. The DW-5600BB is about 44mm wide but due to the rather rectangular shape of the case it fits well even on smaller wrists. Its inverted color display is interesting. Very light, weighs only 53g, has a strong personality and costs very little, it is also waterproof up to 200 m. An ideal forklift.
Chopard Alpine Eagle Large
Inspired by the Chopard St. Moritz launched in 1980, Alpine Eagle reinterprets its aesthetic codes, already informal at the time, adding strong references to the Swiss alpine landscapes. The sunray dial shows a texture similar to the iris of an eagle. Magnificent in design, which in my opinion incorporates both the first generation Hublots and the Nautilus in the bezel, it is also available with a 36mm steel case (this is 41mm) and in steel and gold and gold versions. All are fitted with a COSC-certified in-house automatic caliber. A valid alternative to the Royal Oak and the Nautilus – which you have to wait years and, speaking of list prices, much more affordable.
Citizen H145 Elegance Super Titanium
On the outside the recent H145 Elegance is a very classic looking watch, inside there is a technology that makes you shiver. The 41 mm case is in Super Titanium, Citizem was the first brand in the world to make a titanium watch. It is waterproof up to 100 meters and the whole weighs only 88 grams. It is completed by an Eco-Drive movement charged with infinite light (no need to change the battery) and in addition to being radio-controlled it offers the functions of perpetual calendar and world hours with 26 locations on the planet.
Frederique Constant Highlife Perpetual Calendar Manufacture
Born in 1999, Highlife is one of the most representative lines of the Geneva brand. This model is the spearhead of the collection, as well as the cheapest perpetual calendar watch in the world, naturally among those powered by a mechanical movement. With this deep blue-gray dial is a very interesting novelty of men’s watches 2022. It is delivered with a steel bracelet and a sea blue rubber strap both integrated with the case. It is a well-made watch and the proprietary Frederique Constant movement is embellished with a delicate perlage and Côtes de Genève decorations.
Frederique Constant Slimline Power Reserve Manufacture
Elegant and minimalist timepiece with a marked Swiss style, 40 mm steel case – also available in gold color with PVD treatment – with a thin rounded bezel. The dial is silvered over by a convex sapphire crystal; the hour markers and Roman numerals are black. Between 9 and 11 the power reserve indicator appears, which is 50 hours. It mounts the FC-723 automatic manufacture movement based on FC-703 with the Power Reserve module. A dress watch with an interesting price-quality ratio.
Girard-Perregaux Laureato 42 mm
Born in the same era as the Royal Oak and the Nautilus, the Laureato embodies the ancient and genuine concept of a luxury sports watch. Available in a multitude of versions, including super-complicated ones, I chose the classic 42mm model with a blue dial that is water resistant to 100 meters. It is said that when the watch debuted in the mid-1970s, it was Signor Sutti, at the time the Italian distributor of Girard-Perregaux, who suggested adopting the name “Laureato”, naturally borrowed from the famous film that saw Dustin Hoffman the main interpreter. An icon.
Glashütte Original SeaQ
The recent SeaQ with a 39.5 mm steel case takes inspiration from a historic Spezimatic built in 1969. The galvanic black dial finished in a soleil features Arabic numerals, indexes and increased hands as was used in the divers of fifty years ago. Driven by the in-house 39-11 movement, this watch, water resistant to 200 meters, follows the ISO 6425 standards, but also the more rigorous and less known German DIN 8306. Each SeaQ is tested to check its impermeability, air tightness in over and under pressure conditions, impact resistance, resistance to the corrosive action of salt water and more. The rich tradition of Saxon-made watchmaking at an affordable price. Available at the same price also in a limited version.
Glashütte Original Sixties Chronograph Annual Edition
It is known that the chronograph is the favorite watch of Italians. Among the best men’s watches you could buy in 2020 since last March, the Sixties Chronograph Annual Edition has been added, a chronograph that will only be available for the current year. It belongs to the edition that Glashütte Original creates every year. This is distinguished by a degradé ice blue dial made with different craftsmanship. Not least is the in-house movement that brings back characteristics and finishes typical of the German watchmaking vision. It is loved for its typical 60s rounded lines.
Glycine Airman N ° 140
Who doesn’t know the Airman, one of the military watches that Vietnam made it for real? Used by USAF pilots is a watch with a fascinating 24 hour display. This remake is a GMT model showing three time zones with the local time in the center. The 40 mm steel case with a satin finish matches very well with the matte black dial which, like the vintage models, is overlooked by a curved plexiglass glass. It is powered by an automatic caliber derived from Sellita SW330-1.
Grand Seiko Heritage Automatic Hi-Beat GMT
One of the latest news from Grand Seiko. The flagship brand of the Seiko group is highly regarded by enthusiasts for its accurate executions sold at a rather attractive price. This model offers a 40 mm case and steel bracelet with a Zaratsu finish, a polishing technique that achieves brilliance values far above the norm. Proprietary high frequency automatic movement decorated with date and second GMT time zone.
Habring² Chrono-Felix
Now we turn to the fairy world of independent watchmakers. Habring² is a small Austrian brand owned by Richard and Maria Habring much loved by those who live on watches and passions. The Chrono-Felix is a classic fully in-house built monopusher chronograph with a 38.5 mm steel case and a beautiful silver dial with a grenage background, but there are various types. The two colimaçon-worked counters go well with the slender indexes and Arabic numerals overlooked by blued spheres. The ornate hand-wound movement is based on the Felix caliber A11 presented by Habring² in 2014 and all chronograph functions are operated with a single push button.
IWC Portugieser Automatic
The Portugieser is one of IWC’s most iconic watches. Born a bit as a bet when not exhausting marketing plans were in charge, many know that the name Portugieser derives from the two Portuguese importers who in 1939 went to Schaffhausen to ask to build wristwatches that moved by pocket movements were distinguished by – at the time – huge size. Today this IWC – classic from the outside with a 42.3 mm case is equipped with the caliber 52010 automatic movement which with 7 days of autonomy and the winding system invented by Albert Pellaton is one of the best automatic movements in circulation.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Date
Presented at Watches & Wonders is the renewed version of the watch that entered the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master collection that tells about the watches that the Maison made in the 1950s. Completely turned inside out with a steel case with optimal measurements of 40 mm by 8.78 thick, it is powered by the 899 caliber, an automatic manufacture movement with simple functions now regulated by a new escapement and a smoother spring of the silicon hairspring. Battery life has also now increased to 70 hours. Excluded for sporting uses, it is a bit of a watch to be used on all occasions.
Junghans Max Bill Automatic
He will always be one of the recommended watches to buy. Elegant, economical, exhilarating for its class that best interprets the rules of the Bauhaus, it is a watch respected even by the most snobbish collectors. The one in the photo is a variant of the early Max Bills that featured cream or silver dials. With a size of 38 mm it fits any wrist. Its authenticity lies in the absence even of the date. It is fitted with an ETA 2824 movement slightly revised by Junghans which only from the name is a guarantee of reliability. A real must.
Laco HEIDELBERG
Pilot’s watches have a long history to tell. The German brand Laco is one of the manufacturers who can boast a long tradition on these timepieces that eighty years ago served as robust and precise instruments for air navigation. But to be precise, the Laco you see more than a pilot’s watch is a B-Uhren or rather a Beobachter-Uhren or “observation watch”. The model I have chosen has a dial labeled in the German military specifications “type A” and with its 39 mm it is unusually wearable even by normal wrists. It is fitted with a decorated automatic ETA 2824-2 and is distinguished by beautiful blue spheres.
Mondaine Stop2Go
This masculine watch is a must in any watch collection. All Mondaine timepieces are reproductions of those you see in the railway stations of the Swiss SBB. Clear and minimalist, they are characterized by the red seconds sphere that ends in a circle, the one that Apple inserted into the iPhone OS clock a few years ago and which cost him a $ 20 million fine for infringing the copyright. by Mondaine. The Stop2Go is the only model of the brand that behaves exactly like the watches in the stations. Watch the video.
The second hand reaches 12 o’clock but measures 58 seconds; then for the last 2 seconds it stops and the minute hand advances by one position, then the second hand starts running again and history repeats itself every minute. Mesmerizing 41 mm steel case.
NOMOS Glashütte Tangente Midnight Blue 38
The Tangente, which is also NOMOS Glashütte’s best-selling model, incorporates some rare German timepieces from the 1930s and 1940s designed in compliance with the Bauhaus rules. The steel case measuring 37.5 mm has a cylindrical footprint and with 6.8 mm of thickness, in addition to communicating simplicity, it offers very thin sides. The very thin baton indexes and Arabic numerals typical of Bauhaus design are positioned in perfect symmetry with each other. The dial of this Tangente is a deep and special shade of blue with a matte finish. The hand-wound movement decorated and created in-house highlights its Saxon architecture and beautiful finishes from the caseback. Another men’s watch with a remarkable quality / price ratio.
Orient Mako III “KAMASU”
When the choice of which watch to buy falls on Orient, it’s hard to go wrong. The model I propose is the latest diver of the brand, the Mako III in the reference RA-AA0002L19B otherwise called “KAMASU”. It is a sturdy diver, measuring 42 mm, it is waterproof up to 200 meters and with a beautiful blue dial you could wear it at any time of the day, always making a good impression. It is equipped with the automatic movement created in-house caliber F6922, much more precise than the previous one, and has the stop seconds function for a more precise hour setting. It does away with the button at 2 o’clock from the previous Mako II series that was used to set the date. In itself very cheap, here it is on offer with an additional 51% discount from its list price.
Panerai Luminor Base Logo 44 mm
I chose this Luminor not so much because, being the entry model, it is the cheapest but because it is one of those in the collection that best communicates the essence of this, in the 48 mm versions for the most importable, legendary diver’s watch, moreover 100% of Italian origin. Nude and raw, however, does not neglect its most distinctive features such as the sandwich dial which now holds the safer luminescent SuperLuminova substance, or the wonderful original Officine Panerai OP logo. The PAM00773 is powered by the Panerai Caliber 6000 with manual winding: 56 hours of autonomy, higher than the previous ETA 6497-1 movement but which, like the previous one, you must remember to wind up since in this PAM there are not even seconds. Iconic.
Rolex Explorer
Not so much because he climbed Mount Everest in 1953 and not because Rolex recently put his hands on it (albeit in his usual imperceptible style), but in a jungle of Submariner and GMT-Master II the few times you see him if you notice. who wears it “usually” has very little. His uniform is sporty until you notice the orderly glow emanating from the thick sapphire crystal, the black but shiny dial, its applications and all the steel around it. The watch for those who, while subscribing their wrist to the order of the crown, stands out for an independent mind. 36 mm Oystersteel case, updated Perpetual 3230 movement and all the ingredients of mother Rolex.
Sinn Bicompax-Chronograph
For Sinn it seems that time has stopped. It is a brand that, in addition to building watches as it once was, markets them in the same way. Discreet in communication, like all German watchmaking brands she prefers to focus on quality by counting on a loyal audience of enthusiasts who appreciate her works, sometimes classic, sometimes loaded with technological materials that make them bomb-proof. The model I chose, a 2020 novelty, refers to the classic chronographs with the two counters arranged horizontally. As it once mounts an acrylic glass, it has a 43 mm steel case, and is certified antimagnetic in accordance with DIN 8309. The movement is a self-winding Sellita SW 510. Limited edition of 500 pieces with a price as always quite inviting for the level of quality offered.
TAG Heuer Aquaracer GMT
Nicknamed TAG Heuer Batman for its appearance very similar to the most famous Rolex multi-time zones, it is a timepiece that will not have the emblem of the crown but which is appreciated for its indisputable quality and above all for its availability. The 43 mm case is quite impressive but offers 300 meters of water resistance. The latest Aquaracer GMT is an improved model powered by the Caliber 7 automatic movement with second time zone (base ETA 2895-2). Aesthetically, it reflects the classic dial of the Aquaracer line decorated with horizontal lines that mimic an offshore air intake. Excellent value for money.
Timex M79 Automatic
Announced at the beginning of February 2020, it is another surprising economic men’s watch with a great personality by Timex, a historic brand that has recently been reinterpreting the columns of its past. This is the remake of a diving watch built in the late ’70s even if with 50 meters of water resistance, in addition to washing your hands and a bath without diving, it would be better to avoid it. The case is in 38 mm steel and the bracelet with micro links is inspired by the “space clocks” of over 40 years ago. Batman style dial and bezel with red seconds hand are very eye-catching. It is fitted with a very simple Miyota 8215 automatic caliber.
Urban Jürgensen The Alfred
Let’s go back to independent watchmaking again with Urban Jürgensen, an artisan brand based in Switzerland that tells of the homonymous and famous Danish watchmaker. The Alfred, of which I have chosen the more discreet and latest 40 mm version, features a wonderful coffee-milk tone dial. Made with the ancient and secret cold silvering technique, it offers a fantastic porous texture and numerous other accurate details all obtained with artisanal procedures. It is fitted with a hand-wound in-house caliber finished with côtes de Genéve which, starting from the balance wheel, radiate towards the contour of the case. Recommended for those who prefer something with less status but more craftsmanship to an Audermars Piguet or a Patek. Recently the brand was bought by the independent watchmaker of Finnish origins Kari Voutilainen:
Vulcain Nautical Heritage
Already selected from my favorite vintage men’s watches, the Vulcain Nautical Heritage is an alarm clock, a mechanical timepiece that sounds the alarm with a buzzer. Underwater, even if you wouldn’t say it, it is waterproof up to 300 meters and its alarm can be heard even when diving. It is the remake of a 1961 Vulcain. The black dial with domed Plexiglas glass is filled with scales for performing decompression calculations that once made divers vital tools. The luminescent parts applied on the hands and indexes are in beige SuperLuminova to accentuate the vintage effect. The steel case measures 42 mm and is powered by the Vulcain Cricket V10 caliber named after the brand’s most famous alarm clock.
Zenith Defy Revival A3642
To the letter z, the best assigned men’s watch could only bear the Zenith brand. Here is another novelty 2022, the remake of the first Defy. With a slightly prototype look, a bit like a watch of an unlikely future, its origins are instead of more than 50 years ago and precisely in 1969, the golden year of the Le Locle brand. Accompanied by the famous “ladder bracelet” originally from Gay Frères, an enchanting and collectible piece for me, but there are only 250 for the whole world.
