Paul McLauchlan: 10 of the best watches for men between €64 and €10k
TAG Heuer Carrra Chronograph watch
Buying a watch can be like buying a car: the stakes are high and where do you begin your search and what should you look for? In essence, you can answer this yourself: what do you want to wear — something simple and discreet as if it's there out of necessity, something swaggeringly expensive gleaming on your wrist like a shiny new Rolex, or the modest middle ground.
Like car fanatics, watches are feverishly debated online for their merits and, in the same way, some will pledge allegiance to BMW or Audi, horophiles are partial to brand loyalty. In essence, the watch you pick should reflect your own interests and affinities. Pay special attention to features, functions, style, weight, material, and type but to each individual their own expectations. Of course, your budget is hugely important.
In a world of tiered lockdown systems and the subsequent feeling of groundhog day, watches are a source of dependability and reliability. Last summer, the retailer Browns Fashion noticed an uptick in demand for timeless pieces, including personalised Rolex watches. The world changes, time ticks along the same way it does every day.
We have compiled a guide to watches from under €100 to under €10,000.
At the forefront of casual watches is Swatch. This model, however, boasts sophistication with its enticing deep red hue and yellow-gold face. The plastic strap is designed for added functionality. For the style set, consider this one to amplify any outfit.
Another from Swatch, though this limited edition one is more traditional with its black strap; although gold dial and hardware offer a burst of flashiness.
The gold-plated stainless steel strap with a black dial has a luxurious feel at a reasonable price. Not to mention, the mid-market brand is a fan favourite from one end of the globe to the other. While it is not suitable for intense water sports, the watch can be worn for swimming or fishing.
With an orange leather strap and oxford blue face, the more fashion-forward in the audience should gravitate towards this for a stylish thrill. AVI-8 is a brand that looks to honour the engineers, scientists, designers, and pilots that defended Britain in World War II, with functional watches that take pride in how they are manufactured. This one takes its name from the Spitfire plane and echoes its performance capabilities in design.
For those partial to sports watches as a style or deep-water diving as a sport, Briston’s Clubmaster DiverPro is water-resistant up to 300 metres with inserts that make underwater time legibility and a matte black ceramic external bezel to ensure safe dive time calculation possible.
This one from Geneva-based Raymond Weil is sure to make true watch lovers’ hearts sing with its open dial that reveals the manufacturing prowess. To tell the time, one is also given an insight into how it is told mechanically with a self-winding skeleton in-house movement and exposed balance wheel.
Valued as a high-quality, high-precision watch at an affordable price — well, affordable in the world of luxury timepieces anyway — the Tag Heuer Carrera Chronograph is a streamlined option with a steel bracelet and black dial.
Like many others in the guide, French brand Chaumet’s Dandy watch is gentlemanly and streamlined yet this large model asserts itself as luxurious with a stainless steel case, high-precision Swiss automatic self-winding movement, and black alligator strap. While the design is relatively unassuming, its features embody quiet luxury.
A Swiss luxury watch designed with water-resistance of 500m and a scratch-resistant ceramic bezel, this option from Carl F Bucherer is perfect for adventurous types and sports enthusiasts. With an almost weightless titanium case and slick black design, the watch is elegant but with an unpretentious air.
This Swiss luxury watchmaker presents a slick, minimalist design like no other. With a black lacquer dial, polished titanium case, polished titanium bezel, automatic movement, and smooth rubber straps, the watch revisits the brand’s 1980s classic, offering past, present, and future with a metal watch face and rubber strap.
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