You may remember the Renault advert from the 90s, where a sheikh tells his son he will have to give up his Clio: “It is not expensive enough, my son.” The ad plays on the father’s hypocrisy (in fact, the father thoroughly enjoyed his drive). The moral of the story appears to be that you don’t need to spend a lot to have fun. And the theory applies just as much to watches as to cars. It is possible to treat yourself to a nice watch, and you won’t have to give up your holiday to do it! There are ways to make it work at every price point.
Under the CHF 2,000 mark there is a plethora of options, and we have chosen some of the best. Even at these prices, you don’t need to compromise. For well under CHF 1,000, Seiko offers a vast range of automatic watches for men and women. Whether sporty or dressy, they are equipped with manufacture movements (yes, you read that right – mechanical movements made entirely in-house). But the Japanese giant is something of an exception, price-wise. If you’re looking at Swiss watches, you’ll probably need to start with quartz. But a quartz watch signed by Eterna and Baume & Mercier, no less. The standard of finish on the cases and bracelets is extremely high.
But Swiss made mechanical movements become a possibility if you move a little closer to the CHF 2,000 cut-off, providing arguably a finer and higher-quality product. Raymond Weil has a Beatles limited edition for fans of the Fab Four, and Ernest Borel’s Noble collection is also an excellent choice. This price segment is also well within Longines’ territory, which includes this year’s big success, the Heritage 1969, which is finished to a very high standard.
But dress watches are not the only option. For around CHF 1,400 you can treat yourself to an Emile Chouriet Challenger Deep dive watch, in steel with blue bezel and dial, which is water resistant to 300 metres. The upper end of our selection, CHF 2,000 precisely, marks the start of TAG Heuer’s domain, with its new, rather aggressive, pricing policy. At those prices you can afford an Aquaracer 300 m; it’s steel on steel, automatic, ultra-sporty, it has a wealth of details and it’s a brand classic. Go on, do yourself a favour.
Click on the image at the top of this article to discover our Christmas shopping recommendations.
