Watches are probably the most common and popular men’s luxury accessory. A lot of men might not wear any jewelry like bracelets, chains or rings but they probably would wear a watch. Luxury watches are usually made of stainless steel, gold and even platinum. Gold that is used in making luxury watches is usually of eighteen karats and comes in various colors including yellow, white and even red (also known as rose or pink). Luxury watches that are made of precious metals like gold are sometime decorated with precious stones like diamonds, sapphires or rubies. Luxury watches that are made of platinum are way more rare than gold ones. Only extremely high end luxury watch companies do produce a full line of platinum watches. Watch brands like Rolex, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Breguet and Audemars Piguet are one of those rare watch companies that do produce some of their watch models made of platinum.
Watches are in many ways a very unique accessory. First of all, watches are luxury not only because of what material that they are made of but because of their movement. Sometimes a watch made of stainless steel but with a very complicated movement might cost more then an eighteen karat gold watch with a very basic movement. This makes watches a very unique accessory compared to a ring or a bracelet that are luxury and high priced only because of what they are made of. Secondly, watches are not just a decoration on the wrist but more like a very precise mechanism that tells its owner the right time of the day. The combination of a beautiful design on the outside and a unique movement on the inside that provides the right time is very tempting to many men. Thirdly, high end luxury watch companies produce watches with self-winding watch mechanisms only. Those self-winding watch mechanisms are a usually produced and designed “in house”( inside the watch factory). All of the mechanisms are hand made and numbered by a watchmaker. All of this makes luxury watches a very collectible accessory.
Switzerland is the so called “Mecca” of the modern watch industry. Watches have been produced and designed their for centuries. Most of the luxury watch companies are Swiss and have been founded over their many years ago. Switzerland is the home to a lot of various watch institutes and watch schools. A lot of the today’s skilled master watchmakers have studied there and have had internships in famous Swiss watch companies. An important watch testing institute that is responsible for certifying the accuracy and the precision of watch movements is located in Switzerland too. It is called Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC). Watch movement that successfully passes tests in this institute is labeled as “certified chronometer”. Watches with “certified chronometer” movements are proven to be of a very high quality and high durability. Watch companies like Omega, Breitling and Jaeger-LeCoultre are some of the watch brands that have their movements tested and certified by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute.
Swiss luxury watch companies are the powerhouse of the modern watch making industry. So it is not surprising that watches, from the luxury watch companies that we know off, are labeled “Swiss Made”. Starting from the infamous Rolex to lesser know but extremely collectable Patek Philippe are just some of the famous luxury watch companies that are Swiss. But Swiss watches are not the only “authority” among luxury watches. German watch companies like A. Lange & Söhne and Glashutte Original are at the pinnacle of the luxury watch making industry. These two German watch companies, located in the state of Saxony, have produced unique hand made watches that are considered to be extremely valuable and collectible. Also another European watch company can be at the top of the luxury watch making industry is Officine Panerai. This Italian luxury watch company was founded in 1860 in Florence and even at some point became an official supplier to the Royal Italian Navy. Officine Panerai watches are famous for their very unique design and high quality. Small production rate makes a lot of their watches very scarce and collectable.
There are a lot of luxury watch companies in the today’s watch market that produce high quality timepieces. Some watch companies are more famous than others and some are more collectible than others. Rolex and Cartier watches are more famous and way more recognized then A. Lange & Söhne or Patek Philippe watches. However A. Lange & Söhne or Patek Philippe watches are way more collectible due to their very small production rate. Rolex produces hundreds of thousands of watches per year while Patek Philippe makes about twenty to thirty thousand watches per year. Those interested in more “shiny” or “sparkling” watches should look into Corum watch company and Chopard watch company. These two luxury Swiss watch companies are famous for their very flashy and uniquely designed diamond covered gold watches. For more slick and business like watches there is no better brand than Breguet watch company. Breguet, originally founded in France in 1775, is a highly collectible and scarce watch. Unique case and dial designs and “in house” produced watch movements of the Breguet are well known around the world. Breguet’s client list consist of various famous historical figures including George Washington, Winston Churchill and even Napoleon Bonaparte.
It is a fact that a high end, hand made watch that’s costs twenty thousand dollars will not tell a more accurate time than a regular mass produced hundred dollar watch. However people that own and collect luxury hand made watches do not buy them just to see what time it is. They treasure a hand made movement, unique design and the art watch making itself. After all that’s what “haute horology” is all about.
