zelin0802 / December 13, 2022

Welcome to our annual luxury cheap Watch Guide, where we take a closer look at the making of some of the world’s finest watches – from astonishing creativity to astonishing technical advancements and stunning aesthetics. Similar to the supercar and hypercar industry, the watchmaking industry tests the skills of the best mechanics, challenging them to ever higher standards.

In automobiles, especially racing, engineers work side by side with mechanics to shave hundredths of a second off race times. In the world of horology, engineers, scientists, master watchmakers and master craftsmen work side by side to find solutions to challenging problems—sometimes taking years to achieve their goals. In watchmaking, top brands compete for the top spot as they set records and accomplish achievements never before seen in the industry. They turn to fields such as aerospace and automotive for new high-tech materials, new methods, new designs and new solutions. Click on the link below to view our curated list of luxury watches.

Chronograph

Bell & Ross BR 03-94 Multimeter
The Bell & Ross BR 03-94 Multimeter is exactly what you’d expect from a brand that has cleverly incorporated instrumentation into its timepieces, measuring more than just lap times. The brightly colored watch features five different measurement scales, including three tachymeter scales, a pulsometer scale, and a respiration gauge to measure the number of breaths per hour. Powered by an automatic movement, the 42mm black ceramic case and black dial are the perfect backdrop for the concentric circles.

Louis Monet game time
Called the inventor of the chronograph by Guinness World Records, Louis Moinet has created some of the most advanced and fascinating chronographs. The Time to Race Automatic Mechanical Watch in titanium is designed to evoke the time of the gentleman racer. Collectors can choose a one- or two-digit number as their lucky number, which serves as the backdrop for the dial’s hour and minute hands at 6 o’clock. This skeletonized watch showcases the chronograph mechanism on the dial side, so when the pusher is activated, the mechanism comes to life. The watch has a tachymeter scale and a Racing Green rubber strap.

IWC Pilot’s Chronograph Top Gun Woodland Edition
IWC Schaffhausen has long been associated with aviation and pilot watches. In fact, the brand was the first to implement inner iron cases in the 1930s, providing antimagnetic watches for pilots. Now, the brand is taking its Top Gun Pilot watch to new heights with a Woodland Green Ceramic Edition. (Yes, it has a longstanding relationship with the elite fighter pilot school.) This mechanical automatic watch boasts chronograph functions, small seconds and a coveted soft inner iron case.

tourbillon

Angelus Gold Carbon Fiber Flying Tourbillon
Swiss watch brand Angelus is renowned for its skeletonized timepieces featuring advanced mechanics and high standards of elegance. This Gold & Carbon Flying Tourbillon combines high-tech carbon materials with precious 18-carat rose gold for an avant-garde, almost sporty look. 5N rose gold case in ultra-light carbon composite with a mix of matte and polished finishes. The 18-karat gold bridges are in stark contrast to the black carbon motherboard. The hand-wound mechanical movement features a flying tourbillon escapement visible with a large aperture at 6 o’clock.

Franck Muller Grand Central Tourbillon Curvex CX
Since its founding in 1992, Swiss watch brand Franck Muller has been synonymous with exceptional design. The tonneau-shaped Curvex case is the brand’s signature and the case of choice for some of the most advanced complications. The Grand Central Tourbillon is housed in a large Curvex CX, ergonomically designed for comfort. An oversized aperture in the center of the dial reveals the ever-rotating tourbillon. Thanks to the innovative movement structure, the hour and minute hands are neatly placed around the tourbillon cage. It is available in a variety of colors.

Purnell Escape II Marcell Jacobs Edition
Independent Swiss watch brand Purnell made its debut two years ago to sensationalism, quickly attracting the attention of watch collectors around the world. The brand offers a unique feature dubbed the “World’s Fastest Dual Tri-Axis Tourbillon”. That’s not a pun. The Double Spherion timepiece features two tourbillon escapements in a circular frame; each has three axes that rotate within each other at different speeds for optimum precision. For this edition, the brand teamed up with Marcell Jacobs, European Championship winner and record holder for the fastest men’s race in Europe. Crafted in 18-carat white gold, this 48mm watch is set with 304 round brilliant-cut diamonds and additional baguette-cut diamonds.

Grande Seiko Kudo Constant Force Tourbillon
Japanese watch brand Grand Seiko is like a sleeping giant to the US market, having only been allowed to sell stateside a few years ago. Since crossing the big pond, it has captured the hearts of watch lovers with its complex movement and charming aesthetics. This platinum hard titanium case Kudo (meaning “heartbeat” in Japanese) is no exception. It is fitted with a constant force tourbillon, which means power is released in a constant, even flow for precise isochronism. Not an easy task, this watch combines a constant force mechanism and a tourbillon on one axis – something unprecedented in watchmaking.

Chopard LUC Full Strike Tourbillon
When a watch brand combines several top-level complications into a single watch, it is called a grand complication. This is the case with the recently launched Chopard LUC Full Strike Tourbillon, which, as its name suggests, also combines a minute repeater with a patented one-minute tourbillon regulator and a patented single-piece pallet lever. Sound complicated? This is. Exactly 568 micromechanical parts, including the integrated sapphire crystal and striking gongs, are harmoniously and precisely assembled.

Breguet Tradition Tourbillon 7047
The brand’s founder, Abraham-Louis Breguet, invented the tourbillon escapement, and this Tradition Tourbillon is anything but traditional. Instead of a main dial, the watch showcases most of its mechanisms on its “dial” side, including the fusée-and-chain tourbillon. Regardless of the winding level, the fusée and chain mechanism provides a constant torque, thus optimizing the isochronism of the watch. Crafted in platinum, the 41mm watch is the ideal home for the 542-piece movement. Breguet uses high-tech materials such as silicon on some movement parts.

Calendar and Astronomy

Jacob & Co. Astronomical Clarity
The Jacob & Co. Astronomia watch is a magnificent mechanical and aesthetic feat of art and watchmaking. The 50mm Astronomia Clarity watch features an 18ct rose gold and transparent sapphire case. This provides a three-dimensional display view of a constantly rotating lacquered magnesium Earth, opposite a rotating sun, created using Jacob-cut diamonds with 288 facets. The hand-wound movement has an impressive 365 parts. The dial side displays the brand’s gravity three-axis tourbillon, whose three elements rotate at different speeds. The movement of the watch is like a choreographed dance.

De Bethune DB25 Perpetual Calendar
The latest DB25 Perpetual Calendar from Swiss indie brand De Bethune showcases the moon and stars at 12 o’clock in a bright blue circular display. The moon is a sphere rotating inside a blue outer circle. It is harmoniously opposed to the date display in the subdial at 6 o’clock, which also indicates leap years. Day of the week and month are indicated through apertures at 3 and 9 o’clock. Measuring 40 mm in diameter, this mechanical watch is made of grade 5 titanium and features a transparent sapphire case back.

Glashütte Original PanoMatic Calendar
German watch brand Glashütte Original presents the PanoMatic Calendar watch in 5N 18 carat rose gold. Equipped with the brand new Caliber 92-09 self-winding movement, it displays hours, minutes, small seconds, moon phases, annual calendar with panoramic date and retrograde month display (3 o’clock to 6 o’clock on the dial), and runs until 12 o’clock Then jump back on the outer ring at 1 o’clock). The watch is so precise that the date display only needs to be adjusted once a year, on March 1st, followed by the short month of February. It has a sapphire crystal glass to view the exquisite movement.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Hybris Artistica Caliber 945
Jaeger-LeCoultre, a brand deeply rooted in history and watchmaking tradition, presents a mechanical timepiece this year featuring the Stellar Odyssey, beautifully depicting astronomy in all its glory on the wrist. The Grand Complication Caliber 945 offers a star chart with celestial bodies, a zodiac calendar, a minute repeater and a celestial flying tourbillon, which Jaeger-LeCoultre called the Cosmotourbillon. It combines not only some of the most difficult watchmaking feats, but also some of the most advanced craft illustrations.

HYT MoonRunner Supernova Blue
Relatively young, independent Swiss watch brand HYT re-entered the world of watches with a bold mandate, building on its unique craftsmanship of telling time using fluids and tapping into its love of astronomy. This 50mm black titanium watch features a hand-wound movement that indicates the hours, minutes, day of the week, month and moon phases as well as a retrograde hour display. The moon takes center stage in this watch, with surrounding rings indicating the day and month.

Bovet Recital 20 Asterium
Crafted in 18 karat gold, this exquisite Bovet 1822 is a unique timepiece that depicts the sky as seen from Earth and displays hours, retrograde minutes, seconds, day of the week, date, month, year and moon phases, as well as functions such as tourbillon escapement (at 6 o’clock), day/night solstice indicator, time difference and astrological zodiac display. The central sky map features stars and constellations laser-engraved on translucent blue quartz and filled with Super-LumiNova to glow in the dark. This extremely complex watch is equipped with a movement composed of 771 huge parts, has a patented double-sided tourbillon, and more.

space age

Ulysse Nardin Freak S
Few watches have quite the space-age look of the latest Ulysse Nardin Freak S, with its central time indicator resembling a spaceship. Crafted from 18-karat rose gold, titanium and ceramic, this high-tech self-winding watch features a silicon escapement to ensure durability and require no oiling or servicing. It is equipped with a tourbillon and special escapement with two oscillators, a differential and a proprietary grinder. The entire movement makes one revolution in the center of the dial every hour. There is no crown, and the time is set by rotating the bezel.

Greubel Forsey GMT Balancier Convex
While some watches put the moon or the sun at the center, the GMT Balancier Convexe puts the earth in the spotlight with its 423-part movement. This mechanical artwork rotates with a round hand-painted titanium sphere and includes a GMT function to show the time in another zone; the world’s 24 major time zone cities are listed on the case back. The balance wheel is sloped for added precision and the case is raised to fit ergonomically on the wrist.

Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Samuel Ross
Blending a high-tech look with graphic geometric patterns and brilliant mechanics, the Big Bang Tourbillon Samuel Ross embodies the vision of the multidisciplinary artist who collaborated with Hublot to develop the piece. As a Hublot brand ambassador, Ross was inspired by sculptures he created for Hublot a few years ago. The watch features a titanium honeycomb mesh and a hexagonal interpretation of the Big Bang for an industrial look. The watch is powered by a 282-part movement.

Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Countach
Crafted from ultra-high-tech mineral composite fibre, this 47mm watch pays homage to the brand’s partnership with Lamborghini. The Hyper-watch has a unique movement designed to be reminiscent of the supercar engine of the Lamborghini Squadra Corse. It features a V-shaped hole that reveals the double flying tourbillon escapement angled at 90 degrees to ensure more precise timekeeping. The design of the RD112 movement is patented.

MB&F Legacy Machine Sequential EVO
The independent Swiss brand is a leader in 3D watchmaking, beloved for its often imitated cases of spaceships, animals and other objects. Plus, the mechanics are always on the cutting edge. The brand’s first chronograph was a hand-wound dual chronograph with a case in zirconium metal. The watch offers chronograph, split-seconds chronograph, lap timer and cumulative timing modes, and is equipped with a proprietary ‘FlexRing’ shockproof system.