Mens Luxury Watches from Classic to Contemporary – A Detailed Overview

With so many beautiful luxury watches in the marketplace, I’ve decided to provide an overview by selecting my two favourite mens luxury watches in each of the categories of Dress Watches, Sports Watches, Divers Watches and Chronograph Watches. I’m also a little bit picky in that I love to choose the right watch to match the environment I’m in, how I’m feeling and to complement what I’m wearing. OK, maybe a little bit vain too!

Luxury dress watch

Two environments in which the choice of watch is so important are going to the ball in your tuxedo and looking sharp for your important business meeting.

Ronde Must De Cartier – 40mm

For an evening in a tuxedo, I would select the beautifully classic 40mm Ronde Must de Cartier, with a black leather strap. The beaded crown set with cabochon-shaped spinel and the sandblasted silvered dial with blued steel hands, black roman numerals and a date display at the 3 o’clock position are just exquisite. The blue jewel in the crown is a lovely touch of detail. This affordable luxury watch would look amazing on the wrist of anyone sporting a black or white tuxedo. 

Omega De Ville Prestige – 40mm

For that all important business meeting, I would reach for a timeless classic, the OMEGA De Ville Prestige is now in its third generation. In this 40 mm stainless steel model, the domed rhodium-grey dial features a beautifully crafted sun-brushed finish, and the display is really quite distinguished by the PVD Sedna™ Gold coloured hands, as well as alternating gold coloured Roman numerals and cabochon indexes. The OMEGA De Ville Prestige is offered in a range of patterns, finishes and colours to match any sharp business suit and give confidence to the wearer in every business meeting.

Luxury diver watch

This is my favourite category of mens luxury watches, as today’s Luxury Diver Watches offer so much versatility. As a keen water sports enthusiast and sun worshipper I’ve decided to select a ‘daytime on the water’ Luxury Diver Watch and an ‘evening in the marina’ Luxury Diver Watch.

Panerai Submersible GMT Luna Rossa Titanio – 42mm

As an enthusiastic Paneristi, my ‘daytime on the water’ Luxury Diver Watch selection would have to be Panerai’s 42mm Submersible GMT Luna Rossa Titanio. The blue sun-brushed dial is beautiful, and the luminous hour markers and dots provide amazing visibility, in the dark and underwater. The Luna Rossa red on the GMT and second hands and on the bi-material blue strap really lift the watch and in up to 500m of water, I would have the GMT Luna Rossa Titanio on my wrist every time.  

Rolex Deepsea Oyster – 44mm

For that an ‘evening in the marina’ Luxury Diver Watch, my watch of choice is the Oyster Perpetual Rolex Deepsea in 18 ct yellow gold with a Cerachrom bezel insert in blue ceramic and an Oysterbracelet. The legibility underwater is amazing, with the blue lacquer dial bearing the name ‘DEEPSEA’ in powdered yellow and the dial featuring large Chromalight hour markers and hands, filled with luminescent material that emits a long-lasting blue glow for excellent legibility in dark conditions. I would be very happy to have this Luxury Watch on my wrist, over dinner in the evening with my partner in the marina in Monaco! Stunning.

Luxury sports watch

The Luxury Sports Watch segment is probably the most highly populated part of the Luxury Watch market, with some super collections to chose from Tag Heuer, Omega, Rolex, Cartier, Panerai, IWC, Tudor, Chopard, Hublot, Brietling and many more. 

TAG Heuer Formula 1 Chronograph – 43mm

One of my favourite sports watches, ideal to wear on the wrist for a day at Silverstone, is the 43mm Tag Heuer Formula 1 chronograph. This is a fun packed watch, at a fun packed price of £1,750, making this a very affordable Luxury watch choice. The watch case is in a fine-brushed steel frame and the black PVD tachymeter bezel adds a layer of rugged sophistication to this Luxury Sports Watch timepiece. A really good value everyday wearable watch.

Chopard Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph

A great watch to wear out driving the open top sports car on a sunny weekend is the Chopard Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph. This watch oozes Chopard’s credentials as the official timekeeper of the world’s most famous regularity race for classic cars. The watch has a beautiful heritage sports feel to it and this particular combination with a lacquered “Verde Chiaro” green face and brown calfskin leather perforated vintage racing strap sets the luxury watch off beautifully. I’d happily be seen with this on my wrist out for a drive in the Porsche 911 cabriolet at the weekend.!! 

Luxury chronograph watch

There are some beautiful mens luxury watches in the Luxury Chronograph Watch market to choose from. Chronographs are typically packed with detail with one, two or even three chronographs to measure time (in real-time and relatively) to different levels of accuracy. If you have a liking for watches with bundles of detail, a Luxury Chronograph Watch is likely to be the watch for you. I’ve picked a couple of beautiful luxury watches for men to share with you.

IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph – 41mm

First up is the green faced, 18ct gold, IWC Pilots’ Watch Chronograph 41. I just love this IWC; it exudes luxury watch all day long. The attention to detail is stunning, with the 69386 33 jewel movement, see through sapphire glass back, beautifully designed green rubber strap and quick-change bracelet system. The chronograph functions with hours, minutes & seconds and the watch has a great 46-hour power reserve. At just under £20,000 this is a topflight mid to high value Luxury Men’s Watch.

Rolex Cosmograph Daytona – 40mm

The ‘pièce de résistance’ of Luxury Men’s Chronograph Watches has to be the Cosmograph Daytona from Rolex. My favourite in the Rolex Daytona range is the 40mm Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph in platinum, with an ice-blue dial, an Oyster bracelet and an exquisite chestnut brown Cerachom bezel. Absolutely stunning. This high-performance chronograph can measure average speeds of up to 400 miles per hour! This platinum watch has an amazing finish, with a striking silvery whiteness. If I was pulling into Marina Grande on the island of Capri on my Princess X95 Vista yacht, I’d be delighted to have this Luxury Men’s Watch on my wrist. Every dream begins with a dreamer!

The worldwide mens luxury watches market provides so much choice for the watch enthusiast. The speed and quality of design and development implemented by so many leading brands, has provided us with beautiful watches, rich with precious materials and outstanding features. From Classic Dress Watches to Sports Watches and from Diver Watches to Chronograph Watches there is a Luxury Watch to suit every mood, location, environment, wrist size and to complement all dress codes and fashion icons – from dinner suits to beach shorts to business suits to jeans & t-shirt.

The Luxury Watches selected above are just a few of my favourites in each category.  

What is your favourite in each category?