Favorite Entry-Level Price Watches At Baselworld 2019
Victorinox Swiss Army Alliance Mechanical
It used to be that a man could get a proud-looking casual dress watch without having to break the bank. Many of the models that have been in the under $1,000 price-point over the last few years haven’t been particularly proud-looking, with a level of quality a mature adult with good taste would probably want to shy away from. Swiss Army Victorinox is no stranger to casual dress watches but it has really upped its game with the Alliance Mechanical. It boasts one of the lowest prices around for a Swiss ETA 2892 automatic movement and features a high-end-looking and very legible dial set. Priced starting at about $600.
Casio G-Shock Mudmaster GG-B100 Connected Quad Sensor
For 2019, Casio updates its “Triple Sensor” system to “Quad Sensor,” starting with the new Mudmaster that includes a step-counter. The watch also communicates with a G-Shock app on your phone to share data, resulting in a legitimately useful tool in addition to what might be the best looking (and durable) Mudmaster in some time.
Casio clearly worked hard to make this package affordable, with the intent of the Mudmaster GG-B100 being among its more accessible modern G-Shock watches, at a price of $350.
Bulova Joseph Bulova Collection
Three new mechanical dress watches debuted from Bulova under the newly refreshed Joseph Bulova watch collection. Each of the pieces has an elegant, Art Deco theme and includes a Swiss mechanical movement, along with very legible, crisp dials. Bulova didn’t hold back on offering solid value, as well as a fashionable and well designed daily-wear timepiece that is both distinctive and timeless. This is one of the best $1,000- plus watches released by Bulova in quite a while, and it does an excellent job of celebrating the brand’s American legacy. Prices for the different Bulova Joseph Bulova Collection models range from $995 to $1,495.
Tutima Flieger Green
Glashütte, Germany-based Tutima recently released a more affordable aviator watch collection that, for 2019, is joined by a green-dialed model available on either a matching green strap or a well-polished matching steel bracelet. Given local rules, the base Swiss ETA automatic movement is given extra care and attention at Tutima’s headquarters, ensuring that each is carefully regulated and tweaked for optimal performance. Solid proportions and wearing comfort give the Flieger the soul of an authentic tool watch, and the green dial makes it fashionable and relevant. Price is about $2,000.
Click on to the next page to see our Favorite Ultra-High-End Watches At BaselWorld 2019.
Favorite Ultra-High-End Watches At Baselworld 2019
Jacob & Co. Double Triple-Axis Tourbillon Hypernova
When meeting with Jacob & Co., I expect to be outstanded. The company built on wowing the ultra-rich and typically hard-to-please is masterful at creating timepieces that delight the senses, while also communicating a very palpable sense of “I can buy you” when worn on the wrist. For 2019, Jacob & Co. released a new double triple-axis tourbillon movement that feels like the Vianney Halter Deep Space on diamond steroids. A “volcano mountain of diamonds” has rubies as hour and minute hands, which revolve around the conical structure in the domed case. At the top is an exposed triple-axis tourbillon with an interesting twist. The tourbillon is actually two tourbillons stacked like a sandwich and that spin in opposite directions. Jacob & Co. isn’t even done with the watch and the crystal, along with the name of the product, is subject to update. Nevertheless, this roughly $1,300,000 super watch should be on the minds of anyone with the budget and will to intimidate the room using only their timepiece.
Zenith Defy Double Tourbillon 50Hz
Building on technology originally developed for a high-end version of sister company TAG Heuer, this new Zenith high-frequency chronograph combines a dual-escapement chronograph system with two tourbillons. The system in the watch for indicating the time relies on a 5Hz tourbillon, while the chronograph uses a 50Hz balance wheel within its own tourbillon. Zenith has always been wrong in producing playful, modern, and sport high-complication watches and the new Defy Double Tourbillon 50Hz fits within that legacy quite nicely. Price for the Zenith Defy Double Tourbillon 50Hz is CHF 119,900.
David Candaux DC6 Half Hunter Solstice
Independent Swiss watchmaker David Candaux is yet another maestro of horology who once worked behind the scenes making top complications for bigger brands and who now focuses on timepieces that bear his own name. TheDC6 Half Hunter is his latest creation, which builds on a former model he made that has a more classic theme to it. Intended to be modern but also capture the craft of traditional watchmaking art, the DC6 Half Hunter is a quirky but ultimately extremely satisfying modern super-watch with details only seasoned aficionados will see whether it be the exposed (so you can touch) guillochéwork on the case or the beautifully hand-polished mechanical inclined tourbillon movement. With just a few of these produced a year, price is around $270,000 each — and it feels well worth it to those who can afford it.
Patek Philippe 5520P Alarm Travel Time
If there were a “stealth wealth” award winner at Baselworld 2019, Patek Philippe would have won it. Few who aren’t intimately aware of high-end watches would guess by looking at the dial of this sport-style timepiece that it has a roughly quarter-million-dollar price tag. Produced in solid platinum, the 5520P introduces a movement that has a complication I’ve wanted to see for a while now: a mechanical alarm that doesn’t sound ugly. Traditional mechanical alarms are effective with their loud vibrating sounds, but they aren’t very elegant. Today, mechanical watch buyers demand beauty and elegance, not $200,000 plus “buzz boxers.” So what Patek Philippe did is combine its know-how with minute repeater chiming mechanisms to create an impressively loud alarm that, when activated, plays a very attractive (with impressive volume for a platinum case) series of chimes. The watch also contains a travel time complication, along with a very easy-to-use and attractive interface. Cost notwithstanding, this is perhaps the best new complicated watch to debut at Baselworld 2019. Price for the Patek Philippe 5520P Alarm Travel Time is €204,050.
Click on to the next page to see our Favorite Watch Product Line Extensions At BaselWorld 2019.