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The Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea

The Rolex Submariner might be the iconic Rolex but the Sea-Dweller is its lesser-known big brother. Designed for saturation divers and equipped with a helium escape valve, today’s Sea-Dweller -- rated to 4,000 feet or more, depending on the reference -- is a Rolex on steroids. 

The Rolex Sea-Dweller, Deepsea reference, features a gradient blue dial and green lettering -- and a depth rating of 12,800 feet, or 3,900 m. 

In 2012 Hollywood director James Cameron decided he would dive into the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the world's oceans. 

Strapped to Cameron’s vessel was the Rolex Deepsea Challenge, which successfully visited 10,898 meters depth and even kept perfect time. 

Cameron, above, wearing a Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea. Below, the Rolex Deepsea Challenge watch which is rated to 12,000 meters!

The Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea, which was created in 2014 in honor of James Cameron's expedition, has a gradient blue dial and “DEEPSEA” in green lettering.

It is rated to 12,800 feet or 3,900 m, which is coincidently, the depth of the Titanic wreckage, making the Deepsea the perfect watch for James Cameron.

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The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso

In 1930 British officers in India faced a First World Problem: how to stop errant polo balls from destroying their wristwatches. The next year Swiss watchmaker Jacques-David LeCoultre partnered with Alsatian industrialist Edmond Jaeger and came up with an elegant solution: a timepiece whose case can be flipped 180 degrees to hide the crystal. 

The Reverso, from Latin “I turn around,” became a favorite of the smart set: King Edward VIII of England had the royal crest of the throne he had abdicated engraved on the flip side of his. Various versions have been seen on the wrists of luminaries, including Jay Z and General Douglas MacArthur (whose 1935 Reverso sold for $75,000 in 2015).

Fictionally speaking, Don Draper started wearing a gold Reverso after becoming a partner at Sterling Cooper (his wife, Betty, had it engraved). In real life 50 years later, Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced a limited-edition Grande Reverso Ultra Thin, with his firm's logo on the caseback.

And Gordon Gekko wore it big time in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. 

Eighty-five years on, the latest editions of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso remain true to their Art Deco roots -- with modern variations, including tourbillons, skeletons and dual time-zone functions.

No matter the look -- for both men and women -- it is an understated classic watch that stems from the fast sport of polo, yet equipped with a movement that is one of the best in the business: Jaeger-LeCoultre used to manufacture the movements for Patek Philippe.

Watch aficionados call Jaeger-LeCoultre timepieces “a Patek for the price of a Rolex.”

Below, an ad for the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso highlighting its equestrian roots and featuring polo champion Eduardo Novillo Astrada Jr. 

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The Breitling Cosmonaute

The Speedmaster wasn’t the first watch to go to space. The first Swiss wristwatch to go to space was a Breitling, a 24-hour-dial Navitimer worn by astronaut Scott Carpenter, who orbited the Earth three times aboard the Aurora 7 capsule in 1962.

Carpenter had been one of the original seven astronauts chosen by NASA for Project Mercury in 1959 along with John Glenn. 

Glenn who went to space before Carpenter had a Heuer watch with him. But it wasn’t a wristwatch. Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space, but he was likely wearing a Sturmanskie, a Soviet brand that was created in 1949 but was not available to the public. (Gagarin died in a jet crash in 1968, so that information was never verified.) 

Carpenter had suggested the Breitling Navitimer to NASA. The Navitimer had a 24-hour graduation – a vital necessity in distinguishing day from night – and a chronograph. Carpenter’s Breitling was the first chronograph to fly into space.

Unfortunately – and a little ironically – the model wasn't waterproof so having survived the pressures of space, it was damaged by seawater when Carpenter splashed down in the Atlantic.

During recovery, the watch is submerged, the dial is damaged and the watch is sent to Breitling... then disappears. It was never found again. But Breitling has since re-issued the Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute with its signature 24-hour dial. 

But reading the time needs some getting used to: In the picture above and below, the time shown on the dial isn’t 10:08, but rather 20:08, which translates to 8:08 PM, even though at first glance, the hour hand is at the 10 o’clock position.

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Richard Mille

Richard Mille's bold vision is to apply to watches the high-performance techniques and materials used in the most innovative sectors, such as in Formula 1 cars, and make ultra-light and shock-resistant watches, with price tags that often exceed an eye-popping $100,000.

Innovation carries a price: While the average retail price of a Richard Mille watch is about $180,000, one of his latest, the RM 50-03 McLaren F1, is $980,000. (The first Richard Mille, the RM 001, below.)

The price is not only a factor of the extensive research, development and testing under extreme conditions, but also of 35 to 40 percent of the assembled products being rejected. 

In 2010 Richard Mille releases the RM 027 tourbillon, the world’s lightest mechanical wristwatches at just 19 grams, strap included. Created for Rafael Nadal, this hyper-expensive watch was worn by the famous tennis player during his matches.

The lightness of the watch was a requirement not just for a comfort reason but also because a lighter watch proved to be more resistant to shocks.

In 2016 Richard Mille announced a new, long term partnership with the McLaren-Honda Formula 1 team. Richard Mille timepieces are gracing the wrists’ of some of the finest drivers in motorsport, including world champions  Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.

The RM 50-03 McLaren F1, a masterpiece produced in collaboration with McLaren Formula 1 constructor, established an exceptional record as the lightest mechanical chronograph ever made. 

Combining a tourbillon with a split seconds chronograph, the RM 50-03 weighs less than 40 grams, strap included. (Pictured above, price tag: $980,000.)

Richard Mille most recently introduced the seventh Rafael Nadal watch, the RM 27-03, weighing in at 34 grams and boasting shock resistance of up to 10,000 Gs. 

Yes, Rafael Nadal now plays tennis with a $750,000 watch and even won the 2017 French Open with it. 

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The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms

Blancpain might not have Rolex's brand recognition worldwide. But Blancpain -- not Rolex -- created the first modern diver’s watch with its Fifty Fathoms. At almost 300 years old, Blancpain is also the oldest watchmaking brand in the world.

Our tale begins in 1735 with a school teacher turned watchmaker, Jehan-Jacques Blancpain in the Jura village of Villeret. The founding was by today’s standards modest. The workshop (pictured, below) was located on the second story of Jehan-Jacques’ farmhouse; the inhabitants of the first floor were horses and cattle.

By recording his name in the official property register of the municipality of Villeret, this pioneer had created an establishment which is now the world's oldest watchmaking brand.

Among the Blancpain's great successes is the Fifty Fathoms (pictured, above), launched in 1953 and produced at the request of the "Combat Swimmers" of the French navy, who needed a reliable watch for their underwater operations. 

Captain Robert "Bob" Maloubier (above, wearing a Blancpain) and the Lieutenant Claude Riffaud, the co-founders of the unit, submitted the project to Jean-Jacques Fiechter, by then CEO of Blancpain, who accepted the challenge.

The Fifty Fathoms with its diving bezel was released before the Rolex Submariner. It was worn by Jacques-Yves Cousteau, among others and  became the standard of reference among diving watches. The Fifty Fathom is still made today (below). Blancpain -- unlike Rolex or Omega -- has never produced a quartz watch.

The Fifty Fathoms collection embodies Blancpain’s passion for the underwater world that was originally expressed in 1953 with the creation of the first modern diver’s watch. The brand has released updated models including the Bathyscaphe, below. 

Ever since, Blancpain has been accompanying divers and underwater photographers in their exploration and discovery of the oceans’ beauty, it has also shown the motivation to protect it.

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The Rolex GMT-Master

The Rolex GMT-Master was developed in cooperation with Pan Am. As flying distances in the 1950s increased, Pan Am asked Rolex to develop a watch for their pilots that could tell different times simultaneously. And every Pan Am pilot received a free Rolex.

The Rolex GMT-Master was designed as a true aviator watch: The newly introduced fourth hand (the red hand, above) allowed the display of an additional time, with the corresponding numbermarkings on the outer bezel. Pilots used the second time to display the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), a standard time used in aviation, or the local timezone.

Above, a Rolex GMT-Master with an aluminum black and red bezel. The color black is for night time, the red for day time. Today’s bezels are made in scratch-resistant ceramic and are available in all-black, blue and red, and black and blue. The numerals have been updated on the bezel as well. 

The Rolex GMT-Master can be spotted on the wrist of Tom Selleck in the famous 80s TV series “Magnum PI.” Australian actor Mel Gibson wore it in the movie “Air America.” 

The Rolex-GMT with its rich history is considered the quintessential aviator watch, the same way the Submariner is Rolex’s famous divers watch. The GMT-Master is also available in gold or in a two-tone steel and gold. Below, two ads from Rolex. 

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The Omega Speedmaster

The Omega Speedmaster was the official watch for NASA astronauts and the first watch that went to the Moon. In 1962, NASA purchased a series of chronographs of different brands, such as Breitling, Omega, Longines and Rolex, with the task of finding the best watch available for their astronauts to wear in space. The Omega Speedmaster was the only watch to pass NASA’s strenuous testing.

Only three watches out of six chronographs successfully survived the pre-selection phase. The finalists were then subjected to 11 different tests - the most rigorous trials endured in the history of horology, which included being able to operate under extreme low and high temperatures, pressures, decompression, humidity, vibration, shock and acceleration, to name a few.  

On March 1, 1965, the test results were completed and only the Omega Speedmaster passed. At the time, NASA’s testers wrote, "Operational and environmental tests of the three selected chronographs have been completed; and, as a result of the test, Omega chronographs have been calibrated and issued to three members of the Gemini Titan III crews." 

On the 20th of July, 1969 the first manned lunar landing was certainly one of the most dramatic scientific achievement in human history. Neil Armstrong was the first to step onto the moon’s surface. Since the electronic timing system on the Lunar Module was not functioning correctly, Armstrong had left his watch aboard as a reliable backup. Nineteen minutes later he was joined by Buzz Aldrin, who was wearing his Omega Speedmaster Professional. A few months after this mission, Buzz's watch was stolen and never returned.

In 1970, after an electrical failure caused an explosion in the Apollo 13 and the crew had to evacuate to the tiny Aquarius Lunar Module to conserve power, pilot Jack Swigert used his Speedmaster to precisely calculate the critical 14 seconds of engine boost to angle the shuttle for re-entry into the earth's atmosphere. 

Above, a vintage-inspired Speedmaster, a nod to its car-racing roots from 1957, before the space program. Below, some of the versions and limited editions of the Speedmaster Professional, often commemorating space mission anniversaries. 

Below, one of the latest versions of the Speedmaster with a moon phase complication at 6 o’clock. As a detail, Omega added Buzz Aldrin's footprint in the moon-phase display of the watch.

The watch remains a true classic, and an updated version with an electronic display is currently being used by NASA and ESA astronauts.

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The Rolex Daytona

What is incredible in the story of the Rolex Daytona is that early models were not at all popular when they first came out. It was not unusual for a Daytona to go unsold for as long as five years at a Rolex authorized dealer. Today there is a long waiting list to buy a new Daytona, a wait that can span more than two years. 

The older Daytonas are among the most sought-after Rolexes in the world, and vintage Daytonas can reach well over $100,000.

All that thanks to Paul Newman who made the watch famous -- or rather thanks to his wife, Joanne Woodward, who had gifted him that watch with a special engraving on the back case: “Drive Carefully Me.”

Paul Newman reportedly wore his Daytona every day of his life from 1972 until 2008. The watch eventually became so popular that an updated model was issued in 1988 and again in 2016. 

Even if Paul Newman was not a Rolex ambassador or otherwise connected to the Swiss manufacturer, he was a Rolex enthusiast and over the years it has become common to identify any Rolex Daytona with exotic dial as "The Paul Newman Daytona".

In 1988 Rolex started manufacturing a brand new Daytona, the reference 16500 series. Though not considered yet vintage, these now-discontinued watches are still worth more than $10,000 on the second-hand market.

The most recent Rolex Daytona model has now a ceramic bezel and sapphire glass. This watch is so popular that it’s not unusual to be on a two-year waiting list to receive one from an authorized dealer. Because of the wait, they can be found on the grey or used market at a higher price than a brand new one! There is no hotter Rolex on the market today. 

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The Tag Heuer Monaco

The Monaco was revolutionary for being the first automatic as well as the first square cased chronograph. But it never got cool until Steve McQueen gave it exceptional exposure in the car racing film "Le Mans” released in 1971.

The Hollywood film star used the watch to accessorize his character in the 1971 film Le Mans. In the decades after his death the use of film stills has made the watch synonymous with McQueen.

The watch is highly visible during the film (Heuer products appeared for more than a quarter hour) and on the wrist of a famous Hollywood star. The Monaco 1133B quickly became one of the most recognizable sport watches ever designed.

In July 2012, one of the actual Monaco wristwatches worn by Steve McQueen during Le Mans production (featured, above) was sold at a Hollywood memorabilia auction at the staggering hammer price of US$ 650,000.

Realizing the value of its heritage, in 1998 TAG Heuer decided to launch the "Re-Edition" series, a collection of Carrera and Monaco timepieces directy inspired to classic Heuer chronographs of the 1960s.

To promote the Monaco, TAG Heuer contacted Chad McQueen, Steve McQueen’s son, to negotiate the rights to use pictures of his father who had died in 1980. 

In 2015 the Monaco was once again updated and now displays the crown on the left, just like McQueen’s Monaco in the movie “Le Mans,” and the Tag Heuer logo on the dial leaves out the mention of “Tag.” Below, side-by-side the original Heuer Monaco 1969 and the 2015 Monaco.

Limited editions with dial variants can also be found but for a premium price.