7 of the best gift watches under $10,000, for when you’re ready to add a real heavy-hitter to the collection

Borna Bošnjak

Continuing our buying guide for the holiday season, we bring you the best watches from our latest NOW Magazine Issue 9 Buying Guide under US$10,000. While some of these may be more aspirational pieces considering the higher price, make sure to check out our other guides suiting all budgets, with under $500, under $1,000 and under $5,000 guides, or the under US$50,000 guide if you’re a high-roller.

Tudor Black Bay Chrono Pink

Pink dials are hardly anything new these days, but they’re certainly new to Tudor chronographs. Though it may not exactly align with fans’ expectations for a decidedly sporty piece, we can’t argue that this is a really cool watch, and many agree, given how difficult getting one seems to be. But when your cover stars are David Beckham, Jay Chou, and Leo Messi in his pink Inter Miami kit, it’s not all that surprising. Price: US$5,650

Horage Supersede Date

The Horage Supersede is the brand’s latest and greatest luxury sports watch creation, presenting as a handsome and remarkably thin piece powered by Horage’s impressive K2 micro-rotor movement, a great offering at this price. It’s a simpler and more water activity-focused piece that forgoes a GMT complication in pursuit of a fresh look, with another strength coming from the brand’s market-leading transparency about just how Swiss their products really are. Price: CHF 5,490 (~US$6,300)

TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Glassbox Panda

It wouldn’t be an unfounded opinion to say that vintage reissues have become stale after a decade of non-stop re-releases. Sure, vintage watches are fantastic, but new watches with vintage looks? Debatably even better. So when TAG Heuer released the Glassbox at last year’s Watches and Wonders, it had a raucous reception. Inspired by the Heuer 7753 SN, the Panda is still modern enough to be considered an original design. Price: US$6,650

Cartier Santos de Cartier Medium

The latest version of the three-handed Santos de Cartier has been a success, so the natural thing for Cartier to do is to experiment with new colourways. This year, the brand put out a lovely chocolatey duo, showing that when a brown dial is done right, it’s just about the most versatile option around. Flowing from black to gold, this one’s got no bad angles. And that’s an objective statement. Price: US$7,050

Zenith Defy Revival Diver A3648

Zenith’s Revival series has seen numerous vintage stunners reintroduced with modern specs, but there has never been a diver, until now. The Revival A3648 closely matches its 1969 predecessor, most noticeably with the bright orange colour scheme, but more importantly, the 37mm case and tetradecagonal bezel return too. This will not be a surprise, as Zenith usually holds true to its past. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? Price: US$7,700

Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional

A white-dialled Speedmaster is by no means revolutionary, but there’s just something about it that has drawn crowds. The multi-layer lacquered finish is stunning in person, elevating what is arguably the most iconic watch ever made. Consistent upgrades throughout the years such as the upgrade to a Master Chronometer-certified Co-Axial movement have resulted in the Speedy becoming pretty much irresistible, and this white dial is not making it any easier. Price: US$8,100

Grand Seiko Evolution 9 SLGW003

I’ll bend the rules ever so slightly here, as I believe that the Grand Seiko SLGW003 is not only absolutely worth its just-above-US$10,000 price tag, but that it’s also one of the best watches released this year, period. The SLGW003’s new hand-winding movement is exciting for the emotional connection and for knocking off a bit of thickness, as is the use of Brilliant Hard Titanium. Te 38.6mm case size could even pass for a dress watch, but this is just about as good as a dapper daily gets. Price: US$10,700