Don’t Miss This: Our team debates the best watches from $7K-$10K USD

Zach Blass

We’ve debated some of the best watches under $1,000 USD, from $1,000 – $3,000 USD, from $3000 – $5000 USD, and from $5000 -$7,000 USD. Today, in our next installment of the Don’t Miss This series, it is time to tackle the best watches from $7K -$10K USD. To recap: the mission of this series boils down to each team member nominating a watch they believe a prospective collector should definitely consider if they are looking within that specific price budget. (You can see the full criteria at the bottom of the piece).

Ricardo’s pick: Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional 310.30.42.50.01.002

There are a handful of watches that transcend brand. Single word references that are the historical heavyweights of our time. One such watch that lives among this group is my choice for our next selection of watches in the $7-$10K USD range. That watch is the Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional, reference 310.30.42.50.01.002. Affectionately called the Sapphire Sandwich Speedy, it was recently updated, taking an already much beloved piece and making it better.

The improvements start with a new bracelet, which features a heavy taper from 20mm to 15mm. In addition, the three link setup is replaced by five (two polished and three brushed) links. What does this all mean? An overall more comfortable wear on the wrist.

The next big change comes in the form of a new movement. The old reliable calibre 1861 has been replaced by the new calibre 3861. It offers a bump in power reserve, better anti-magnetism and master chronometer certification. Icing on the cake? This is all beautifully displayed through a sapphire-crystal caseback.

Once you get through the new specifications, there is no doubt this new reference is an upgrade over it’s predecessor. But the Speedy isn’t just a spec monster. During one of the most technologically challenging feats of human history, this was the watch that gained the approval of the brightest and bravest of their time. Earning the right to be called the first watch worn on the moon.

How can you even look at another watch after saying that?

Price: $7,150 USD

Zach’s pick: Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 5100 1140 B52A

While there are a lot of watches I like in this price range, i.e. the Grand Seiko SLGH005 “White Birch” and Zenith Chronomaster Sport, I wanted to draw your attention to a lesser discussed reference that deserves much more attention than it perhaps receives. Many within the watch community are familiar with the Fifty Fathoms, a historic diver that ushered in the category as we know it alongside the Rolex Submariner in 1953. A lesser known evolution of the collection, however, is the Fifty Fathoms Bathyschape. One challenge with the Fifty Fathoms is that its pricing is much higher than a watch like the Rolex Submariner, and its sizing runs large – typically clocking in at 45mm in diameter with 40mm reserved for limited editions. But the Bathyscaphe works within a different size territory and level of standard production versatility, offered in both 38mm and 43mm sizes.

For my smaller wrist, and many of you who face a similar sizing conundrum, the Bathyscaphe opens the door to Blancpain divers in a much more wrist-approachable manner. The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 5100 1140 B52A is a 38mm stainless-steel diver that’s 300 metres water-resistant with a screw-down crown. It’s a shirt-cuff friendly 11mm thick and a modest 44mm across the wrist lug-to-lug. While smaller than other Fifty Fathoms models, it packs a lot of stellar tech collectors love. This particular variant with a blue sunburst dial offers a matching blue bezel insert made of ceramic, a highly scratch-resistant material that will not fade and wear like aluminium.

Inside you have an in-house Blancpain caliber 1150, a movement both robust and elegant to the point that Blancpain uses it in their divers, dress watches and that can also be found in Breguet timepieces like the Classique. The well-decorated 21,600 vph caliber is not just pretty, with Côtes de Genève, chamfers, and a solid gold winding rotor, it is also powerful as well. It offers 100 hours of power reserve and an anti-magnetic silicon escapement as well. This means you get an extra thirty hours of power reserve compared to the Rolex Submariner. The watch is factory paired with a dial-matching blue cordura strap, but with a lug width of 20mm the world is your oyster in terms of aftermarket strap pairings you may desire to explore

Price: $9,500 USD

Luke’s pick: Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute to Small Seconds

The Reverso enjoyed its 90^th birthday this year and this milestone was celebrated with a flurry of new releases. One of the most eye-catching was the Reverso Tribute to Small Seconds that comes in a variety of bold colours including burgundy, blue and green. The brand context for these invigorating hues were the Reverso’s coloured dials of the 1930s that included red, navy and chocolate brown. But here these vibrant colours serve to lighten the Reverso’s familiar classicism and add a bit of fun to its dress-watch aesthetic. Think of them like a Reverso juiced up on cocktails for a night on the town.

Each watch sits astride a colour-matched calfskin strap that is handmade by the Argentinian bespoke polo bootmaker Casa Fagliano in a nod to the Reverso’s origin story. Butter-soft on the wrist, every strap is reported to take six hours to make.

Irrespective of which colour you prefer, the glossy darkness of the dial serves to accentuate the silvery gleam of the faceted hour markers, dauphine-style hands, and large seconds counter at six o’clock. While the colour of each watch will turn heads, the case dimensions of 45.6 x 27.4 mm are unobtrusive and backed by a slender profile of just 8.5mm in height. Inside, the watch is fitted with a rectangular-shaped movement designed specifically for the Reverso – the manually wound JLC Caliber 822/2 that offers 45 hours of power reserve. It all add up to deliciously fresh twist on a bona fide classic.

Price: $8,750 USD

Criteria

To be considered, each nominated watch must prescribe to the following rubric and tick multiple boxes. These include:

Value for price visually and technically.
Excellence in aesthetic – great case shapes and dimensions, high wearability and ergonomics, well executed finishes. Intriguing dial textures and tones or power in simplicity (nailing a timeless classic look).
Robustness – up to the task of daily wear. with a high degree of scratch-resistance, shock-resistance, resistance against magnetism, and water-resistance.
Thinness/elegance – if a dress watch, how is the watch compelling enough to divert the gaze away from sportier pieces.
Movements – in house versus mass produced, level of decoration/finishing, accuracy, balance cock versus bridge, length of power reserve, level of complication.
Emotional connection – heritage-driven quality that speaks to iconic designs collectors love.