The Time+Tide team picks the one watch brand they would wear for life
Time+TideEditor’s note: Months back, we played a multiple-choice game on Instagram with you all to see which one watch brand you would wear for life – we even reacted to your selections here in part one and again in part two. But, we realized that we never offered up our team picks. The curtain is now lifted, here are the watch brands our editorial team would be willing to commit to for life.
Russell’s pick: Omega
To live with just one watch brand for the rest of my life, I need that brand to tick some very specific boxes. They need to make a watch that can go anywhere and do anything. They need to make a watch that looks at home in a suit. They need to carry some decent brand recognition. They have to produce high-end and accomplished movements. And they have to have a great history. While I’m sure all of my colleagues bellow will make extremely compelling arguments for their chosen brands, and how they make the most obvious choice, there is no escaping just how well Omega fits the bill.
I have a personal connection to Omega through my Dad’s old watch, but when I think about this practically, Omega still comes up trumps for me. To go through my list, it’s obvious that Omega makes watches that can go anywhere and do anything. The Seamster range has been built around this idea for decades. While the models with the deepest water resistance might not be fit for everyday use, or my wrists, the standard Diver 300M has plenty of ruggedness in it that I would never need to take it off my wrist, no matter the situation I ended up in. Heck, if it’s good enough for Bond, it will be able to handle the rough and tumble of a watch journalist’s lifestyle.
Next on my check list is being able to dress a watch up. While the flagship lines of Seamaster and Speedmaster might not be the ideal choice, I think both the De Ville and Constellation families are too often overlooked. The De Ville Prestige offers a great number of options and the sleek look of the Constellation with a meteorite dial is very hard for me to pass up. And if I really want to get old school, vintage Seamasters might be the best value dress watch you can find on the secondary market right now.
Brand recognition? Well, I’m not sure I need to even justify that with Omega. James Bond, Olympians, astronauts, need I say more?
Watchmaking credentials come from multiple sources at Omega. The fact that they have the Swatch behemoth with ETA behind them helps tremendously. But they also had the foresight to be the first and only brand to commercialise the brilliant work of George Daniels with the adoption of his co-axial escapement. Pair this with the brand’s split second chronograph repeater movement, and you have more than enough watchmaking for my lifetime.
Finally, we have to account for the brand’s history. If I’m going to be wearing this brand my whole life, I want plenty of stories to dive into, after all, that is what ultimately attracts me to watches. I think it’s fair to say there are plenty of stories to dive into with Omega. The Moon landing, the race to the bottom of the ocean, charting the peak of human performance at the Olympics, and many, many other tales that can be discovered. But at the end of the day, if I get bored, and I feel like doing something fun, I can always just throw on a MoonSwatch!
Borna’s pick: Seiko
Yet again, I am sure my pick will come out on top, because I’ve done this the smart way. Admittedly, picking Seiko in a one-brand-for-life competition is cheating, as I’m sure Zach will point out, because I will allow myself any Seiko. And if you ask me, which I guess you are, that also includes Grand Seiko and Credor. Even if you consider that cheating and limit me to any watches with Seiko on the dial, I’m still left with a plethora of incredible choices.
But let’s start with Seiko. If I’m after a durable and arguably iconic design, I need to look no further than a Seiko SKX – and I didn’t – having owned one for years now. Despite its (and putting this lightly) very outdated base movement, it has always been a solid performer, whether it’s being tested in its intended environment while diving, or pelted by sawdust, or continuously getting knocked while rock climbing, or experiencing me forgetting to take it off during a particularly vicious high striker attempt.
If I’m looking for something a little more classy, I need not look far. Seiko’s current Presage line features some of the best dials for the money, and it’s not like there’s a shortage of them either. For something a little more versatile, Seiko’s Prospex line has excellent range, whether it’s a vintage-styled diver you’re after like the recent 24MAS, or perhaps something like the venerable Alpinist, striking the midway point between dressy and sporty perfectly. You could even flirt with the high-end without entering Grand Seiko territory, with multiple Spring Drive-equipped Seiko pieces, the coolest of which has to be the SBWA001.
But this is where my genius truly comes into play, and it’s before I even start toying with the idea of the rules of engagement. You can’t mention Seiko without talking about vintage. It’s been the go-to bang-for-buck brand when it comes to modern pieces, but I’d argue that is even more true with vintage Seikos. Moviestar? There’s the Willard. One of the first (arguably the first) automatic chronographs offered for sale, and coincidentally a space watch? There’s the Pogue. The nearly-killed-mechanical-watchmaking-but-also-revolutionised-it? That’s the Astron, of course. Notice I haven’t yet mentioned the titanium Tuna, “Rolex-beater” Marinemaster, Lord Marvel, SARB033…
And all of that, without a single King, Grand, or Credor. If you include those, a whole new world opens up – both vintage and modern – but I’ll only highlight a few. King Seiko was recently revived as a top-of-the-line Seiko, but the collection used to go toe-to-toe with Grand Seiko’s very best – the 4420-9990 being the best example of that. I need not wax lyrical about Grand Seiko’s recent success, but it’s hard to pass up the metronomic ticking of the Kodo or one of the brand’s signature nature-inspired dials. On the vintage side of things, there’s even more hotness, the pinnacle of which are certainly the VFA models. Hailing from the ’60s and ’70s, and accurate to two seconds per day, they’ve become more and more collectible – a reference 6185-8000 recently sold in all its palladium glory for over US$90,000.
And then, there’s Credor. Your mind will likely jump to something like the Eichi II – and for good reason, as the level of finishing on display is on par with the most revered Swiss and German brands. As is the case with any Seiko-adjacent brand, you can still pick up a 2mm thin Credor cased in tungsten carbide for less than a Tudor bracelet, and it’ll be the best dress watch you’ve ever worn. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.
Zach’s pick: Cartier
Even though, once again, Borna is an absolutely indecisive cheat, I will forgive him – which is hard to do in this case because I love Grand Seiko. But, another contender I could also very well see myself being monogamous with is the master of shapes: Cartier. The beauty of Cartier, for me, is that while the brand does not necessarily have a wide range of robust daily wearers there are plenty of shapes and colours to explore across their expansive catalogue of timeless and always in-style designs.
Mapping out the wear experience, the Santos de Cartier would obviously be my more go-to daily wear option. Whether in less-than-ideal weather or in more active or vacation scenarios, the Santos de Cartier has the robust elegance to cover off all needs. And with blue, green, and white, among other dial options available to me, I can have some variety and spice there with further diversity in the quick-exchange bundled bracelet and strap.
The reality I have to acknowledge as well is that I am an Editor for a watch publication, I do not find myself in extreme daily scenarios – I do not need a dive watch while working on an oil rig. Nine times out of ten, a 30-metre water-resistant and leather-strapped watch will be totally suited for my purposes, and here I have nearly unlimited variety within Cartier. Within collections like the Tank, I have a variety of case metals, dial colours, and even shape variations within the range (i.e Cintree, Normale, Louis). I can then take things a bit more out there with variations of the Tortue or Crash. And, splitting the difference, there is always the Santos Dumont range that has the form-familiarity of the Santos de Cartier but with more risk-taking colours and designs like the Rewind or the lacquered case models you are all likely well aware of how fond I am of the lineup.
There is also the lesser-discussed or acknowledged aspect of Cartier, at least within the mainstream, that they have really upped their movement development game in recent years – the Masse Mystérieuse making this abundantly clear in 2022 and the new Privé Tortue Monopoussoir debuted at Watches and Wonders this year conveying this was not a one-off outlier.
Lastly, and very importantly, Cartier sizing really works for me. I like more compact profiles and dimensions, and what is large for Cartier is small for most brands. This is by all means a green flag for me, not a red flag. Also, we did not establish this, but if vintage is fair game nothing is hotter than vintage Cartier right now and I welcome the distress of being able to pick within that rabbit hole as well.
Jamie’s pick: Jaeger-LeCoultre
The way I see it, if you can only wear one watch brand for life, you should pick a brand that has an extremely diverse range: that’s just being logical. Call it utility maximisation. Seiko and Omega are great picks in this regard – and while it might not be the first brand that comes to mind regarding range diversity, Jaeger-LeCoultre, “the watchmaker’s watchmaker”, is absolutely a contender where that’s concerned.
What other brand on the market has both compressor bezel dive watches and triple-axis tourbillons in their range? The beauty of picking JLC is that you can enjoy the absolute finest haute horlogerie and metiers d’art at the high end, but still have practical (if somewhat elevated) daily wearers at the lower end. If you look into vintage JLC, too, you can also play with field watches and motorsports chronographs… Hell, JLC even made cameras back in the day, but that’s going beyond “wearing”.
I think if you can only wear one brand, too, you need a brand that has icons, and the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is one of watchmaking’s true icons. Indeed, I’d be happy to only wear Reversos for the rest of my life, as I think it’s one of the most versatile watches ever made. It’s technically a sports watch – that’s what it was devised as – but in the 21st century, it also ranks as one of the classiest dress watches one can wear. Man, I really need to buy a Reverso…
I know I’m really stretching the definition now, but if you can only wear one brand for life, does that also count watches that use that brand’s movement? In that case, I could also be wearing JLC-powered Vacheron Constantins and Patek Philippes too… That’s definitely cheating.
D.C.’s pick: Tudor
Although Seiko was my gateway drug, and vintage Breitling has my heart, if I’m pressed to stick with one brand for life, it’s got to be Tudor. No other mainstream name has a current lineup that speaks so directly to me and my preferences. I’ve declared them my brand of the year, and even picked the silver Black Bay 58 925 as my hypothetical one-watch collection (perish the thought).
These are the watches that I would actually open my wallet for, and instead of some triple-axis tourbillon-slash-amusement park for the wrist, I would actually wear every day. And that’s the point of a watch, innit? The wearing part? So there’s the practical aspect sorted. Speaking of practicality, Tudor’s prices, while firmly in the luxury goods category, are entirely reasonable given what’s on offer: classic, vintage-inspired design, nice finishing, and continuous improvement in the movement department.
Thinking ahead to Tudor’s future, I’m quite bullish. They’ve shown a willingness to give the people what they want. In other words, the things that classic Rolex used to offer. For the most part, Rolex has sized up, blinged out, and priced themselves beyond what I’m comfortable with. I’m looking for more tool and less jewel in my timepiece, and Tudor has delivered again and again.
They arguably had the most lusted-after timepiece at Watches & Wonders (again), the Black Bay 58 GMT, in all its retrolicious glory. And I can see at least a dozen watches in Tudor’s current catalogue that I would happily wear as a daily: everything from the aforementioned GMT and BB 58, to the John Player Special Daytona-esque vibes of the Black Bay Chrono S&G (on the stitched bund strap, naturally), the Pelagos 39 diver, and even the integrated 38mm silver-dialled Tudor Royal. That’s a pretty complete lineup, at least in my eyes. If Tudor ever decided to bring back a rectangular-cased dress watch, I’d never have a reason to go anywhere else. And barring some unforeseen stylistic 180 from the brand, I never would.
Buffy’s pick: Vacheron Constantin
Truthfully my top choice for this exercise was already picked, but if I’m going to settle, I’d do well by settling with Vacheron Constantin. I’m hoping that money is no object in this scenario, because I would absolutely fill a watch box with as many solid gold and platinum watches as I possibly could. I’d have my contemporary favourites from the Historiques and Métiers d’Art collections, such as the American 1921 and the Tribute to Great Civilisations Sphinx de Tanis, and then I would delve into the vintage Art Deco references adorned with diamonds and sapphires. Of course there are the iconic models such as the 222 and the luxury sports perfection of the Overseas range, but for me my priorities lie with Vacheron Constantin’s artisanal and storytelling expertise. I should stop fantasising before I make a terrible financial decision.
Andrew’s pick: Longines
When it comes to a one-watch brand commitment, it’s very hard to go past Longines as a contender. Even when you break down every possible criterion for what that commitment could look like… Does Longines have a diver? Yes, it has the Legend Diver which was in fact worn by the Royal Australian Navy in the ’70s – so it even has a connection to my homeland. This compressor-style case with an inner rotating bezel offers endless design combinations and permutations and we are likely to see more innovation and novelty in this collection than ever.
When it comes to aviation, you have the watch that I declared I would never sell, not because I couldn’t rebuy it for a good price, but just because I would never be able to muster the interest in not having it around. That is the Avigation Big Eye which is a less avant-garde take on Longines aviation watches. The more standard configuration has a bunch of variety in options, but then you also have the angled dial limited edition – its offset layout becoming more and more popular in models like the Vacheron Constantin 1921.
Another aviation entry, the Longines Spirit, time and again, is associated with being one of the best value-driven daily wearers – stacking up strongly against commonly championed watches like the Tudor Black 58. The Spirit also offers a wide variety of sweet spot sizes, and goes beyond time and date functionalities with GMT and flyback chronograph complication variants as well.
With the cyclical nature of trends, there are also infinite dress options with the Conquest and Flagship, their designs derived from the ’60s and ’70s. And then, of course, if you’re someone that likes complications and world-beating movements that have defined an era, you can always collect vintage Longines. The 13ZN which in particular is well-regarded by collectors as one of the best chronograph movements ever made. Longines also has credentials in the field – which is confirmed not only by their presence in the Dirty Dozen, but also their rich military stocks which were often reissued under previous president Walter von Känel, himself a military man. Whether it’s for their celebrated movements, historic significance or modern versatility, Longines is a truly strong single-brand contender.