Top 10 Luxury Watch Brands 2014

Even while in Oahu, I never stopped looking at watches. That’s already part of my tradition, to make usyoso.
Our hotel is steps away from the Rolex and Omega stores. Multi-brand luxury watch store, Tourneau is also at the next corner with such brands as Breguet, A. Lange & Sohne and Jaeger leCoultre.

I was so engrossed looking at the display cases I didn’t realize the store’s door had already been locked by the manager because it was already 10:10 pm.
Tourneau in Kalakaua Avenue, Waikiki closes at 10 pm.

In Ala Moana, we went inside a watch store but they sold mainly men’s watches.
The Hermes’ Cape cod with diamonds in yellow gold is also pretty. We were kidding the sales lady if it comes with a free Birkin.

I also liked a classic style Breguet, a vintage Audemars Piguet and a Rolex Cellini, Omega Seamaster. From outside the window, I also enjoyed looking at Harry Winston watches which looked more of a diamond jewelry than a watch, kasi sa dami ng diamonds, hindi na makita yung oras. They would look good on First Lady Imelda Marcos, on Duchess Catherine, on Kris Aquino, certainly not on me. Hindi kasya credit card limit and bank book balance.

I have a collection of business cards from watch store managers and sales specialists. The good thing with what I am doing (looking at all watches) is my curiosity is satisfied by mere trying on the watches, asking for information, etc. The intensity of wanting to have a new watch is kept at bay kasi nga naisukat ko na lahat. This was the same strategy that I applied when my daughter was two and a half years old. Every afternoon we would drive to Toys R Us at the corner of Hesperian Boulevard and Corsair and let her play with the store’s merchandise. Mabait naman sya, hawak hawak lang, she didn’t destroy or dirty them. We would be there until closing time or till she got tired. She would be good till the next day. Her curiosity had been satisfied fully, without me spending a dollar to buy her a new toy every time. She never asked me to buy a toy.
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My top 4 current watch favorites are:

4. vintage Rolex White gold Cellini with mother of pearl and dia face and bezel
with satin strap

3. Chopard Rose Gold

2. Breguet Classic automatic

The only person that I’ve seen wearing a Breguet is a friend of mine who is crazy about watches and his purse approves. He probably doesn’t remember how many he has so far. There is no danger losing his watch to a snatcher because my friend doesn’t cross the street on foot and he just stays mostly in his office on top of the world.

1. Patek Philippe Nautilus

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I stumbled upon a list of Top Ten Luxury Watch Brands in 2014 by Luxe High Life
and written by Alexis Newman

10. Rolex

Rolex was founded in 1915 and has risen to become an iconic piece of possession. It’s the most popular brand among ordinary folks. They continue to enjoy high marketing prowess, popularity and surge of demand. Go to a Rolex dealer in Hongkong and you’ll find the most of number of styles and quantity in one single store. Rolex timepieces are reliable and retains its investment value.

9. Ulysse Nardin

Founded in 1846 by Ulysse Nardin, an accomplished Swiss watchmaker, the brand, over the past 165 years, has become widely respected for its highly accurate marine chronometers. Businessman Rolf Schnyder, acquired the brand in 1983 and went on to relaunch it with a design and technical makeover. To date, the company has attained 18 international gold medals and 4,300 first prizes in chronometric.

8. Blancpain

Founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain in Villet Switzerland. Placing emphasis on quality rather than quantity, Blancpain produces fewer than 30 watches per day with each timepiece being crafted by a single watchmaker. The company has retained its “supreme quality” brand identity by committing itself to the production of “grande complication” wristwatches and today, according to its commercial slogans, the company has never produced quartz watches in the past nor does it intend to in the future.

7. Girard-Perregaux

With origins dating back to 1791 and as an inventor of many innovative concepts, Girard Perregaux is considered one of the top ten watch manufacturing companies in the world. Designing and producing its own movements, they are known for their timeless and more classic designs. Girard-Perregaux only produces 12,000 pieces a year.

6. Jaeger leCoultre

Since 1833, Jaeger-LeCoultre is the first manufacturer to have been established in the Vallée de Joux, Switzerland. Today, its one of the most prolific in-house movement manufacturers. Over the years, the brand has been crafting some of the finest watches ever made such as the Reverso, the Duoplan, the Master Control, the Memovox Polaris, the Gyrotourbillon and the Atmos.

5. Audemars Piguet

Founded in 1875 in Le Brassus, a village in the Joux valley region in the heart of the Swiss Jura, Audemars Piguet has become renowned for its legendary spirit of innovation. The firm is the oldest manufacturer of Haute Horlogerie never to have left the hands of the founding families. From the first Grande Complication pocket watch presented in 1882, to more recent models such as the Jules Audemars and the Royal Oak, the company continues to produce some of the world’s finest timepieces.

4. A. LANGE & SOHNE

The German high-end watch brand has been crafting meticulously precise timepieces since 1845. Based in Glashutte Germany, all Lange movements are developed, produced and assembled by the brand itself. Known for its Glashütte design which includes three-quarter plates, hand-graved balance cocks and screwed gold chaton, all its movements are made from “German silver,” a metal composed of copper and nickel.

3. Breguet

Breguet has a historical legacy that includes Marie Antoinette and Napoleon. Founded in Paris in 1775 by Abraham-Louis Breguet, a watchmaker and student of mathematics. Today, each timepiece is crafted in the Vallèe de Joux in Switzerland. The brand has pioneered numerous watch making technologies such as the tourbillon (invented by Abraham-Louis Breguet) the gong spring for the minute repeater, the pare-chute (timepiece shock absorbers) and the single hand watch know as the “subscription watch.”

2. Vacheron Constantin

Founded in 1755 by Jean-Marc Vacheron, a young entrepreneur as well as a skilled watchmaker based in Geneva, Vacheron Constantin is the oldest watch manufacturer in the world. It once held the number one spot on the Swiss A list but the brand’s marketing prowess and return on investment value fell a bit short of Patek Philippe. However, it has still maintained the image of excellence, maturity and old money. The company’s philosophy, “do better if possible and that is always possible,” has led it to create timepieces that push the boundaries of perfection.

1. Patek Philippe

The family run firm is as renowned for its precision and craftsmanship as it is for its rare and exclusive timepieces. Co-founded in 1851 by Antoni Patek, a Polish watchmaker and Adrien Philippe, a French watchmaker, the duo went on to pioneer the perpetual calendar, split-seconds hand, chronograph and minute repeater. Today, the company develops and manufactures its movements in-house to its own quality criteria. Each watch is handmade by old world artisans who have perfectly mastered micro-mechanical engineering. Since 1839, 100% of its movements are awarded the official Hallmark of the Geneva Seal. Also, investing in a Patek Philippe (in particular vintage models) is always a smart move as their high market value means that timepieces can easily run into the six figure bracket at auctions.