When you’ve been collecting for a while, you’ll get to a point where you don’t feel the excitement with any watch or timepiece anymore. In this article, we’ve listed down some contemporary automatic watches that may only have been under your radar before. These timepieces are not your typical picks of Rolex, Cartier, and Omega. While Swiss watches certainly have the upper hand when it comes to projected craftsmanship, there are several brands from other countries that are as good.
Gaga Milano Slim
Considered a baby in watchmaking years, Gaga Milano is a contemporary Italian brand that takes classic stopwatches’ aesthetics and incorporates them in a wristwatch. The result is modern, chic, and lust-worthy pieces that reflect the energy of the youth. The Gaga Milano Slim, in particular, is a great collection to delve into. Plus, depending on the line you’re getting your watch, you’ll have great fun mixing and matching it!
The Steel line has some excellent options within it, with oversized numerals filling the dial-in colors. Go for the classic white dial with flushed numerals, with a complementary Milanese strap that goes along with lots of outfit choices. At 46mm, it will wear big on small and average-sized wrists, but bigger wrists should be fine. It’s waterproofed up until 30m, so it’s the perfect everyday watch you can sport!
Junghans Max Bill Chronoscope
Calling itself as “The German Watch”, Junghans has been in the industry for quite some time. And in that tenure, the brand has put in work and produced some quality pieces. Inspired by the Bauhaus movement, the Max Bill Chronoscope is arguably one of the best chronograph watches in its price range. This is a stunning watch – the styling is reminiscent of some of Nomos’ watches, but the care put in making this dial work is nothing short of phenomenal.
And it’s not short on the movement front either. Under the hood, you get a self-winding mechanical movement based on the Valjoux 7750, arguably one of the best movements manufactured. The chronograph complication takes it over the edge, and the presentation in the watch’s dial is the chef’s kiss. Paired with a delicate-looking yet trusty calf leather, the Junghans Max Bill Chronoscope is as good a chronograph watch as any.
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe
Blancpain certainly has some great pieces, but when we’re talking about a premier diver’s watch, the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe is a shoo-in, whatever category it is. The flyback chronograph not only is a masterpiece but getting one will also give you bonus points for caring for the Earth’s oceans. The movement inside is legendary as well: an automatic caliber with silicon balance spring, the F385 boasts of a 50-hour power reserve, and a whopping 322 components.
This is a true-blue diver watch and a great alternative to the likes of Rolex’s Sea-Dweller and Omega’s Seamaster. But what it fails to do is be full dive proof. The Bathyscaphe is only 30meter water-resistant, and while that’s quite enough for a day on the yacht and light swimming, it won’t be a great watch to wear when you go deep-sea diving. But fret not because the steel bezel in the titanium gray model is nothing short of stunning.
IWC Portofino
The International Watch Company is one of those watchmakers that enthusiasts and connoisseurs flock to when it comes to dressing watches. This collection from IWC Schaffhausen has been tested by time, and it has proven itself quite worthy of anyone’s fantasy watch collection. You can use a Portofino as an everyday watch and you won’t see evidence of wear and tear even after a couple of years.
If you can, get the Portofino Automatic with a Moon Phase complication. A self-winding movement powers it with at most 42 hours of power reserve. The 35800 Calibre is water-resistant for at least 30meters, and the dial features a moon phase display on the 12-o’clock position. This complication from IWC is so accurate that it will only be off by 1 day in more than 500 years.
In A Nutshell
If you’ve only preferred one movement before, then it’s time to look at other movements, or if you particularly look for a complication in the watches you buy, then maybe it’s time to rethink that notion. There are still more timepieces to choose from that we’re pretty sure that you haven’t heard of before.
For any budding watch collector out there, always bear in mind that collecting doesn’t need to be just a hobby or something that you become addicted to. Watch collecting can be expensive, to the point of wasting precious monetary resources that could be used for your future. Collect watches that you can afford, and indulge in some quality timepieces every now and then, but don’t make it a habit only to buy expensive watches!
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