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It’s the Christmas gift that’s guaranteed to impress but the sheer array of styles and materials can be bewildering. So take away the guesswork with our guide to picking out the perfect timepiece, whatever your loved one’s personality and however big your budget
For the businessman
A sharp suit requires a suitably sophisticated timepiece – and this is one you won’t want to hide under the cuff. Better known to fans of the Seiko brand simply as the “Snowflake”, the watch has an elegantly restrained design that conceals an unusual mechanism, bringing together the very best of batterypowered and mechanical watchmaking. As Hodinkee says: “It’s become a huge fan favourite, and a much-lauded critics’ darling as well.”
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Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
A good sports watch should look the part and yet be hard wearing enough to withstand being put through its paces in a variety of pursuits. This stylish number from Tudor has a robust stainless steel case, and is packed full of handy features such as water resistance to 200m, ample lume for visibility in the dark and a GMT function which allows you to track two different time zones at once. A travel-ready take on the brand’s popular dive watch – perfect for the active person in your life.
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For the vintage racing enthusiast
Panda dials – which feature light-coloured watch dials with black sub-elements – were enormously popular in the 60s and 70s, and are hugely sought after by vintage collectors today. Some classic panda dials, such as the Rolex Dayton “Paul Newman”, now command vast sums, “so it’s no surprise that brands are capitalising on the trend and creating reissues that utilise this dial style,” says Gear Patrol. The Intra-Matic Auto Chrono is a particularly good example at a very reasonable price – the perfect gift for racing enthusiasts with a vintage sensibility.
From IWC to Patek Philippe, many major watch brands have spent 2018 releasing vintage-style watches that take design inspiration from the past, while incorporating technology from the present. Certina’s DS PH200M is just such a watch, emulating the look and feel of a model that was originally released in 1967, including the same sword hands, cross-hair dial, aluminium bezel and old-school “Hesalite” crystal as its predecessor, but with a Powermatic 80 self-winding movement behind the scenes. This offers an impressive 80 hours of power when fully wound. Vintage looks, but modern performance.
Most luxury watch brands these days hail from Switzerland, but in the 18th century it was English watchmakers who led the world. Now, the UK is back with solid young companies like Vertex. Two years ago Don Cochrane breathed new life into his grandfather’s old watch company with the Vertex M100. Based on one of the brand’s most famous products, the Calibre 59, Cochrane’s update is a knockout, with handsome 3-D moulded numerals adorning the dial.
A. Lange & Söhne make some of the most prestigious timepieces in the world, with often dizzying price tags to match. The tourbillon version of the German firm’s 1815 watch was introduced four years ago and was updated this year with a handsome enamel dial. The result is a watch of subtle beauty and, as Robb Report says, “word has it that collectors have already come calling”.
A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Tourbillon with enamel dial, £175,200, alange-soehne.com
Arion McNicoll is a freelance writer at The Week Digital and was previously the UK website’s editor. He has also held senior editorial roles at CNN, The Times and The Sunday Times. Along with his writing work, he co-hosts “Today in History with The Retrospectors”, Rethink Audio’s flagship daily podcast, and is a regular panellist (and occasional stand-in host) on “The Week Unwrapped”. He is also a judge for The Publisher Podcast Awards.
