You know what’s nice? Variety. Too often in the watch world, we’re bombarded with nothing but highly expensive, niche products that only a select few can truly enjoy, and as a result, we tend to forget that a watch — even a “luxury” watch — needn’t cost the same as a Tri-State area mortgage. (And when I say “We’re bombarded,” I really mean, “I bombard you” — sorry about that.) Over the past few months, however, we found watches from all different price points, beginning at just a few hundred bucks and extending to over $10,000. Most of them, however, are fairly down to Earth. So as you gear up for summer and look for that perfect wrist companion, consider one of these choices that came out in May and June 2023.
Aera D-1 Ocean Diver
A boutique brand founded in 2018, Aera offers minimalist takes on classic silhouettes at reasonable prices. The newest iteration of its D-1 Ocean Diver reads like a microbrand version of something like Tudor’s Black Bay: Measuring 42mm in 904L stainless steel, it features a deep blue dial and matching dive bezel against which bright white indices and hands done up in Globolight and Super-LumiNova positively pop. Powered by the automatic Sellita SW200-1 Elaboré-grade movement, this is no slouch of a watch — rather, it features professional-grade influences that lend themselves well to a variety of use cases. With its 300m of water resistance and blue rubber FKM strap, however, the D-1 is certainly a dive watch at heart.
- Diameter: 42mm
- Movement: Sellita SW200-1 Elaboré automatic
- Water Resistance: 300m
- Price: $1,600
Ferragamo F-80 Skeleton Navy
We know what you’re thinking — that you’re about to be fed a “fashion watch.” We ask you to put your qualms aside for a moment, however, to check out this cool new thing from Ferragamo: A fresh colorway in the F-80 Skeleton line — which I had admittedly never seen before, so it’s all new to me! — this cool blue timepiece is sort of a mashup of a Hublot and a Swatch. Measuring 41mm in a navy-colored, bioceramic case, it features a funky, skeletonized dial through which you can view the automatic Landeron movement ticking away within. Paired to an integrated bio-based PU rubber strap with a butterfly clasp, it’s water resistant to 100m and looks pretty fresh with its rose gold-colored hands, indices, and screws.
- Diameter: 41mm
- Movement: Landeron 24 automatic
- Water Resistance: 100m
- Price: $2,195
DOXA SUB 300T Clive Cussler
For many years — perhaps it’s even fair to say, “until recently” — DOXA remained an under-the-radar, IYKYK-sort of brand. However, it had a big boost in popularity due to the horological taste of one Dirk Pitt, protagonist of Clive Cussler’s famous adventure novels. A dedicated underwater explorer in addition to a bestselling writer who sold more than 100 million books, Cussler is being celebrated by DOXA in the form of its new SUB 300T Clive Cussler watch. With a handmade dial evoking a compass as well as an “aged steel” appearance, it takes on the look of an archaeology relic — a fitting tribute to man whose organization, National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA), discovered more than 60 shipwrecks.
- Diameter: 42mm
- Movement: Sellita SW200 automatic
- Water Resistance: 1,200m
- Price: $2,690
10 Quartz Watches Even Hardcore Watch Nerds Will Love
Just because it’s battery powered doesn’t mean it ain’t cool
LUMINOX LAUNCHES MIL-SPEC 3350 SERIES
While not issued to a particular unit or branch of the armed forces, the new Luminox MIL-SPEC 3350 Series complies with MIL-PRF-46374G from the Department of Defense, making it, quite literally, “Good enough for government work.” As is typical of Luminox watches, this one features constantly-glowing tritium tubes for illumination in low-light situations, plus a lightweight Carbonox case, a rubber dive strap with an additional camo webbing strap, and an impressive 300m of water resistance. Powered by an ETA quartz movement with HeavyDrive and PreciDrive technology, it’s extra shock resistant and highly accurate — dual “musts” for military watches.
- Diameter: 46mm
- Movement: ETA F06.412 quartz
- Water Resistance: 300m
- Price: $695
anOrdain Model 3 Limited Edition for HODINKEE
We know, we know — this watch sold out before the sun had even set in Scotland the day it was released. Nevertheless, we have to highlight it here, as it’s one of the coolest timepieces the brand has made to date. (And who knows — maybe you’ll be able to find one on the secondary market!) Housed in the svelte Model 3 stainless steel case, it features a world first: a hand-engraved sunburst enamel dial. If you look closely, you’ll see radial grooves emanating from the center, each of which was carved by hand. (It takes three dials to complete a single, finished enamel dial, making for a rejection rate of some ~66%.) Beautiful to behold and powered by an automatic movement, it’s little surprise that this striking design object, in its run of just 25 pieces, sold out so quickly.
- Diameter: 39mm
- Movement: Sellita SW300 automatic
- Water Resistance: N/A
- Price: $6,000 (SOLD OUT)
Bulgari Aluminum Capri Solotempo
Bulgari’s aluminum watches are a fun-loving, (relatively) affordable alternative to the brutalist brilliance of the razor-thin Octo Finissimo line. This spring, the time-only Aluminum is available with a special “Capri” dial — a handsome blue that fades from light to dark beginning at the top of the dial. Housed in a 40mm lightweight aluminum case and paired to an integrated rubber strap with aluminum links and an aluminum pin buckle, it features the collection’s signature rubber bezel as well as a date window and Super-LumiNova lume. A limited edition of 1,000 pieces powered by an automatic movement with a 42-hour power reserve, it’s the perfect watch for a carefree summer. (It’s also available in chronograph form!)
- Diameter: 40mm
- Movement: Bulgari Calibre B77 automatic
- Water Resistance: 100m
- Price: $3,350
Bremont MB Viper
The MB Viper has a pretty darn cool backstory: It was born from a test carried out by ejection seat manufacturer Martin-Baker that was designed to put Bremont’s relatively new ENG300 movement through its paces. Once the movement passed the testing, the housing — which is made from lightweight anodized aluminum and titanium — was developed into a limited-edition timepiece. The first model in the Martin-Baker range powered by the ENG300, it takes the form of a 42.5mm matte DLC, Grade 5 titanium square with a bright orange bezel, a white dial, and a unique handset reminiscent of ejection seat livery. And the ENG300 movement itself, you ask? It features a 65-hour power reserve, a silicon escape wheel, and KIF shock protection.
- Diameter: 42.5mm
- Movement: Bremont ENG300 automatic
- Water Resistance: 100m
- Price: $5,995
Ulysse Nardin Ocean Race Diver Chronograph
Made in partnership with The Ocean Race, the new Ocean Race Diver Chronograph celebrates not only competitive yachting, but also sustainability: Produced from black DLC-coated titanium and powered by the Ulysse Nardin Manufacture chronograph Calibre UN-150, it features a unidirectional bezel made with Carbonium, a material made with upcycled airplane fuselage components that boasts 40% less environmental impact that similar materials. Limited to 100 pieces, the Diver Chronograph is perfect for use in and around the water: With its triple-register chronograph, it’s ideal for racing applications, while 300m of water resistance ensures that you won’t have to worry about your watch should you take a dip “in the drink.”
- Diameter: 44mm
- Movement: Ulysse Nardin Calibre UN-150 automatic
- Water Resistance: 300m
- Price: $15,700
Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Worldtimer Titanium
A truly innovative timepiece, the Aqua Terra Worldtimer in titanium is a 43mm bruiser of a travel watch, but for good reason: Its highly legible, incredible black and grey dial is produced via laser and displays the time in different cities throughout the world. Boasting a beautiful view of the Earth as seen from the North Pole, it features a black ceramic bezel with matching hands and indices filled in with white Super-LumiNova that glows blue in the dark. Handsome, sporty, and thoroughly contemporary feeling, the Aqua Terra Worldtimer is powered by Omega’s METAS-certified Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 8938 and comes paired to an integrated strap in black structured rubber with grey stitching.
- Diameter: 43mm
- Movement: Omega Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 8938 automatic
- Water Resistance: 150m
- Price: $11,800
Mr Jones Watches Berry Late
Sometimes, we all need a dose of welcome levity from the watch world — which we admittedly rarely receive. Well, here’s the antidote to all that Swiss seriousness: It’s the Berry Late watch from British boutique brand Mr. Jones Watches. You read the time via the two strawberries on the dial, which form the hands. But once an hour, a jumble of seemingly random letters on the dial come together to form the phrase, “Fuck it! Time is just a social construct.” Measuring 37mm in stainless steel, it’s the perfect size for both men and women, and given its affordable price, would even make a great gift. Indeed, if all this doesn’t bring a smile to your face, we’re not sure what will.
- Diameter: 37mm
- Movement: Quartz
- Water Resistance: 50m
- Price: $245
Breitling 42mm Classic AVI
Rejoice! This month brings us reissued Breitling AVI models, this time in 42mm cases. (We’d prefer 38mm cases, but we’ll take what we can get.) Available in several different colorways, each honors a vintage aircraft (such as the De Havilland Mosquito or the F4U Corsair) and features a bidirectional 12-hour bezel as well as either a calfskin leather strap with a folding buckle or a stainless steel bracelet with a butterfly clasp. Powering each is the automatic Breitling Caliber 23, a movement with 48 hours of power reserve and a triple-register chronograph display. Beautiful, welcome additions to the greater Breitling oeuvre, they’re available beginning at $5,800.
- Diameter: 42mm
- Movement: Breitling Caliber 23 automatic
- Water Resistance: 100m
- Price: $5,800-$6,100
ICECREAM x G-SHOCK DW-5600
Pharrell Williams is much more than an award-winning singer, songwriter, and producer — he’s a multi-hyphenate artist whose creative aptitudes seem to know no bounds. Now, his streetwear label Billionaire Boys Club is releasing two limited-edition watches with G-SHOCK just in time for summer fun. The ICECREAM x G-SHOCK DW-5600, produced by the brand’s skate sub-label, features the ICECREAM “Soft Serve” logo on the watch’s caseback as well as a special collector’s box with “Waffle/Drip” iconography. Housed in the classic G-SHOCK 5600-series case from 1987, it’s brimming with the brand’s useful functionality, including 200m of water resistance, heavy shock resistance, various alarms, timers, calendars, and much more.
- Diameter: 48.9mm
- Movement: Quartz
- Water Resistance: 200m
- Price: $300
Rolex Cosmograph Daytona
This new watch from the Crown took the watch world by surprise last month. Coinciding with the 100th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans — of which Rolex is the official timing partner — it updates the world’s most famous chronograph with subtle, vintage-inspired touches and nods to the historic French automotive race. Executed in sumptuous white gold, its most notable features are the subdials, which have a font that recalls that of vintage “exotic-dial” Daytonas from the 1960s-1980s, and the hour totalizer, which has been modified from a 12-hour counter to a 24-hour version in reference to the Le Mans run time. In order to achieve this mod, Rolex had to tweak its brand new Calibre 4131 automatic movement with a gear reduction system, dubbing it the Calibre 4132. Of course, if you’re Rolex, you’ll happily go this far if it means releasing an exciting new reference.
- Diameter: 40mm
- Movement: Rolex Calibre 4132 automatic
- Water Resistance: 100m
- Price: $51,4000
Bremont X Williams Racing WR-45 LE
If you’re familiar with Bremont, the watchmaker founded by Giles and Nick English in 2002, then you know that the brand is emblematic of all things English. To that end, the company has partnered over the years with myriad English personalities, sports teams, companies, and more, one of which is the renowned Williams Racing F1 team. In honor of the two companies’ partnership, which began three years ago, Bremont is releasing a special, limited-edition chronograph in its signature 43mm Trip-Tick case. Dubbed the Bremont X Williams Racing WR-45 LE, it features a black DLC-treated look with a matching black tachymeter bezel, a black dial with a triple-register chronograph layout, and the modified Calibre 13 1/4’’’ BE-53AV automatic movement with 56 hours of power reserve. Pretty cool, if you ask us!
- Diameter: 43mm
- Movement: Bremont Calibre 13 1/4’’’ BE-53AV automatic
- Water Resistance: 100m
- Price: $6,595
Monta Ocean King V3
Inspired by classic tool watches, American microbrand Monta was founded in 2016 with a single model — the Ocean King dive watch. Over the years, it’s improved this superb timepiece with incremental updates, the latest of which culminate in the Ocean King V3. Housed in a 40.7mm stainless steel case, it features a newly redesigned bezel with a ceramic insert, updated indices, and updated typography — plus a patented assembly. The dial, meanwhile, has also been redesigned, with larger lume plots, a revised date aperture, and fresh text orientation. The crown has a newly embossed logo, while the bracelet clasp has a redesigned exterior. Water resistant to 300m and priced at $2,225 at pre-order, this is a serious bargain for such a well made and well designed tool.
- Diameter: 40.7mm
- Movement: MONTA caliber M-22 automatic (ETA 2892-2 base)
- Water Resistance: 300m
- Price: $2,225 (pre-order); $2,550 (retail)
Worn & Wound X Farer
Worn & Wound’s collaboration watches are some of the best in the business. Why? Three reasons: Co-founder Zach Weiss’s industrial design acumen; access to exciting brands large and small; and generally affordable pricing. This winning combo has resulted in yet another fun and exciting timepiece, a special limited edition with British microbrand Farer. Housed in a 39.5mm piece with a cool, gunmetal PVD coating, it features a slate grey dial with molded, lumed Arabic indices overprinted with navy blue; an outer 1/5th-seconds track in white and blue; and a lumed syringe handset with a baby blue, orange-tipped seconds hand. Paired to a navy pebbled leather strap, it sits aesthetically somewhere between a dress and everyday three-hander, and its power source — the Calibre G101 automatic movement from La Joux Perret — makes it all the more interesting.
- Diameter: 39.5mm
- Movement: La Joux Perret Calibre G101 automatic
- Water Resistance: 50m
- Price: $1,050
NOMOS X Wempe Tangente Neomatik 41 Update – Signature Collection
What do you get when you combine a starred German jeweler with a groundbreaking German watch manufacturer? One cool freakin’ watch, that’s what. The new Tangente Neomatik 41 Update – Signature Collection takes one of NOMOS’s beloved models, the Bauhaus-inspired Tangente, and gives it an ice-blue dial, making it the fourth model within the Wempe Signature Collection. Measuring 40.5mm in stainless steel, the Tangente is just 7.8mm tall, rendering it an excellent dress or everyday watch that can slip easily under a cuff. Its in-house Caliber DUW 6101 with 42 hours of power reserve includes a unique date display system that rings the dial periphery, while a dark blue textile strap and a special caseback engraving further differentiate this 200-piece limited edition from its brethren in the NOMOS catalog. For those who appreciate great industrial design and desire something special, this LE is just the ticket.
- Diameter: 40.5mm
- Movement: Caliber DUW 6101 automatic
- Water Resistance: 50m
- Price: $4,100
Breitling Deus Ex Machina and Top Time B01 Triumph
This month, Breitling released a duo of Top Time chronographs featuring its advanced BR01 automatic movement. Celebrating partnerships with Deus Ex Machina, the Australian motorcycle manufacturer, and Triumph, the famed British motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1902, each features a 41mm stainless steel case, a striking dial, and excellent feel and proportions. While the Deus edition sports a black and white dial with an outer white tachymeter scale and a matching triple-register chronograph display, the Triumph edition had an ice-blue “Zorro”-style dial with a distinctive, brushed bowtie motif in ice blue, with an outer tachymeter scale and a matching bi-compax chronograph layout in black. The Breitling Calibre BR01, meanwhile, provides an impressive 80 hours of power reserve, plus a column wheel and vertical clutch for smooth activation.
- Diameter: 41mm
- Movement: Breitling Calibre BR01 automatic
- Water Resistance: 100m
- Price: $8,000
Junghans Meister Pilot Chronoscope Desert
If you’re familiar with military watches, you’ve no doubt heard about the Junghans Type 88, a chronograph produced for the German Bundeswehr in the 1950s. Its distinctive, widely scalloped bezel lent it a unique look that’s since inspired numerous chronographs within the contemporary Junghans catalog. The new Meister Pilot Chronoscope Desert takes this mil-spec aesthetic and lends it a brown-black case and sand-colored dial, making for a cool combination of vintage-inspired and modern design cues. Measuring 43.3mm wide and 14.4mm, its dimensions are distinctly 21st-century — though its larger size, along with its oversized chronograph totalizers, will certainly only aid legibility.
- Diameter: 43.3mm
- Movement: Junghans J880.4 automatic
- Water Resistance: 100m
- Price: $2,700
Panerai Radiomir Tourbillon Bronzo
In celebration of the opening of its biggest boutique in the world, on New York City’s Madison Avenue, Panerai released a timepiece that’s eye catching in every dimension: The new Radiomir Tourbillon Bronzo is a 45mm bronze masterpiece with a tourbillon movement, a GMT function, and openworked bridges that allow for a view into the inner workings beneath, which have been given a military green coating via ALD deposition of aluminum oxide. Due to the unique aging properties of bronze, each watch will patina in its own way, while the 30-second tourbillon provides a mesmerizing display of horological wonder. Meanwhile, the hand-wound Panerai Calibre P.2015/T with its titanium bridges features dual barrels for a power reserve of up to four days. We challenge you to find a cooler tourbillon-equipped watch!
- Diameter: 45mm
- Movement: Panerai Calibre P.2015/T hand-wound
- Water Resistance: 100m
- Price: $166,500
H. Moser Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic Boutique Edition
H. Moser’s Streamliner Chronograph is one of the more notable new entries in the “luxury sports watch” category. Launched in 2020, it’s thus far existed only in stainless steel on a matching bracelet. For the first time, the independent watchmaker is launching it in red gold on a black rubber strap, celebrating record growth and the opening of its first two boutiques in Hong Kong and Shanghai. With its Matrix Green dial, eye-catching 1/5th-seconds track, and unusual case shape, it’s already a special watch — but its aesthetics are only part of its appeal. Inside the watch beats the Calibre HMC 907 automatic movement, which powers a unique flyback chronograph displaying elapsed minutes and seconds on two centrally mounted hands.
- Diameter: 42.3mm
- Movement: AGENHOR for H. Moser & Cie Calibre HMC 907 automatic
- Water Resistance: 120m
- Price: $66,000
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