Collecting watches isn’t usually a planned hobby; it evolves over time and rarely follows a straightforward path. Instead of focusing solely on acquiring the perfect watch to complete your collection, understand that every watch has its imperfections. The key is recognizing which quirks you can tolerate and which you can’t. Over time, some quirks might even become charming. With this in mind, let’s focus on watches that will remain enduring pieces in your collection. These timepieces might start or complete your collection, regardless of whether it includes two watches or fifty.
Here are five watches that would make an impactful start to any collection and likely remain favorites for the long haul. Note that these choices tend to lean towards tool watches, as I find them to be versatile and practical. Look for future recommendations if you’re interested in more elegant options.
Brew Metric Watches
The Brew Metric is an exciting and simple watch showcasing small independent brands’ creativity. It’s an excellent choice for new collectors for several reasons. It comes in various colorways, ranging from understated to vibrant and lively, offering a unique style with each option. Few watches manage to pull off as many color combinations as the Metric, each of which is uniquely appealing yet harmonious. The Metric is also well-proportioned at 36mm in diameter, featuring an integrated bracelet with a tapered design that ends in a deployment clasp. With a total thickness of less than 11 mm, it provides a superb wearing experience.
It’s quite interesting to have it on the dial—apart between 25 and 35 seconds, separated from everything else. It indicates when to extract the perfect shot of espresso and was a small tribute to the Italian brand’s roots in high-end coffee equipment. Those details make the design interesting even if you’re not a fan of coffee. I’d welcome the Metro as a first, last, or only watch; it’s approachable, easy to live with, and a nice nudge to not take everything too seriously.
Rolex Explorer Reference 124270
And now the Rolex Explorer Reference 124270 that I wrote about here. This, in my opinion, can both start and stop a collection with immediacy. On its own or with thousands of others: a great daily companion that is the least ‘Rolex’ of all ‘Rolex’ watches, which hearkens back to its original ethos of what it means to be a ‘Rolex.’ By this, I mean it doesn’t come with much of the baggage. It’s simple and small, far from flashy, just three hands on a dial with one of the best cases and bracelets ever made for daily wear. Never mind that people think this is what Rolex is; in fact, it could hardly be farther from the brash oversized gold-and-blue pep rally that leveled the watch market when Rolex produced the GMT-Master II. No other word for it; that watch was an event. And the 124270 isn’t, for which I’m grateful every time I clasp its frankly tiny brushed Oysterlock around my wrist. Comfort can feel elegant.
No, this isn’t a cheap watch. It retails for about $7,000. But this is one of those watches that is an ‘investment’ in yourself. Not like a real investment—seriously, don’t buy watches as real investments—but over the years, the price per year, or per wear, or per experience starts to seem pretty reasonable. It does have a great story, but even putting all that aside, there’s just something very special about this watch to me.
It’s not extremely strange, just a bit. The dimensions are a presence on your wrist at first, but after a while, the other watches start to look a little ‘off.’ You’ll question why you even have other watches. An excellent choice if you fall into the ‘grail seeker’ type that needs to have one formal, one tool/sport watch, and one weekend beater; it could be argued that the Explorer is all three, but tastes are bound to differ. However, it is close to the perfect watch to start a set with and maybe even end it all on.
IWC Tribute To Mark XI
The IWC Mark XI is considered an iconic pilot’s watch from the 1940s, created for Royal Air Force (RAF) aircrew under the then-new standard 6B/346. They were precise, antimagnetic, and used one of the all-time great hand-wound movements: Caliber 89. This watch would set the tone for a generation of pilot watches that linger to this day; in 2017, IWC released its Tribute to Mk XI. The new version isn’t the same as the original; it does have modern amenities, like a date and automatic movement, but captures quite effectively the brute charm of the first Mk XI.
The Tribute to XI is, of course, a limited edition piece and long since sold out; you can find them on the secondary market for around $4,500. Not inexpensive by any stretch, but this one is a great long-term addition to the collection as it truly represents a great stretch of IWC’s history. It’s also a great everyday tool-watch option. The brushed steel case is 40mm across and 10.8mm thick, which is somewhat of a sweet spot for many wrists. Being relatively thin-cased makes this an easy one if one wants to swap different straps onto it; this one takes especially well to fabric NATO-style straps.
One more thing about this piece: it has a great squared-off hour hand and pencil minute hand. To my eye, this handset works far more effectively than the modern broadsword hands on many IWC pilot watches. Classic and effective presentation, slightly smaller hour markers lining the rest of the dial make for an all-around better-proportioned design than standard IWC Mark watches. Sure, it may be classified as a pilot watch but in all honesty, it’s way too much of an all-rounder and therefore really inches closer to the field watch territory in my mind. It does everything and while it might not be the true return of a Mk XI that I’d like to see (let’s ditch the date and use a hand-wound movement, please), it’s a great all-around tool watch to anchor a collection.
I should point out that for every obsolete or vintage watch reference that blows through this story, there is typically a great current-production alternative in a brand’s catalog. In IWC’s case, the best next option could very well be the Automatic Spitfire, a 39mm take on the classic Mark series design that shares a similar numeral set to the Mk XI, as well as faux-luminescent elements but with the added red pop of color by way of the Spitfire word mark. You lose the squared-off hands, but you still retain that old-school charm.
Omega Speedmaster 145.022
There’s this other one-liner about Speedmasters—how every collection should have one, but that’s not why I’m here either. The Speedmaster is just not for some people, and that’s okay. I do propose the reference 145.022 Speedmaster for this list, and for a few specific reasons, but mainly because it’s a perfect conduit into vintage generally and hand-wound chronos more specifically, not exclusive to the Speedmaster. Yeah, it’s all bound up in space program history, but that often doesn’t resonate with me enough to justify a timepiece purchase.
It’s a reference that was in production for 20 years so you can find them vintage, with pre-moon casebacks, to let’s say neo-vintage on the later end. Plenty of them were produced. This is a great intro to the Speedmaster because there is a lot of history related to it, and the design is mostly unchanged from the modern iteration of the Speedmaster Professional. This is a watch that could kick off your thirst for more Speedmasters, more chronographs, or even just vintage watches in general. It’s a gateway watch. But it’s also great in its own right if you decide that neither of those paths is for you.
This is approachability without feigning humility. Like most Speedmasters, it can sort of work on anything. It’s an enjoyable watch with an enormous heritage hanging off its lugs, but Omega never lets you forget that through this reference it doesn’t feel oppressive. An especially firm favorite example is the negligible duration of production run attention-seeking because of receiving bezels that were misprinted ‘220’ (supposed to be ‘200’) rather than ‘200’. It would be a fun piece of trivia that would essentially be hundreds of thousands of dollars in misproduction on a Rolex. But here it doesn’t change anything in the price category, around $5,000 give or take. Having so many other details is a fun and excellent tool for learning further about the watch and its community. For that, it’s the perfect set to start.
Of course, if vintage isn’t your thing, there is so much historical design language in the modern Speedmaster collection. The Ref. 310.30.42.50.01.001 with its Hesalite crystal and vintage callback “dot over ninety” bezel gives you all the feeling of a vintage Speedy— including the step dial— but with the added METAS-grade 3861 caliber. There are very few brands that have ever continually produced a watch in the manner in which the Moonwatch has been. And this is why it maintains that recognizable vintage charm.
Seiko Prospex Diver – Water
Notorious through legends and story adventures, Seiko Prospex Diver watches make for really great reading. Among these are fine examples of the 6309 and SAL025. There may be better choices for starters than the vintage classics; picking something among the contemporary models would go a long way in imitating the vintage charm. Every referent represents another case style and era in the history of Seiko, but all are great modern diver watches, and all can be used on any given day.
If you have any interest at all in dive watches, I see these watches as a good starting point, as they can easily pull you into a much deeper world (no pun intended) or serve as a great single dive watch in any collection. They have a funky style that feels just different enough, and they are all fun to swap straps with—which can be addicting in its own right. In short, these are watches that can open up new worlds to discover. Further, these are watches that never seem to get old, regardless of your collecting ambitions.
On a personal level, I think references like the SPB143 and SPB317 (as well as their different colorways) are the best options to start with because their cases are friendlier compared to a Willard, for one, and each can be yours for under $1,000. These are two pieces that are far from being redundant, and while neither is flawless (again, no watch is), they’re easily some of the most lovable watches on this list. Owning one will put you down one of two paths with your collection, and no matter where it ends up, will find itself a welcome entrant in the watch box.
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