Today we’re going to be exploring the idea of the best 3 watches, all of which must be under $5000 USD each, and no more than $12000 total. I must say, as a Rolex collector I immediately ventured over to the official Rolex website to refresh my memory on the current prices for a 36mm Oyster Perpetual – in any color. To my dismay they miss the mark coming in at $6400. This really made the challenge interesting, and it took me all of 24 hours to figure out which 3 watches I would buy with this price constraint. If the $12000 price point is tipping the scale for you, I’d recommend that you read my article published on Worn & Wound for an ultimate three watch collection under $5000.
My initial thoughts wandered into the domain of Tudor, Nomos, and Longines, but not quite in that order as there was one watch that really jumped out to me as a must have on this list – which was the Nomos Metro Date Power Reserve. I’ll come out and say it, I own this watch, but I still think that if I was forced to sell it and re-balance a three watch collection with a budget of no more than $5000 each, it would make its way right back into rotation. Lets explore below why that is, and examine the details of this watch that make it a must have as well as the remaining two watches that I’d choose.
Nomos Metro Date Power Reserve Ref. 1101
This is a watch that stands alone in its segment. It’s not a sports watch, but it’s not a full on dress watch either – its straddling the line between the two which allows it to be more wearable on a daily basis than one would suspect. The sizing, coming in with a 37mm case size is extremely rare to find these days on modern watches, and on my 6.5 inch wrist it wears like perfection with an adequate wrist presence. Actually this sizing that Nomos chose seems to be a goldilocks zone for most wrist sizes, appearing sportier on smaller wrists and coming off as dressier with a larger wrist size. The case size isn’t the only aspect helping here, but I suspect the wire lugs are helping with the proportions as well.
Let’s get one thing out of the way before we jump into some more the innovative technicalities of this watch – yes the water resistance rating is not up to par for a daily, it’s the watches only downfall besides the fact that it’s not sporting an automatic movement – but the other two watches on our list should cover that for us.
The dial on the Metro Date Power Reserve is mesmerizing. The layout is peculiar and fun with the pops of color and the power reserve indicator positioned off kilter between 12’oclock and 1’oclock and pushed more towards the center of the dial. The hands are very long and slender, with the last third of both the minute and hour hands being needle like in appearance. The watch is very easy to read with the printed Arabic numerals in intervals of 5 minutes along the outer edge of the dial. The date and central seconds are positioned at 6’oclock, with the date framed by an almost pyramid shaped box rather than your usual square which really compliments the rest of the fine design details found on the dial.
Flipping the watch over reveals the Nomos in-house caliber DUW 4401 with gorgeous detailing and hand finished decorations. Keep in mind, this is a watch coming in at a retail price of $3,780, significantly under the per watch budget we’re working with. The hand wound DUW4401 has two features that are actually patented, one being the power reserve indicator and the other is what Nomos calls their “extra-large date”.
Tudor Black Bay 58
Next on our list we’re going to feature a sporty do it all diver, this is the very well known Black Bay 58 Ref. M79030B-0001, in blue. Everybody needs a diver in the collection, but not because you’re going diving. These are watches that have been built to withstand a good amount of knocking around, making them excellent daily wear watches. In the case of the Black Bay 58 it’s also carrying some nice heritage with it and just happens to look really cool.
The Black Bay 58 is very close appearance wise to what the Rolex Submariner used to be in the 1970’s – a very handsome tool watch that’s functional and easy to read. Tudor even made their own version of the Submariner, the first one being released in 1954 and dubbed the Oyster Prince Submariner with the Reference 7922. Sourcing one of those watches not only breaks our price constraint, but it also cumbersome and time consuming – as watch enthusiasts and collectors we’ve all been down that road at some point. The next best option is going with a modern iteration and that brings us to the Black Bay 58.
Tudor made sure to keep the classic sizing from the past with a case size of 39mm and rather stout lugs. The water resistance rating of 200m gives you piece of mind not only for swimming, diving, or snorkeling – but the often overlooked reality of travelling, when at a moments notice you could be venturing into the hotel Jacuzzi.
The BB58 is one of the best sports watches on the market. It’s featuring the automatic calibre MT5402 with a bidirectional rotor and a power reserve of around 70 hours. The bezel is unidirectional with your traditional 60 minute graduated disc. The bezel is also aluminum giving the watch another retro feature, where most modern brands have decided to move to ceramic bezels.
Longines Record Chronograph Ref. L2.921.4.56.6
What three watch collection is complete without a chronograph? This is where things get complicated, choosing a chronograph under the $5000 mark is a challenge. Chronograph movements are more complex than your average automatic diver movement or thin hand wound movement. Chronograph movements tend to be very thick due to the addition of a clutch system and a larger quantity of gears and levers, even for watches at higher price points for example the iconic Speedmaster Moonwatch Calibre 3861 with a 13.58mm thickness. This has led me to the Longines Record Chronograph on the metal bracelet, with a thickness of 13.80 mm coming in at only $3,125.
Longines first launched their Record collection back in 2017 and all watches in this collection are COSC certified. The Chronograph we’ve chosen here really stands out from the rest with its jarring gilt dial consisting of dual sub-dials and applied markers. This watch, while being a chronograph leans more towards the formal side with a more classic appearance, it also looks great on a leather strap.
The movement in the Record is the slightly modified ETA L895.4, which is a good quality movement viewable from the exhibition caseback. This is a bit of an oddball choice but I would go with it due to its wearability and chronograph function. Longines, although having taken a step back in customer service since their CEO Walter Von Känel retired in 2020, is still a great brand with an insurmountable heritage and history.
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