If you’re looking to build out a collection of luxury watches under 2000, there’s a lot of choice available. But many of the best options are priced a little bit over that $2,000 ceiling.
Fortunately, there are a few brands that are producing great watches in this price range. Let’s take a look at some of them.
1. Longines Master Collection L29094786
The Longines Master Collection is a collection of timepieces that celebrate the brand’s history and achievements. It features classic watches with retrograde displays, chronographs, and moon phase complications, and it is a great option for any watch lover who is looking to invest in an exceptional timepiece.
The 40-mm Longines Master Collection Moonphase L29094786 has a stainless steel case and bracelet. Its black guilloche dial features bold Roman numeral hour markers in a bold typeface and slender feuille hands. The moonphase complication is displayed at 6 o’clock and it also has a date indicator.
One of the best things about this watch is that it has an automatic movement. The L678 movement is based on the ETA Valjoux 7751 and it ticks at 28,800 bph with an approximate power reserve of 48 hours.
This makes it an easy to operate watch with two push-pieces and a crown. The other feature of this watch that I like is the corrector that can be used to adjust the day of the week, month, and moon phase.
2. MeisterSinger New Vintage VT903_SN02
Founded by self-taught watchmaker Manfred Brassler in 2001, MeisterSinger is a luxury watch company with unique designs. It is known for its award-winning watches that look more like jewelry than mechanical devices to measure time.
MeisterSinger has a wide range of watches in the under 2000 price range. These watches are designed to look elegant and unique, and they are equipped with world-leading Sellita movements.
Another series of MeisterSinger watches under this price range is the New Vintage collection, which features an old style watch that evokes nostalgia. The collection includes watches that resemble the 1950s watches, and it also offers a chronograph.
The New Vintage VT903_SN02 is a single-hand watch that features an automatic movement. It has a black dial that has long, slender markers for each hour.
In addition to the New Vintage collection, MeisterSinger also has the Astroscope and Pangaea Day Date collections. These two series of watches are fitted with a 40mm case and have a disc at the 6 o’clock position to indicate the current day.
3. Sinn 104
The Sinn 104 is one of the most popular models within the brand’s collection. It’s a pilot’s watch with excellent legibility and robust construction, and it can be paired with Sinn’s broad range of leather, rubber, and stainless steel bands.
The 104 also has a bidirectional bezel and minute ratcheting, features that are uncommon for a pilot’s watch. These features help the Sinn 104 stand out from the competition and make it a great choice for anyone looking for a well-made, classic pilot’s watch.
Its dial is highly legible, especially in low-light conditions thanks to a coating of lume. Its contrast between white syringe-style hands and all indices on a sun-ray blue dial is outstanding, letting you read the time easily at a glance even in dim lighting.
The 104 is fitted to the Sellita SW220-1 automatic movement, which is shock resistant and antimagnetic as per DIN 8309. It offers hours, minutes, seconds (hacking), day and date functions.
4. Oris Divers Sixty-Five
If you’re looking for a vintage-inspired dive watch, the Oris Divers Sixty-Five is one of the best in this price range. It puts modern materials into a design that’s been made famous by Oris decades ago.
This is a solid watch with a great feel and some excellent execution on the case, bracelet construction, clasp construction, dial design and movement. The overall experience is satisfying and a fine choice for someone who’s looking for a sport watch that has a luxury watch feel without breaking the bank.
The case is a bit larger than the 40 mm versions we’ve seen in the past, but it’s not too big for daily wear. It’s low-slung to conform to the natural curve of most wrists and has an excellent taper.
5. Laco Saarbrucken
Laco Saarbrucken is a German brand known for their pilot watches that were made during World War II. Today, the company produces a range of models that are based on original WWII Luftwaffe models. The 45 mm sandblasted case is complemented by a brown leather strap and is marked with FL23883 (FL 23883), which was the classification number for aviator watches during World War 2.
Like the original models, this model has a flat, matte black dial with Super-LumiNova printed hour markers. The hands and indexes are thermal blued to increase their readability in low light. It also features a domed sapphire crystal with internal anti-reflective coating. It is powered by a Swiss Laco 24 automatic movement.
6. Rado Coupole Classic Automatic
Taking the design of a traditional wristwatch and adding the distinctive Rado element of sapphire crystal, the Coupole Classic Automatic ensures brilliant shine, easy readability and ultimate protection for the beautiful dials. It is a sensibly sized dress watch for men and women, designed to stand the test of time.
The Rado Coupole Classic combines timeless design with a modern sensibility, a look that’s reminiscent of the brand’s early designs from the 60s. All models feature sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides, an automatic movement with 25 jewels and up to 80 hours power reserve.
The silver dial features blue hands, index hour markers and a date window at 3 o’clock. It is powered by a self-winding automatic COSC certified movement with an 80 hour power reserve. The watch is on a stainless steel case and bracelet. It has a sapphire crystal case back and is water resistant to 50 metres.
7. Nomos Club Sport Neomatic 42
The Nomos Club Sport Neomatic 42 is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a watch that is well built, has a sturdy case and bracelet, and looks great in both formal and casual settings. It’s also available in a pair of new colors: Petrol and Polar, both of which are evocative of the ocean.
The dial features large, white hour markers surrounded by baton hour indices that are coated with Super-LumiNova. There’s also a sword-shaped hour and minute hand, as well as a small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock.
It’s powered by the DUW 3001, Nomos’s slender automatic caliber that’s only 3.2mm tall and offers 43 hours of power reserve. It also incorporates the brand’s patented date mechanism, which prevents the date disc from being damaged by wearers accidentally pressing the crown during use.
The watch’s rounded case is made from brushed stainless steel, and it features a tri-link bracelet with quick change spring bars. The watch is also packaged with a leather travel case that closes with a zipper, a nice little touch for the collector.
8. IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic 36
At this year’s Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, IWC relaunched a number of their classic Pilot’s Watch models in an effort to return to the company’s roots as a maker of no-nonsense tool watches. The most eye-catching new timepiece was the Mark XVIII, a homage to the original IWC Mark XI, which was produced for Britain’s Royal Air Force back in 1948.
The aforementioned Mark XVIII has been given a more modern makeover with a brushed stainless steel case, a silver-tone dial and a 35111 caliber automatic movement with a 42-hour power reserve. It’s also got some of the other details you’d expect from a high-end pilot’s watch including sword hands, a date window and a soft iron movement cover for extra protection against magnetic fields.
Despite the hefty price tag, we’re pleasantly surprised by this watch’s quality and performance. This is a solidly constructed piece that is sure to please anyone who’s in the market for a high-end luxury men’s watch.
9. Breitling Navitimer 38
Breitling has had a rough go of it recently, and its new CEO Georges Kern is trying to make things better. One way of doing this is to simplify things and bring the brand into the 21st century.
The Navitimer 1 is one of the first watches in this new direction. Unlike the classic Navitimer, which has a fully functioning chronograph, the Navitimer 1 is a time and date watch only.
When Willy Breitling first designed the Navitimer in 1952, he wanted to create a practical wrist worn calculator. He worked with mathematician Marcel Robert to design a slide rule bezel that could calculate fuel consumption, airspeed, distance, convert miles to kilometres and many other functions.
The slide rule may seem a little over complicated to the untrained eye, but it is a valuable tool that is used by pilots around the world. If you are patient enough to learn how to use it, it could be a good ally for you in a technological meltdown.
