26 crazy-expensive watches that are way cooler than the Apple Watch
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Devon Star Wars
Get ready to gawk at 26 timepieces that are as pricey as they are awesome.
First up: Devon Star Wars. It’s made in the U.S.A. It looks like a TIE Fighter. It’s “finished with pointed silver screws that emulate the ones on Darth Vader’s helmet.” So, yes, it’s perfect. And pricey.
List price: $28,5000
Bremont 1918
Bremont 1918
List price: $11,495-$22,995
This forthcoming UK-made, limited-edition, water-resistant timepiece, a nod to the Royal Air Force, is literally battle-tested: Luxury watchmaker Bremont says each watch features the veneer from four RAF World War I and World War II aircraft. Sales are said to begin in “late 2017.”
DR01 Twelve First
DR01 Twelve First
Price: “1 million Swiss Francs” (roughly $1 million)
Swiss watchmaker Dominique Renaud upends convention with this piece that sees the entire mechanism rotate inside a sapphire crystal cylinder. If the asking price seems steep, remember this: The DR01 is made to order, art-gallery approved–and there are only 12 of them.
Ressence Type 3N
Ressence Type 3N
List price: 33,500 Swiss Francs (roughly $34,400)
Called a “watch made for mad scientists,” the curvy Type 3N uses an oil-filled chamber to make its face easy to read no matter the angle. The dial and case are made of titanium; the indications are filled with radiant SuperLumiNova.
Hublot MP-05 LaFerrari Sapphire
Hublot MP-05 LaFerrari Sapphire
Price: “A touch under $600,000”
It looks like the engine of Ferrari’s LeFerrari hybrid, but it’s even more rare: There were fewer than 500 of the cars made; there were only 50 LeFerrari watches produced. The Sapphire variation features sapphire-crystal casing and 637 moving parts. It runs on a 50-day power reserve.
Diamond-crusted Samsung
Diamond-crusted Samsung
List price: $15,000
This limited-edition bejeweled smartwatch, which debuted in 2016, is a collaboration between Samsung and De Grisogono, the high-end Swiss jeweler. The result is Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and diamonds. A “super-luxury” version of the Gear S3 has been teased, but not yet seen.
Louis Vuitton Tambour Horizon Black 42
Louis Vuitton Tambour Horizon Black 42
List price: $2,900
Check your messages and emails in extreme style. Produced by the luxury retailer Louis Vuitton, the Black 42 sits at the highest end of the high-end, Android Wear 2.0-powered Tambour Horizon collection.
Breitling Exospace B55
Breitling Exospace B55
Price: Roughly $8,400, via Amazon.com.
CNET called this black-titanium-encased, connected Swiss watch a “real chronograph…with added digital benefits,” such as Bluetooth and smartphone-pairing. But what really makes it soar are its features for pilots, who can log flight times on it.
Hamilton Khaki Skeleton
Hamilton Khaki Skeleton
List price: $1,395
The Khaki Skeleton makes the most of its revealing skeleton design with a three-level dial that gives the piece depth and, if Hamilton does say so itself, “an astonishing 3-D experience.”
Olio Model One
List price: $595-$745
Olio is a San Francisco-based startup that makes small-batch smartwatches: “…[We’re] like a local brewery or coffee shop that makes quality products you enjoy,” per cofounder Steven Jacobs. The Model One syncs to your Android or iPhone, and, as CNET raved, looks “gorgeous.”
Movado Bold Connected II
Movado Bold Connected II
List price: $695
For this smartwatch, Movado teamed with HP to produce a Bluetooth-equipped piece of wearable tech that’s compatible with your Android or Apple device.
Brikk Lux Watch 2 Bespoke
List price: Starting at $24,995
Now this is a luxury Apple Watch. The Los Angeles-based company Brikk blings up the smartwatch with a stainless-steel case and diamond-studded, 24-karat-gold coating. Don’t feel guilty about splurging: 7 percent of your purchase goes to charity.
Citizen Limited Edition Proximity
Citizen Limited Edition Proximity
List price: $800
Like the other pieces in the Proximity collection, this black-ion-plated, stainless-steel-encased “smarter watch” is solar-powered (or, what Citizen calls, “Eco Drive”) . Like a smart watch, it connects to your phone (Android or Apple), and vibrates when you get a call or email.
Garmin D2 Bravo Titanium
List price: $899
Billed as a “premium aviation GPS smartwatch,” the D2 is marketed to pilots and those who aspire to the skies. The former will truly appreciate the watch-face feature that allows users to input the tail number of their aircraft. The watch also doubles as an activity tracker.
Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon
Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon
Price: Roughly $7,500-$10,500, via Amazon.com
The Speedmaster chronograph became known as the Moonwatch after Buzz Aldrin took it along for the Apollo 11 ride. The line’s ceramic Dark Side of the Moon variant commemorates the Apollo 8 mission in which astronauts first glimpsed the dark side of the you-know-what.
Garmin Fenix 5 Sapphire
Garmin Fenix 5 Sapphire
List price: $849.99
The Fenix 5 Sapphire belongs to a new luxury line of multisport GPS watches. It’s waterproof, has a long-lasting battery and boasts an awesome-sounding “3-axis compass with gyroscope and barometric altimeter.”
Frederique Constant Horological Smartwatch
Frederique Constant Horological Smartwatch
List price: $795-$1,295
This a very grownup smartwatch–an app-controlled activity-tracker that’s sleek, stylish, Swiss-made and encased in stainless steel. There are men’s and women’s models; some may be configured to your personal specs.
Montblanc Summit
Montblanc Summit
List price: $890-$1,070
The Summit is Montblanc’s first attempt at a smartwatch, and the high-end German brand came to the party prepared. The piece is wired, Bluetooth-equipped, Android-powered, iPhone-compatible, stacked with 4GB of flash storage and, for good measure, domed in sapphire-crystal glass.
Patek Philippe Nautilus 40th Anniversary Limited Edition
Patek Philippe Nautilus 40th Anniversary Limited Edition
List price: 69,960 British pounds (roughly $92,000) for the 5976/1G model; 82,310 British pounds (roughly $108,000) for the 5711/1P model (pictured). (Conversion rates current as of publication.)
This piece, commemorating the 1976 launch of the Nautilus collection, is a showcase for classic Swiss watchmaking and first-class style. The case and band are platinum; the dome is sapphire-crystal glass. Your Apple Watch will feel under-dressed.
Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45
Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45
List price: $1,550-$4,900
This Android Wear is an update to Tag Heuer’s original smartwatch. New features, per CNET, include Android Pay, GPS and “swim-level water resistance.” The highest-end variation in this high-end collection sports a calfskin strap and a diamond-encrusted bezel.
Zenith El Primero Tourbillon Skeleton
Zenith El Primero Tourbillon Skeleton
List price: 49,000 Swiss Francs (roughly $50,300), per Monochrome
What makes a Swiss-made chronograph a “sexy beast?” Ceramic, sapphire crystal and 35 jewels.
Unimatic Modello Uno U1-L
Unimatic Modello Uno U1-L
List price: $919
This variation of Unimatic’s made-in-Italy Modello Uno line was designed for, and is sold by, luxury retailer Luisa Via Roma. The extremely limited-edition U1-L–only 50 were said to be produced–features a stainless-steel case and domed sapphire crystal.
G-Shock MRGG2000HT-1A
G-Shock MRGG2000HT-1A
List price: $7,400
One of the latest editions to Casio’s shock-resistant G-Shock brand is the limited-edition MRGG2000HT-1A, which, as billed, tracks time via a high-tech combo of radio waves, GPS satellite signals and Bluetooth transmissions.
RM 50-03 Tourbillon Split Seconds Chronograph Ultra Light McLaren
RM 50-03 Tourbillon Split Seconds Chronograph Ultra Light McLaren
List price: 1 million British pounds (roughly $1.3 million)
“Luxury watch king” Richard Mille quickly sold all 75, RM 50-03s introduced in early 2017. The watch, made in partnership with the racing company McLaren-Honda is touted as the lightest mechanical chronograph ever made, thanks to the nanomaterial graphene.
