It’s not just an iconic design from one of history’s biggest and best-known watch and jewellery houses, Cartier. It’s the direct descendant of the first purpose-built wristwatch, made in 1904 for Brazilian aviator Mr Alberto Santos-Dumont. This stainless-steel model with its blue alligator leather strap and quartz movement is about as pure and simple as the Santos gets. The blued hands echo the sapphire cabochon set into the crown. You have either a perfect dress watch or a sophisticated daily driver at your disposal.

Launched in 1973, the Riviera was little-known to modern audiences until Baume & Mercier revived the name in 2021. This dive-watch version was released in 2023 as part of a nod to the model’s half-century, and builds on the classic steel template with some extruded rubber grips on the crown and a set of chunkier, more legible hands. It’s water-resistant to 300m and the five-day automatic movement is just visible through the semi-transparent blue sapphire dial.

You’ll often hear watch enthusiasts waxing lyrical about “salmon” dials – a craze for pinkish-orange designs that began about a decade ago thanks to the rarity and desirability of some vintage watches with the unusual finish. Since then, a colour palette from pale pink to almost brown has been called upon, much of which wouldn’t be recognisable on a sushi roll. Wisely, and more accurately, Bell & Ross describes this BR 05 as “copper brown”, but make no mistake, it’s part of the same wider trend. Whatever you call it, it brings a distinct personality to the 40mm steel bracelet design that has become B&R’s most sophisticated range.

The latest addition to Montblanc’s hardwearing, mountaineering-inspired collection, this chronograph has had the oxygen removed from within the case, ensuring that whatever the conditions you wear it, it will never fog up. The measure also slows degradation of the movement’s lubricating oils, improving reliability. If you just fancy wearing it around town, that’s fine, too: with a 42mm steel case, 100m water resistance and a ceramic bezel insert, it’s ready for anything.

Bremont’s founding principles were to make focused, capable aviation watches, and the ALT1-ZT, a mainstay of the collection for the past decade, hit the brief perfectly. It combines an automatic chronograph with a second-time zone GMT function (naming the watch after “Zulu Time” was a nod to the company’s many military connections). Normally, this set of complications makes for a jumbled layout, but Bremont’s choice of a discreet rotating inner bezel accommodates the GMT unobtrusively.

For some reason the Hermès Timepieces Arceau always reminds me of that scene in Inception where Messrs Leonardo DiCaprio and Elliot Page bend Paris around them like a kaleidoscope. I think it’s the numerals, which look as though they’re teetering on the brink of toppling over, combined with the asymmetrical case shape and, dare I say it, overall air of French insouciance. Underneath all the charm and whimsy, it’s a 40mm stainless-steel automatic with a 45-hour power reserve.

The Luminor may be better known, marked out by its oversized crown guard, but the Radiomir is arguably the purest expression of Panerai design. It was produced first, for one thing – it is descended from Rolex-powered watches supplied to the Italian navy. It enshrined the cushion case shape in Panerai lore and introduced the recognisable stencil font. This 45mm Base Logo model – so called for the stylised OP (for Officine Panerai) on the dial – is a no-frills, pared-back route to Panerai ownership.

NOMOS Glashütte’s in-house movements might just be the best value story in watchmaking. First introduced in 2015 under the Neomatik banner, they have been continuously improved ever since, and offer competitive specifications in slimmer designs with some of the most attractive finishing at their price. The Orion, with its slender lugs and curved case profile is arguably the brand’s sleekest model. This version stands out for its gold-tone dial details.