THE JOURNAL
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Five Luxury Watches To Blow (A Fiscally Responsible Percentage Of) Your Bonus On
2 March 2021
Ask your financial manager what you should do with this year’s bonus and they’ll doubtless tell you to invest it. Ask MR PORTER and we’ll offer much the same. It’s just that our definition of an investment might differ.
If you were lucky enough to have landed a sizeable bonus or raise this year, then there is certainly an argument in the current climate for exercising a degree of fiscal responsibility. But there is also a compelling case for setting aside a percentage of that bonus for a little treat. To that end, we’ve picked out five of our favourite little treats for your consideration. You might say they’re things that make us tick. (Watches. We’re talking about watches.)
01.
The disruptor
With a proud history that stretches all the way back to 1791, Girard-Perregaux is one of the stalwarts of the Swiss watch industry. But don’t take that to mean it’s stuck in the past. Take the Laureato Ghost, the brand’s first collaboration with the influential aftermarket customiser (and luxury market disruptor) Mr George Bamford of Bamford Watch Department. With its gleaming white ceramic case and 38mm size, this is a thoroughly contemporary take on one of the original steel sports watches.
02.
The aviator
Perhaps your bonus doesn’t quite stretch to the higher end of the market – or maybe you’d prefer to spend it on other things as well as a watch? Either way, Oris is a name to keep in mind, as its range of heritage diving and aviation watches offers some of the best value for money in the Swiss watch game. This update to the brand’s WWII-era Big Crown – designed so that pilots could operate it while wearing gloves – is a glorious coming together of hard-wearing leather and polished bronze, topped off by the deep-sea blue of that dial.
03.
The adventurer
Montblanc’s 1858 collection – named after the founding year of the legendary Swiss watchmaker Minerva, which since 2006 has been a subsidiary of the brand – is inspired by military and explorers’ watches of the early 20th century and, more broadly, by the spirit of adventure. This model, the Geosphere, is dedicated to the Seven Summits challenge, which requires conquering the highest mountain on every continent in the world. The two main subdials are a fascinating take on a world-time complication: representing the southern and northern hemispheres, they rotate in opposite directions, completing one full rotation every 24 hours.
04.
The master of the universe
There’s something pleasingly retro about this Chronomat from Breitling, the duo-tone stainless steel and red gold of the case and bracelet combining with the classic steel-blue dial to give it a distinct Wall Street-in-the-1980s vibe. It’s the sort of thing that should really be accessorised with a cigar. Repeat after us: greed is good. Combined with the trademark precision of Breitling’s in-house chronograph movement, the BO1, this is a watch that shines inside and out.
05.
Nautical but nice
Let Ulysse Nardin’s anchor-shaped logo leave you in no doubt of the origins of this storied Swiss watchmaker, which built its reputation on the manufacture of highly accurate marine chronometers in the first half of the 20th century. This proud nautical heritage lives on today, even if the brand’s target customer is now more likely to be found on the deck of a superyacht than a naval cruiser. With a dramatic open-worked case that reveals the intricacy of its hand-wound movement, the Skeleton X is a real showpiece of a summer watch.
