Author: Marcus Henry

It’s not for nothing that the tourbillon is considered the pinnacle of watchmaking craftsmanship. Every brand has to have one to be considered true haute horlogerie. Some will even make them an integral part of their identity—think Jaeger-LeCoultre’s spectacular gyrotourbillon or Breguet’s superb dual tourbillon watches. 

There’s something viscerally fascinating about watching the stately rotation of a tourbillon. It’s almost unimaginably complex and nearly impossible to craft and hand-finish. It should come as no surprise, then, that these watches are usually accompanied by high 5-figure price tags—or even upwards of $100,000!

And yet what IS surprising is that just a handful of these beautiful tourbillons go for much less. No, you won’t be picking up a true tourbillon for $100-200. As a matter of fact, if you see something advertised as such with that cheap of a price tag, it’s almost certainly a fake tourbillon. 

So what if you’re looking for a beautiful watch featuring this stunning complication but without the financial means to get your hands on one of the 5-figure stunners out there? Look no further than this list.

History of the Tourbillon

The tourbillon is one of the oldest and most exceptional complications in watchmaking, so it should come as no surprise that it was invented by the greatest watchmaker to ever live, Abraham-Louis Breguet, in 1801.

Indeed, it actually predates the wristwatch by over 100 years, as it was first featured in pocket watches. As you may be aware, the tourbillon’s central purpose is to cancel out the effects of gravity on a watch’s accuracy. 

It contains the entire escapement in a cage that typically rotates once every 60 seconds, thus completely neutralizing gravity’s pull by canceling it out over the arc of its positions. You can easily imagine why this makes a lot of sense for a pocket watch, which spends most of its life nestled in the same position relative to the ground in your pocket. 

Shockingly, the tourbillon actually serves little to no purpose in a wristwatch, since it’s in constant motion and so gravity won’t have quite the same effect on it. In this context, it’s mostly just for show, a display of true craftsmanship and elegance. But after all, isn’t that the purpose of a mechanical watch today anyway?

Today, tourbillons have been carried to an extreme in terms of development and accuracy. I mentioned the superb Jaeger-LeCoultre gyrotourbillon earlier: this little contraption takes up not much more space than a normal tourbillon and yet is able to rotate in 360 degrees over all three axes in 3D space.

Jacob & Co is also notorious for its use of gyrotourbillons, and their Astronomia movement is practically one massive tourbillon itself as it rotates everything around in the case.

But what about the tourbillons we’ll be seeing on this list? As it turns out, many of the best tourbillons for the price today were crafted by Olivier Mory, an independent watchmaker who owns BCP Tourbillons and makes these movements himself in his La Chaux-de-Fonds workshop. 

He’s one of the most brilliant minds in the industry to be able to make these movements for so much cheaper than anyone else. It’s also definitely worth checking out his own watch label, Skill Watches, which he runs with his brother Thomas. The other tourbillons on the list are supplied by the Chinese brand Seagull, a bit lower quality than the BCP Tourbillons movements but quite advanced and beautiful nonetheless.

Let me wrap up with a final note about some of the tourbillons we’ll be seeing on this list, which aren’t pure tourbillons per se but rather what is known as a “karrusel.”

The karrusel is a type of tourbillon that’s simpler to make and, to put it simply, involves a few extra gears to help rotate the tourbillon cage.

A lot of brands will call these “co-axial tourbillons” to try to cover up that they’re actually karruseles. That said, these are still exceptional watches and functionally tourbillons, so they should not be disdained for not being “pure” tourbillons.

The 10 Best Cheap Tourbillon Watches

As I said before, you won’t be able to get your hands on a tourbillon for super cheap (though we do have one item on the list for sub-$1,000… stay tuned!), due to their advanced craftsmanship. That said, on this list you can find 10 truly exquisite tourbillons, all at a significantly reduced price compared to the average tourbillon. Let’s get right into it!

Frédérique Constant Manufacture Classic Tourbillon FC-980S3H6 – $15,695

Frédérique Constant is known for offering high-quality watches at prices that are significantly more affordable than those of other Swiss brands.

In this case, their Classic Tourbillon is more expensive than most of the other options on this list, but it’s absolutely worth every penny and much cheaper than it has any right to be. Unlike the other watches here, the tourbillon movement is developed in-house by FC, not purchased from another supplier. 

And for that matter, it’s absolutely gorgeous: just take a look at the blued screws and bright blue escape wheel visible through the tourbillon window at 6:00!

The rest of the watch is incredibly restrained and elegant, with beautifully shaped and finished applied indices and exquisite alpha hands—my favorite type. With a 39mm case and just 11mm thick, it’s super wearable. 

Flip it over and take a look through the exhibition caseback while you’re at it—could you ask for anything more than the perlage, Côtes de Genève, blued screws, and engraved skeletonized rotor at this price? 

Xeric Halograph Tourbillon Collector’s Edition Emerald – $2,000

Xeric is known for their characteristic display style, which features the hours and minutes printed on the dial so that the time is indicated by the halo hands that encircle it. Even more impressively, the numbers are also printed with lume, so you’ll be able to read the time just fine in the dark, too. 

The rich emerald color is absolutely stunning, especially thanks to the variety of finishes over different sections of the dial. As for the tourbillon itself, it’s left ample room to be appreciated thanks to the hemicircular time indicator, and it certainly merits such appreciation. 

Xeric doesn’t specify what movement they use, but it looks to my eyes to be a Seagull-made tourbillon, which is certainly supported by the price. At just $2,000, it’s a shockingly affordable piece for such unique, eye-catching style and class.

Peacock Climber Tourbillon Green Dial – $2,788

The Climber Tourbillon is much sportier than the other two we’ve looked at here, which allows it to play to a totally different niche in terms of collector interest. The design is clearly inspired by Hublot, with the rubber strap and “porthole”-esque screws, but it’s not an overt homage since the screws aren’t in Hublot’s characteristic H shape. 

The dial is quite eye-catching in its rich alpine green shade with a Clous de Paris guilloché-style finish. And the power reserve at 12:00 is a unique style that’s quite sporty and legible.

However, I must admit that I’m not a fan of all the extra screws that are present on the dial, some seemingly randomly dotted throughout and others supposedly holding down all the subdials. They feel distracting and take away from the elegance of the guilloché pattern.

As for the tourbillon movement, it’s the caliber SL5215D, which has automatic winding and is a karrusel-type tourbillon. The tourbillon itself looks lovely through its 6:00 aperture with some pretty decent finishing to give it a luxurious shine. It checks all the boxes for me!

BA111OD Chapter 4.7 Onyx Tourbillon – $8,670

I love onyx dials. They’re so rich and dark in a way that even black enamel can’t quite capture. Now pair the classy black onyx with a superb tourbillon from Olivier Mory, and you’ve got a recipe for a stunning watch for the finest of black-tie occasions.

It’s 40mm in diameter and 11mm thick, so it’s pretty wearable for a stone-dial tourbillon and should slip under a shirt cuff with relative ease. 

The back of the dial also features what BA111OD calls a “mirror film” and says it will reflect the upper face of the movement, but I’ve struggled to observe this in any pictures—perhaps it’s just one of those things you need to see hands-on with the watch.

Interestingly, as our friends at Fratello have pointed out, the movement itself is rotated in the case so that the crown is positioned at 4:00 instead of 3:00 and the tourbillon at 7:00 instead of 6:00.

I’m not a huge fan of this choice, as this feels like a watch that should have been kept a little more traditional due to its class and charm, but it is certainly interesting and shows more intentional design than merely slapping a stone dial over a tourbillon dial and calling it a day. 

The movement itself is a caliber BA.01, based on a tourbillon by Olivier Mory, which is manual-winding and has a whopping 100-hour power reserve. Its striking black finishing can be admired through the exhibition caseback, and certainly should be!

Horage Autark Tourbillon Salmon – $15,300

Horage is a little-known independent brand that’s been shaking up the industry much more than most people know with their new MicroReg system.

While this watch doesn’t feature that (unfortunately, because MicroReg with a tourbillon would be insane), it’s still a superb sporty tourbillon, definitely worth your attention. It’s practically perfect in size at 39.5mm by 9mm thick, and as an integrated sports watch, it’s sure to find some love for its sporty design. 

The dial is in a gorgeous salmon color with an unusually-placed power reserve indicator at 11:00, which introduces a few pops of color. The bezel is brightly mirror-polished and stands out beautifully atop the brushed case.

The movement is Horage’s caliber K-TMR, a superb tourbillon with micro-rotor winding. This watch isn’t cheap, but for a micro-rotor tourbillon, it’s incredibly affordable.

Thanks to its micro-rotor, it’s just 3.6mm thick, which helps keep the rest of the watch thin and wearable. The 60-second flying tourbillon is made from titanium and weighs just 0.29 grams. And just look at the blacked-out bridges, with hand finishing! Truly an exceptional watch for its price.

CIGA Design Central Tourbillon Mount Everest Homage Edition – $3,999

CIGA Design is a little-known Chinese designer watch brand with a strong multinational team of designers that produces shockingly affordable watches. In this case, their homage to Mount Everest is incredibly striking and beautiful.

Let me get this out of the way first—a tourbillon is one thing, but a central tourbillon is another altogether, and is usually reserved for the upper limits of haute horlogerie.

The hands, of course, are shaped like mountaineers’ picks, which makes reading the time very difficult and probably makes scaling Mount Everest much easier. 

The watch was released to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the summit of Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary, so the first four flags atop the mountain are hung from the minutes hand: Britain, Nepal, India, and the United Nations.

The base of the dial, believe it or not, is actually crafted from stones taken from the base of Everest, and the strap is textured in a similar style. Overall, it’s a watch that is full of little winks and careful design inclusions, making for a playful and well-made timepiece.

Agelocer Tourbillon Men’s New Hollow Gold Mechanical Watch Ceramic Bezel Blue Gold – $999

Sure, this watch might not have the best name. It also might not be quite your style. But for $999, with that lovely combination of white on rose gold on blue, I can’t help but let it tug on my heartstrings a little.

And after all, its design was crafted by Étienne Ruffieux, who has worked for brands like Zenith and Parmigiani Fleurier. It also received awards at the Europe Design Awards and French Design Awards. 

Still not convinced? Just look at the superb level of skeletonization Agelocer has achieved here, even with a movement featuring two barrels and a flying tourbillon.

A lot of brands cite architecture as the inspiration for their case, but in this case, it’s actually believable if you examine the faceting of the case and the contrast of brushed and mirrored surfaces.

Inside, the watch runs on the caliber 9001, which uses two barrels to create an 80-hour power reserve. The flying tourbillon is elegant, but I do wish they had treated the balance wheel with a rose gold finish so that it doesn’t stick out quite so much in yellow gold. That said, it sure does make for an eye-catching appearance.

Sugess Tourbillon Master SU8230SW – $659

This is it. Does it really get any cheaper than this for a real, functioning tourbillon? I personally believe it’s the cheapest decently-made tourbillon out there. It’s classy, clean, and simple. Mirror-finished case, white enamel dial, and printed Breguet numerals. 

The Breguet hands aren’t the best, but they’re still elegant and simple even if they’re not totally faithful to the original style. The crown is a little large and a little too fluted for my taste, but it is helpful for the manual-wind movement.

And then we get to the movement. Just look at that 6:00 tourbillon. To be fair, this is a karrusel, supplied by the Seagull ST8230.

But that is a real, honest-to-goodness tourbillon for under $700. You’ve even got a decent effort at finishing with blued screws and some sort of radial Côtes de Genève-esque finishing on the bridges. That is a whole lot of watch for not a lot of cash.

BA111OD Chapter 4.1 T.V.D. – $9,200

The T.V.D. is much like the Onyx Tourbillon I covered earlier in this list, but a little more expensive and with a totally different style. It’s sporty, fresh, and modern.

The entire case has received a DLC treatment to make it a lovely tantalum gray finish, which works beautifully with the blue accents on the dial.

The skeletonized dial puts Olivier Mory’s fine craftsmanship on full display. All the stats are the same as the Onyx Tourbillon, except for one thing, which I want to linger on for a moment, as I’ve never seen it before in watches. 

The T.V.D. features a sapphire crystal with special NFC technology that is only in the crystal, so the entire rest of the watch is perfectly mechanical and traditional.

This is supplied by the Swiss brand STISS, which I’d never even heard of until I stumbled across this watch while researching this article.

They specialize in specialized sapphire glasses with different technological advancements, including their Augmented Glass (which has contactless payment technology) and in-development Key Glass, which will provide your authentication for crypto and NFT services. 

The T.V.D. features its simpler ID glass, which creates a totally unique digital signature for the watch. The crystal can be scanned with your phone just by holding it in close proximity, and immediately, information about the watch is available at your fingertips, making it almost impossible to counterfeit.

In my opinion, that’s a major advancement in the true spirit of the tourbillon: making the watch truly unique and exceptional.

TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer-02T CAR5A90 – ~$10,000

All the other watches on this list are from small brands or Chinese manufacturers. A watch like this, from a big-name Swiss brand, with a chronograph and tourbillon, for significantly less than other brands.

Now the prices for many of these models have been raised on TAG Heuer’s website to around $30,000 (those darn tariffs).

But here’s the real kicker—you can pick up a TAG Heuer CAR5A90 for a market price of a hair over $10,000 on the secondhand market, and can even find some as low as $7,000. For context, the Omega Speedmaster, a perfectly standard chronograph with no tourbillon, runs for over $7,000. That is insane value.

But wait, there’s more! The chronograph in this watch uses a column wheel, which is the most complex and luxurious way of doing it.

And allow me to remind you that none of the other watches on this list could do anything beyond the tourbillon and an occasional power reserve. It also has 65 hours of power reserve and automatic winding. 

Now for the mic drop moment: the Heuer-02T is COSC-certified, so it’s accurate to an insane -4/+6 seconds per day. That is the true spirit of a tourbillon: focusing on precision above all. This just might be the ultimate everyday wear tourbillon for its price.

Conclusion

A good tourbillon watch will never be cheap, but price doesn’t need to be a barrier to adding one of these horological marvels to your collection. Yes, they won’t all run perfectly forever or keep perfect time like a tourbillon from one of the finest Swiss brands. 

But if you’re just fascinated by that little spinning cage, never fear—there are options for you, my fellow watch nerd.

Designer watches have always had a bit of a stigma around them in the watchmaking world. For a while, admittedly, it was rather well-deserved.

Any good watch must be constructed with both an eye for its design and an eye for its mechanics. That’s what makes watchmaking totally unique: it’s a synthesis of art and engineering, of creativity in both forms. 

Old designer watches completely neglected mechanical advancement, for the most part. They looked beautiful or eye-catching from the outside, but on the inside was a throwaway quartz movement. Little wonder they were so rejected by the watch community!

However, times are changing (wink), and designer fashion brands have increasingly looked to beef up their watchmaking department with some serious mechanical chops.

Suddenly, those elegant watches that previously ticked on an ugly old quartz movement are running on gorgeous mechanical ébauches and even feature advanced complications. 

Brands like Louis Vuitton and their watchmaking manufacture La Fabrique du Temps are leading the charge, and it’s time to take notice. Allow me to introduce you to the 12 best designer watches of today.

History of Designer Watches

I touched on the rather dubious past of designer watches in my introduction, and I want to more fully flesh out how this section of the industry has drastically changed before we get into the best designer watches you can get your hands on today.

A quick Google or eBay search for “vintage designer watches” will get you a full list of rather inexpensive picks from brand names that we usually associate with the very heights of luxury: Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, and Chanel, among others. 

Unfortunately, it’s not without reason that these watches are changing hands for so cheap. Many of them were practically cash-cow products for some of these brands, where simply slapping a logo on the dial was enough to make fashion obsessives buy them and wear them proudly.

Around the turn of the millennium, however, things started to change quickly. Louis Vuitton introduced their Tambour collection in 2002 and Chanel the Chiffre Rouge in 2004, among others. 

Perhaps most notable of all was Louis Vuitton’s 2011 acquisition of La Fabrique du Temps, a watchmaking manufacture started by Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, after working with them on several projects since their founding in 2007.

Now, you can find haute horlogerie offerings from almost any fashion brand, alongside beautiful mechanical watches with well-finished movements and elegant design. 

Suddenly, all their design expertise is married to mechanical prowess, and it makes for a killer combo that you really can’t miss.

The 12 Best Designer Watches

Without further ado, let’s get right into the very finest of these designer watches available today. We’re looking at all the best brands and all the best watchmaking offerings, so there’s something for everyone here, whether you’re looking for the next watch to add to your collection or just reading for interest. Enjoy!

Gucci G-Flat 36mm in Steel with Black Dial

Not to be confused with its identical twin, the F-sharp (sorry, bad music pun), the G-Flat 36mm is a truly refreshing and new design from perhaps the most well-known name in fashion.

At $2,650, it’s a lovely, affordable sports watch with a customized automatic movement and case structure that clearly takes cues from its notable predecessors like the Cartier Santos and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak.

The black opaline dial at its heart is minimalistic and clean, and the color-matched date window is a great modern touch to build on the watch’s clean elegance.

The G-Flat collection was first introduced in the 1970s, making it a long-lasting style that has only grown in popularity and in watchmaking prowess since its inception. 

My only gripe is the rather limited 50m of water resistance: any true sports watch should be able to go anywhere and do anything (or, as watch nerds fondly term it, a GADA watch), and with such limited water resistance you’ll really need to be hesitant about taking it for a swim. Such is the price of fashion, I suppose.

Louis Vuitton Tambour Automatic 40mm Steel

At $18,900, the LV Tambour is a much higher-end sports watch than the G-Flat, but it sure does show in the quality of its movement and construction. Its iconic eponymous drum-shaped case is elegantly brushed to create a soft shine. 

The bezel bears another familiar Louis Vuitton signature—the brand name itself, in raised engraved letters that manage to not feel too in-your-face.

The dial has a lovely monochromatic blue-on-blue palette that accentuates the watch’s restrained style while providing a rich and legible surface on which to read the time. 

It also has a much richer depth than most other dials you’ll see: the applied numerals are rather tall, and really stand out proudly from the multi-leveled sector construction of the dial below.

Finally, the bracelet feels strongly neo-vintage, with a bold style made up of practically just single links seamlessly integrated into the case. It’s not for nothing that this watch is Louis Vuitton’s best-known.

Dior Chiffre Rouge Black Ultramatte Steel

The Chiffre Rouge is a totally different look from both of the other watches we’ve looked at already here, but no less eye-catching and horologically advanced.

Its 38mm blacked-out case is wearable and a serious attention-grabber, and the rest of the watch doesn’t let go of your eyes for a moment as you examine it. The 4:00 crown is drastically oversized, with bright red accents—it’s clearly unmissable. 

The dial has a fascinating cannage motif, which is so complex visually as to nearly defy any resolution into a consistent pattern. And imposed over this engraving is a soft gradient from that same bright red to a deep black.

All the while, the date window—bearing the eponymous red number, 8, on the eighth of every month—is proudly double-framed by eye-catching red lines. It’s not a watch for the faint of heart, to say the least, but its price is at least bearable at $10,500.

Louis Vuitton Tambour Convergence Pink Gold

The vintage-inspired Tambour Convergence was one of the most eye-catching watches to be unveiled at Watches & Wonders in 2025, and it sure is a stunner. It’s inspired by vintage montres à guichet, watches that had a sort of digital-style display through just a few small windows in the watch.

Cartier notably just reintroduced their Tank à Guichets in the same style. The Tambour Convergence, however, manages to recreate this design in a manner that feels refreshingly modern. 

The hours and minutes are indicated by a small diamond shape between the two rotating discs that bear the printed time tracks. The lugs are gorgeous, sharply architectural and faceted.

The broad surface of the dial, where the windows aren’t, is radiantly mirror-polished, complementing the brushed caseband.

Lastly, I can’t help but comment on the gorgeous blue tone of the printed numerals, which pop subtly but beautifully against the slight rose tone of the case. At $33,500, elegance sure doesn’t come cheap, but you’ll have it in spades with this one.

Chanel J12 Bleu Caliber 12.1 38mm

Chanel’s J12 collection got a serious update with their new Bleu model, so-named for its gorgeous blue ceramic case. It’s got a lovely wearable 38mm diameter case crafted from such a unique shade of blue that almost looks black in some lighting.

On the dial, this dark blue melts easily into the full black of the Arabic numerals—or alternatively, you can get an extra monochromatic pop with blue sapphires as the indices. 

The bright white text proudly indicating the make and model of the watch stands out brilliantly against the muted tones in the rest of the case. For $10,500, it’s a great ceramic sports watch that can’t be missed.

Gucci G-Timeless Planetarium

And now for something totally different! The G-Timeless Planetarium is part of Gucci’s High Watchmaking collection, meaning it’s the crème de la crème of designer watches. This spectacular automaton runs on the GGC.1976.DS movement, which is named after the Orion Nebula 1976. 

It’s manual-winding with a central flying tourbillon, which is already enough to make your jaw drop, but Gucci’s watchmakers have tossed in there an exceptional automaton function to go with it, actuated through the crown.

The name is a bit of a misnomer—it’s not a true planetarium in the way that the Van Cleef & Arpels Midnight Planetarium is, but it is a representation of one with twelve exceptional gemstones that both rotate on themselves and around the dial. 

You can get this hunk of horology for a whopping 350,000 Swiss francs in white or rose gold with different gemstone options.

Louis Vuitton Escale Pink Gold

When I first read about the Escale—and some of the initially gushing reviews about it—I was dubious, to say the least. It’s just another time-only dress watch, I told myself.

I’ll be the first to say now that I could not have been more wrong. The watch is quintessentially LV in a way that shockingly avoids being overbearing. 

As the name suggests (French for stopover or port), it’s inspired by Louis Vuitton travel trunks, and every element of the design exudes the class and luxury associated with them. It’s the perfect modern size at 39mm in diameter and its textured blue dial complements the pink gold case flawlessly.

Both the indices at 3/6/9/12 and the lugs reference the iconic riveted corners of the suitcases in a way that makes me wonder why this design hasn’t been brought to the world of watchmaking yet, because it just looks so darn good. 

Plus, it’s all powered by the gorgeous caliber LFT023, a micro-rotor movement with stunning finishing and 50 hours of power reserve. It’s not cheap at $26,300, but for a precious metal dress watch, you could do a whole lot worse for the price.

Ralph Lauren 867 Rose Gold 32mm White Dial

There are a lot of watches today that take inspiration from art deco, the exuberant design period prominent in the Roaring Twenties, primarily using this theme as a justification for timepieces that are overladen with sparkly gems and garish color combinations. 

The Ralph Lauren 867 is a totally different side of the art deco spectrum, in a beautifully refreshing way. It’s classy, dressy, and simple.

It’s primarily constructed around a series of square frames that constrict as you approach the center—the outside of the case, the bezel, and several in the dial for the different printed tracks. Thanks to this, and to its small lugs, it wears simply and purely on the wrist, continuous in all its lines in a refreshing way. 

The Breguet hands and quintessential Ralph Lauren numerals (two different types, with one for 3/6/9/12 and the other for the rest) complete the classy and restrained look.

Plus, with just a 32mm case, it’s anything but obtrusive. And the $17,000 price tag is honestly pretty solid for a rose gold dress watch, especially one bearing the Ralph Lauren name.

Gem Dior Malachite Dial

Rarely do I see a level of design innovation in watches as the Gem Dior collection, crafted by Victoire de Castellane, a top jewelry designer. It’s one of the finest ladies’ watches to be found anywhere, thanks to its subdued 27mm diameter but stunning array of facets and construction.

It uses multiple sorts of metals and gemstones to create an exterior that feels not quite like a gem but rather something altogether new and brilliant. 

It looks like the distillation of wearable luxury—a bracelet and a gemstone, and a watch all packed into one in a nearly surrealist form. The rich banded malachite dial only adds to the effect.

The movement is a touch disappointing as it’s a rather uninteresting quartz, but considering the restrained size of the watch, that can be slightly ignored. This one will set you back a considerable $18,500.

Chanel J12 Automaton Caliber 6

This is Chanel’s haute horlogerie offering, of a very different sort than the Gucci we already looked at. In fact, almost the only thing the two have in common is their use of an automaton. This time, however, Chanel employs it to create the image of Gabrielle Chanel’s couture atelier.

The 20-second animation, triggered by the press of a button, features the movement of a couture dress and of Mademoiselle’s silhouette. 

While the case isn’t quite the rich blue of the J12 Bleu, you have in its place a very rich black that creates a deeply striking look with the monochromatic dial. It’s also shockingly wearable for an automaton at 38mm in diameter.

As a final touch, you get a 3-link bracelet also crafted in ceramic. Due to its serious watchmaking chops, this watch is limited to just 100 pieces and is priced on request.

Louis Vuitton Tambour Street Diver 44mm Skyline Blue

Most dive watches today are not worn for their intended purpose, that of aiding divers in calculating how long they spend underwater.

So then why not take the idea of a dive watch and make it something much more at home on land? Introducing the vibrant Louis Vuitton Tambour Street Diver, which sports a nearly Tron-esque color palette and beautiful lume. 

It feels like the essence of big city nightlife. It’s big, broad, legible, and striking in every way. More than any other watch I’ve seen, it makes a monochromatic appearance look like an explosion of color.

Even the caseband is dark blue thanks to a PVD process. It runs on a pretty solid movement too with 50 hours of power reserve and automatic winding. 

And at $8,015, you can have it for less than many other everyday wear watches like the Omega Speedmaster.

Ralph Lauren Western Round 45mm Engraved Sterling

The Western collection from Ralph Lauren is among my favorite watches ever, not just in the category of designer watches. To be fair, I grew up on old Westerns, so these watches definitely touch something deeper in me than just the watch lover—but these are some exceptional pieces by any metric. 

The defining feature of this watch is its antiqued sterling silver case, hand-engraved in New York City. It feels like exactly the sort of thing the most fashionable Western landowner would have had on his wrist… that is, if wristwatches were around back then.

If you’ve read my other articles, you know I often have a problem with 4:00 crown placements. 3:00 is where it should be, my brain firmly reminds me. But in this case, I can’t help but feel like the 2:00 placement is perfect. 

I can’t explain why, it just feels so right to me. Finally, the dial at the heart of it all is absolutely gorgeous: slightly off-white, with text that’s clearly been printed several times to add depth and glossy shine. Breguet hands complete the look. At $24,900, this is a watch that you can’t pass up for its price and style.

Conclusion

Designer watches have clearly come a long, long way. From cheap quartz-powered pieces to true horological powerhouses, they have quite possibly seen the most development of any watchmaking genre over the past 30 years. 

From “barely worth a second glance” to “you can’t take your eyes off them,” some of the finest watches in the world today are being made by designer maisons. Maybe it is time to pay them a second look!

There are two types of watches that make your heart happy. The first is pure haute horlogerie class: think A. Lange & Söhne-finished movements and Breguet guilloché dials.

The second class keeps your heart happy in a more literal way: health watches! Smartwatches are fantastic health companions, keeping track not just of your heart rate but also of your overall fitness and wellness.

Oh no, I hear you grumble, not another article about fitness watches! I’ve read a hundred of those already—they’re all the same! Never fear, intrepid reader: I’m not talking about fitness here. If you’re interested in that part of your health, I’ve written an article on the best fitness watches here! 

In this article, we’re going to talk about the best watches for your health. So, if you’re focused on keeping an eye on your health, tracking disease, and keeping it at bay, follow along for a breakdown to find the best watch for you!

History of Health Watches: The Watch Nerd Section

Health watches have come a really, really long way. And if you’re a bit of a watch fan like me and you want to learn about this fascinating past, this is the part for you. (Otherwise, feel free to skip to the list—I won’t be offended!)

The first big medical breakthrough in the world of watches was the introduction of a pulsometer in chronograph watches. Ever notice just how common heart rate sensors are in modern smartwatches? It feels like every single one of them has one. That all started here! 

The pulsometer enabled doctors to easily and conveniently track their patients’ heart rates, and it remains available today in modern mechanical wristwatches.

The pulsometer usually takes the form of a printed scale around the outside ring of your watch’s dial that says something along the lines of “graduated to 30 pulsations.” 

To use it, first actuate the chronograph with your other hand on your pulse (or your patient’s pulse!). Count out 30 heartbeats, and then stop it. Wherever the chronograph hand stops, take a look at the marking and read it off. That’s your pulse rate!

Okay, so it’s clear health watches have come far from their early days. Really, really far. A pulsometer may be poetic, but it’s not exactly the most useful tool for keeping an eye on AFib or tracking how your heart rate changes when you sleep—let alone pulse oxygen or stress levels! 

The ability of a little wearable device on your wrist to help you fully master your health is more advanced than it ever has been, and it continues to grow. Now is the time to take your health into your hands!

The 10 Best Health Watches

Okay, enough watch nerd rambling about pulsometers and mechanical chronographs. Now for the real deal: the very finest in health smartwatches on the market today, to help you track every aspect of your health and wellness. There’s something at every price point for every budget, with every feature imaginable in the health smartwatch world. Let’s dive in!

Garmin Venu 3S

For $450, the Venu 3S is a solid mid-range smartwatch with high-end features. 10 days of battery life, on-wrist texting, viewing photos, music, and more are all built-in, sure—but the best part of this watch is its health trackers. 

It’s great for any kind of cardiac or respiratory monitoring, with heart rate, pulse oxygen, respiration, and an ECG for keeping an eye on any heart problems that could be present.

On top of that, you get a great holistic picture of your overall wellness thanks to a huge suite of sleep-related features as well as stress and mindfulness. This watch does it all at a great mid-range price.

Amazfit GTR 4

If the Venu 3S does it all at a mid-range price, the GTR 4 does quite a lot at a ridiculously low price, retailing at just $110. It even beats out the Venu in battery life, with a solid two weeks of continuous running time.

You get heart rate and pulse oxygen from the key sensors, coupled with a specialized algorithm to reduce inference from any arm movement that could get in the way of accurate tracking. Sleep and stress monitoring are there too, for a well-rounded picture of your health. 

To be honest, however, this watch is more suited for those of us who don’t have serious health concerns and who are looking to stay healthy through fitness, thanks to its variety of sports modes and other fitness algorithms.

This article isn’t for the dedicated fitness gurus among us, but if that’s an important part of your health regimen, this might be the watch for you.

Fitbit Charge 6 Tracker

I have a soft spot in my heart for Fitbits—they’re so under-the-radar and iconic at a glance, making them ideal for someone who’s not looking for a large dedicated smartwatch.

At $160, the Charge 6 hits all the right Fitbit buttons with a great suite of health features: heart rate and pulse ox in particular, but also the interesting inclusion of device temperature. 

The latter allows you to track your skin temp in the Fitbit app, which can provide a heads-up as to whether you might be getting sick—or getting over it! The Charge 6 mostly stops here in terms of its health trackers (you also get VO2 max if you’re into fitness), but for just $160, it’s pretty darn good.

Garmin vívoactive 6

At $300, the vívoactive 6 is just great. It’s just a solid watch that checks all the boxes. Bright AMOLED display, stress tracking, morning report, hydration, respiration, energy monitoring, pulse oxygen… the list goes on, but I won’t bore you. 

I struggle to find any fault to comment on here, but I also struggle to find stellar features that I can break down for you in particular. It just checks all the boxes without going over the top, like the quietly studious middle child of the Garmin family.

And honestly, that really might be the best kind of watch for many of us who are just looking for something to quietly do it all.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra

AI is the big headline for the Galaxy Watch Ultra—you can find the word plastered all over Samsung’s website for the watch, and with good reason.

Their Galaxy AI is here to enhance all of the data taken in by the watch’s suite of sensors, so you end up getting a lot more out of it than almost any other smartwatch would—others mainly use algorithms, which are less complex and analytical. 

The battery life isn’t anything to write home about (60 hours), but the AGEs Index tracker sure is: it’s the first example I’ve seen of tracking metabolic health and diet from any smartwatch, period. Add in all the other standard health features and while the $650 price tag isn’t too pretty, it does feel reasonable.

Garmin vívomove Trend

As a mechanical watch fanatic first and foremost, I can’t help but love that the vívomove Trend really does just look like a normal watch. All the smartwatch features are your secret, because at a few paces, this hybrid smartwatch just has a standard pair of hands and a lovely colored dial. 

Deep down, however, it’s a health-watch stunner. 5 days of battery life, a hidden touchscreen display that appears on tap or swipe, and all the most important features: energy monitoring, heart rate, pulse oxygen, respiration, stress, women’s health, and some fitness tracking.

My favorite detail? There’s a chronograph timer function that actually uses the watch hands, not the screen. Just for the watch fans like me. And at $300, it’s got a great mid-range price to boot.

Apple Watch Ultra 2

The Ultra 2 may have a bit of an ultra price tag ($799), but it’s also got one of the most formidable suites of health trackers on this list. The Vitals app keeps an eye on heart rate, wrist temperature, and sleep tracking, while the ECG app gives you notifications for any detected heart issues. 

You’ve also got women’s health tracking and sleep apnea notifications (something very few other smartwatches are able to do). Unlike all the other watches here (except the Galaxy Watch Ultra), however, this is a smartwatch first and foremost.

It’s not about the health like all the others are: it’s a fully functioning smart device on your wrist. If you’re looking for health but also for a watch that can do much more, this is the one for you.

Withings ScanWatch 2

Withings calls this “the watch that changes lives,” and they just might be right. The 30-day battery life means you’ll have a 24/7 look at your health for an entire month, which can definitely be key for some of us.

Plus, like the vívomove Trend, it’s a hybrid smartwatch, so it’s got real hands and real class. But the headliner here is its health features. 

Withings claims their built-in ECG, for one, is medical-grade: a full 30-second assessment of your cardiovascular health. You also have skin temp tracking to indicate the onset of disease. Pulse oxygen, and an advanced heart rate tracker called a PPG.

Finally, the ScanWatch will automatically detect and alert you about AFib detections. In other words, it’s the watch for you if you’re worried about your cardiac health: almost all of its features are targeted towards that domain, and it covers it really well. For $350, it’s really not too bad for a little heart health peace of mind.

Garmin vívosmart 5

Like the Fitbit Charge 6, the vívosmart 5 is small and unobtrusive, and also very accessibly priced despite its full suite of health options. It’s got all the works: heart rate, energy level, sleep quality, pulse oxygen, and stress tracking. 

Nothing exceptional like the ScanWatch ECG, sure, but if you’re looking for something low-key to accompany you on your wellness journey, it’s hard to beat out something as simple as the vívosmart 5 for $150.

Fitbit Sense 2

The Sense 2 is a very different sort of smartwatch from the Apple and Samsung watches we looked at earlier. At $250, it’s a great way to get all the health features you want, and then some. Heart rate and pulse oxygen, skin temperature, ECG and EDA, and even an altimeter! 

Fascinatingly, the Sense 2 also has an electrical sensor to measure your skin conductance. This keeps an eye on your body’s emotional response throughout the day by measuring physiological cues.

Were you dealing with a low level of stress for most of the day without even knowing it? Your Sense 2 can relay that information and help you deal with your emotional response after detecting it. Plus, it comes with Amazon Alexa built-in for hands-free function!

Conclusion

Health watches are a wide and wonderful world, with a huge variety of styles and features. Thankfully, this means that whatever your needs may be, there’s something out there for you. 

Looking for a tight grip on your cardiac health? There are plenty of watches out there with ECG functionality that can notify you if things are awry. Looking for an everyday companion to help improve your overall wellness?

Looking for some greener grass? Found it! Okay, well, it’s not really grass… but I bet you’re not interested in lawns anyway so much as the very finest in watchmaking if you’re here reading this blog. 

We’re here to talk watches, and this list of the best 12 green watches is the most vibrant and verdant that you’ll find. There’s a bit of everything here, from budget-friendly picks to supreme haute horlogerie. Interested? Then let’s jump right in and start mowing through this list! (Sorry. It was right there. Couldn’t help myself.)

Green Watches: The Modern Trend

Everyone says green watches are taking over these days. Heck, even GQ wrote about it. All of the top brands are releasing green watches right alongside the much more commonly seen blues, whites, and blacks that are staples of most catalogs. Why?

It’s hard to say exactly what the reason behind it is, but I think the real question to focus on is why not. Watch dials have been pretty limited in color and scope for about a century now in just the wristwatch world, and longer than that if you include pocket watches.

For a long time, blue was just about the only real color that you’d see offered by most brands. Now, the world of color is exploding. 

Rolex, notorious for their restraint and reserve, offered a shocking puzzle-piece Oyster Perpetual with emojis on its date window and colorful text instead of the day of the week. It’s a wild time to be a watch lover, and green watches are a great part of that trend. 

They’re more subdued and wearable than other colors that could be featured on a dial, like bright reds or yellows. Green is a cooler color, easy on the eyes, and matches a lot of the world around us. It looks great in a colorful but not too overwhelming way. In a sense, it’s perfect.

The 12 Best Green-Dial Watches

So without further ado, let’s get right into the list. We’re only looking at green dial watches here, to be specific, so don’t be upset if you don’t see your favorite Hublot SAXEM in lime green on the list (it has a mostly black dial, to be clear, so it doesn’t quite count. Believe me, I’m disappointed too.). 

All of these watches are highly wearable and most are pretty understated, making them lovely green companions for your summer days or touches of nature and color in the bleak winter ones.

TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Green Dial

The Carrera Chronograph is arguably the third most well-known and important chronograph, preceded only by the very illustrious Speedmaster and Daytona. For many, though, it ranks first in charm and class. In a lot of ways, it’s exactly what modern collectors are looking for. 39mm case?

Check. Chronograph functionality with prominent and elegant pushers? Check—and on that note, I think they’re my favorite pushers of any of the big 3 chronographs. 

The dial is the best part of this show, though. Circular brushing and a beautiful teal green color make for an eye-catching but not overbearing light show every time you wear this one out and about. 

Finally, I love the applied indices and hands that float above the dial: they’re complex and multifaceted, making for a really fascinating experience when you choose to dive a little deeper and really examine the subtleties of the dial shielded behind your watch’s crystal. For $6,700, it’s also a lot more affordable than its competition. Win-win!

Trilobe Les Matinaux Vert Soleillé

Trilobe is one of those brands that mostly just does one thing, but they do it so incredibly well that they’ve enjoyed a serious cult following since their first release in 2018. The Vert Soleillé, or Green Sunray, is one of their finest pieces, for just shy of $10,000 (9,000 euros). 

You get a good bit of customization with this watch, as you can pick either a 38.5mm or 40.5mm case size (both are fantastic options) and can also order the right strap size for your wrist (goodbye, annoying extra strap length!).

One of the things I love most about this watch is that it’s so classy in the way it only tells the time, but completely reinvents the way it does what it does. 

That is true innovation, something that we don’t see often in the traditional watch world. As for that green dial, it fades beautifully between a rich green and a more aqua blue-green hue depending on the light. Gorgeous.

Patek Philippe Cubitus 5821/1A-001

The Cubitus has gotten a lot of hate lately from collectors, and I would adamantly say that it’s completely undeserved. The case is extremely elegant and has so many dimensions, with an overall square shape marked with rounded lines and corners that break up what could have been a harsh and industrial silhouette. 

The horizontal embossing on the sunburst olive green dial is sporty but elegant, as all Patek should be. The Cubitus is one of the finest luxury sport watches to be made and is likely the greatest not to be designed by Gerald Genta (which rules out the Royal Oak and Nautilus). Plus, at just 8.3mm thick and 45mm in diameter at its widest point, it’s extremely wearable. 

The $41,240 price tag might cause a bit of sticker shock, but it is Patek, and one glance at the gorgeous movement (cal. 26-330 S C/430, if you care) should soothe that shock for any passionate watch nerd.

Tissot PRX Powermatic 80 40mm Green Dial

One of my close friends absolutely swears by this watch, and having seen it quite a few times on his wrist, I’m inclined to agree with him. The green dial with tapisserie finishing (that’s the little squares you see, much like the dial on the Royal Oak) works so well to catch light in some settings, but for the most part remains subdued yet textured. 

As the Powermatic 80 name suggests, the movement supplies a whopping 80-hour power reserve. Plus, you get an exhibition caseback and custom engraved rotor. The case itself is restrained but spot-on, with a 40mm diameter and polished bevels to contrast with the main brushing over the lugs. 

With all this, you’d probably expect to hear a $2,000 to $3,000 price tag. Good news! This PRX is available for a retail price of just $725, making it a great budget green-dial pick.

Grand Seiko SBGJ259

I love Grand Seiko dials. Setting aside enamel, they’re probably the best in the industry, and the SBGJ259 is no exception. It’s inspired by a Japanese garden path, and the gorgeous dial reflects that with vertical striping much like the texture of Côtes de Genève, with a broad variety of green hues to create the effect of bamboo. 

Thanks to the diversity of its green color palette and the texture of the dial finishing, it plays magnificently with all forms of light.

Rest assured, though, this watch isn’t a one-trick pony: it runs on the superb caliber 9S86, which is a high-beat movement (10 beats per second!) with the great accuracy level of -3/+5 seconds per day. Oh, and did I mention it’s a GMT? You can pick one of these garden path beauties up for $7,300.

H. Moser Endeavour Concept Centre Seconds Lime Green

The Concept series by H. Moser is a really admirable idea, in my opinion. They strip away all branding, all text, and allow the watch to speak for itself. And speak it does, through a megaphone.

Just look at that hammered dial, covered with a gentle coat of fumé green enamel for a gradient of color and texture, all while staying within a monochrome palette! The SBGJ259 sure has a run for its money here. 

At 40mm, it’s easy to wear and comes on a strap made of Kudu leather. If you flip the watch over, you’ll find the reverse end to be just as pleasing as the dial, as it’s one of H. Moser’s finest, the calibre HMC200 with a 72-hour power reserve, blued balance cock, Côtes de Genève, skeletonized engraved rotor, and double hairspring. All that watch comes for a lot of cash—$27,600—but boy is it a lot of watch.

Maurice de Mauriac Racquet Rallymaster III

This watch makes me wish I played tennis just so I could have an excuse to buy it. It’s just so darn fun. While many of our other listings here have stayed within a monochromatic green palette, the Rallymaster III works in a full rainbow of playful colors that all work together shockingly harmoniously. 

It’s a watch that barely takes itself seriously, if at all. And yet you’d be wrong to think it’s merely a joking affair: it runs on the Landeron 24 (a Swiss ETA 2824 clone, so it’s pretty solid) and is limited to just 100 pieces.

Plus, it was designed by Carlton DeWoody, a noted interior designer from Los Angeles. Tennis fans, this one’s for you with love from Maurice de Mauriac for $2,400.

Ressence Type 3 EE

Ressence, like Trilobe, has completely pioneered the way we see and read time. The Type 3 EE, like most of their other watches, features the special Ressence Orbital Convex System (ROCS) module, which is, as they say, the reason for the season—er, watch dial layout. That eucalyptus green dial is subdued but elegant, and will really pop at night with blue-emission Super-LumiNova. 

Displayed in the watch’s many dials are hours, minutes, day, date, oil temperature, and running seconds. Wait, oil temperature? You bet.

This puppy is filled with oil from the dial to the crystal, which creates a stunning optical illusion where it looks from many angles like the dial is pressed up right against the crystal. Wallets be warned, however: at $44,200, all this innovation doesn’t come cheap.

Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional Co-Axial Master Chronometer Chronograph 42mm – Moonshine Gold with Green Dial

This mouthful of a Speedmaster is one of Omega’s dressiest options, and boy does that combo of green-on-gold work well for it. The movement, Omega’s calibre 3861, deserves some serious attention in this review, because it’s one of the best parts of the watch. It ticks away on George Daniels’ famous Co-Axial escapement, one of the very best in the industry (if not the best altogether). 

Thanks to this little contraption, it’s achieved certification as a Master Chronometer for prodigious accuracy. This involves 8 tests over 10 days, with every possible attribute examined (magnetic and water resistance, accuracy in all six positions, etc.), applied by METAS, the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology. 

In other words, it’s pinpoint-accurate mechanical timekeeping with a gorgeous exterior and a long history of mechanical innovation. The gold won’t come cheap, though: you can pick one of these up for around $42,600.

Louis Vuitton Tambour Fiery Heart Automata

Whenever I do an article like this, I can never resist the temptation to throw an absolute horological stunner in there just for kicks. This is that watch. The Fiery Heart Automata is a ladies’ watch with a total of 7 animations and a flying tourbillon to boot. I’ll give you a second to pick your jaw up off the ground before we move on to the rest of it. 

It also features 107 hand-set diamonds (0.53 carats total), and an 18K pink gold case. But we’re just getting warmed up, because the dial is the real show. It features enamel and miniature painting and hand engravings, so a wide variety of crafts have been brought to bear to bring each one of these works of art to reality. 

The colors are bright and vibrant, and almost as eye-catching as the animations, which you’ll have to see for yourself to really appreciate. You’ll have to fork over $490,870 to put this little beauty on your wrist, but man, what a trade-off that would be.

Dennison Malachite Dial

Dennison is a relatively new revival that is known for one thing and one thing only: making affordable watches with quartz movements and gorgeous stone dials.

Typically, malachite dials go for a lot more than what Dennison demands at just $690. Many people love to write this type of watch off as “too ’70s”, but I’m a firm believer in the exquisite beauty of showcasing a gemstone in all its imperfection, yet with completely natural elegance. 

The case does a great job of putting the dial at the heart of everything, and it’s actually taken right from Dennison’s old catalog as the last case type they created before they went bankrupt originally. Sure, it’s not a mechanical work of art—but man, for $690 for a stone dial, I’d more than willingly overlook that.

Oris Big Crown ProPilot x Kermit Edition

I love fun watches, if you couldn’t tell by my crazy Fiery Heart Automata pick. The Swiss mechanical watchmaking world takes itself so seriously sometimes, and it’s refreshing when a brand like Oris creates something completely off the cuff and wild.

Petition to inaugurate “Kermit Day” as the official first of every month? Oris sure is pushing for it: the frog’s little face will pop up in your date window as a delightful reminder to relax, to find joy in the moment, and to not take yourself too seriously. 

It’s got a fun mid-range price too, at $4,900. Oh, but allow me to mention just how serious Oris is about having fun. They equipped their Kermit Edition with the calibre 400, which has two barrels and an insane 5-day power reserve with an accuracy of -3/+5 seconds per day. Don’t mess with the frog.

Conclusion

I hope you had as much fun as I did exploring some of the best green dials out there. From those that give the dial their all to those that turn it into a beautiful accentuation of the overall layout, there’s a wide diversity of options out there. 

Whatever your budget, whatever your style, there’s something here for you.