Whilst many dream of owning a watch from one of the great Swiss watchmakers, the price points at retail can be discouraging for those on a budget. So where does this leave the enthusiast who wants to dip his or her toes into the world of high-end watchmaking? A little digging into lesser-known models, which we present here.

We’re not just discussing the most inexpensive watches from Rolex and the “Holy Trinity”, since that’s too obvious and mundane. So instead, we bring you five watches that are not necessarily the most affordable, but amongst the best value propositions. Majority of the five presented below are ancestors of current-production models, and one is a less popular recent launch.

Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 116509, first-generation with meteorite dial

Rolex is well known for dials in a variety of unique materials such as mineral stones and mother of pearl. Arguably more exotic, at least at the time of its launch, was meteorite.

Whilst it’s not exactly known when the first meteorite dials were introduced by Rolex, the material has a constant in its catalogue for some two decades now. The latest meteorite additions to the line were the Daytona models of 2021, but the Daytona has in fact sported a meteorite dial before.

In the early 2004 the material was combined with white gold for the first Daytona with a meteorite dial. It was available on a leather strap or a white gold bracelet, which is the version to go for. This first-generation Rolex ref. 116509 meteorite with a bracelet is usually found just above the US$40,000-mark – more than reasonable for a white gold Daytona with a meteorite dial.

Like many watches sporting meteorite dials, the Daytona dial came from the Gibeon meteorite that landed in Namibia. In 2004 however, the country banned the export of the famous meteorite meaning that meteorite available on the market now was exported prior to that. The meteorite was some 26 tonnes but broke up upon impact, leaving plenty to go around.

Notably, both the original 2004 model and the current generation released in 2021 have the same model reference, 116509. The difference lies in a few details across the dial, movement, and case, but those are minor enough to make this a strong value buy.

Amongst the key aesthetic differences, the 2004 ref. 116509 features applied white gold Roman numerals and red chronograph hands, along with registers in meteorite. The current model has a more conventional Daytona-style baton indices and contrasting black sub-dials.

Rolex Yacht-Master 40 ref. 16628 in yellow gold

As illustrated by the unique platinum Yacht-Master once owned by former Rolex chief executive Patrick Heiniger, the Yacht-Master was designed to be a luxurious sports watch – originally available only in precious metals – aimed at customers who wanted something more than stainless-steel dive watch. Despite this, the Yacht-Master has been overshadowed by more famous sports models in recent years, presenting an opportunity to acquire a precious metal sports Rolex at an accessible price.

The ref. 16628 was launched in 1992 as the first Yacht-Master. Combining a yellow gold, 40 mm case with a matching yellow gold Oyster bracelet, the ref. 16628 was the perfect timekeeper for a yacht owner and the one of the few solid gold sports watch in the Rolex catalogue at the time.

Upon its release, ref. 16628 was a modest success, at least for an all-gold sports watch, and it remained in production for 19 years until its discontinuation in 2011. Whilst some may consider its features basic by today’s standards, its appeal lies in the huge variety of dial options, some of which are unusual and unlikely to be found in regular Rolex sports watches anytime soon.

At the affordable end of the spectrum, the ref. 16628 has a dial in glossy lacquered white, as well as metallic sunburst champagne or blue. The higher-end dial options, however, is where things get interesting.

Gemstone indices, mother-of-pearl dials, as well as a combination of the two are just some of the more special options found in this reference. With Rolex now confining such exotic-material dials to the Day-Date and Daytona, such dials for sports models are more or less a thing of the past.

Depending on whether the dial is regular or special, the Yacht-Master ref. 16628 can be picked up for between US$20,000 to US$40,000. This all-gold construction value and rarity of some dials are the key reasons why this is good value for money.

Patek Philippe World Time ref. 5110

The world time is one of the Patek Philippe’s most iconic and delightful complications. First produced in wristwatch form in 1937, the world time was an innovative design created by Geneva constructor Louis Cottier. Now the complication is a staple of the Patek Philippe catalogue and paired with complications ranging from a pointer date to minute repeater, with the most affordable being the ref. 5935A priced at just over US$64,000.

Released in 2000 as the first modern-day world time model, the ref. 5110 lowers the barrier to entry into the world of Patek Philippe’s world time. Whilst it is no longer in production, the ref. 5110 remains a quintessential Patek Philippe and delivers in so many ways.

The 37.5 mm case has a classic and elegant style, especially when compared to the larger subsequent iterations. It was produced in white, yellow, and rose gold and even platinum, bringing more variety to the table than most other versions.

Like later versions of the complication, the centre of the dial is guilloché; in the gold models the guilloché was opaline white, and a blue-grey in the platinum version. The engine-turned dial is just the perfect complement to the cities disc.

Flipping it over, the sapphire case back reveals the in-house cal. 240 HU with its signature micro rotor, while the proprietary world time module sits under the dial.

From the elegant, compact case to the classic micro-rotor movement, ref. 5110 exemplifies the Patek Philippe DNA to its core. And for one of the brand’s trademark complications, relative affordable: it’s just north of US$25,000 in gold, and in platinum about US$45,000.

The ref. 5110 isn’t rare in itself, but for those who want something more special, limited editions were created for various countries and retailers, though these are naturally more expensive. One such example is the rare Qatar edition, which is almost identical to the standard version but features “Doha” in red on the world time disc.

Audemars Piguet [Re]master01

Audemars Piguet (AP) is often considered a one-model brand as the Royal Oak dominates its catalogue. However, with a history dating to 1875, the brand didn’t gain its place in the “Holy Trinity” solely for a design launched in 1972.

In 2020, AP unveiled the [Re]master01, a reinterpretation of the ref. 1533 chronograph from the 1940s (which we covered it in detail).

The ref. 1533 is from an era when AP chronographs were extremely rare, with the brand making just over 300 wristwatch chronographs of all types in the three decades to 1960. Only nine examples of the ref. 1533 were made, and only three of them had two-tone cases in a combination of stainless steel and pink gold.

The [Re]master01 successfully recreates the fundamentals of the two-tone ref. 1533 with its stainless steel and pink gold case, teardrop lugs, and three-register “rose” dial. Small touches like the blued steel hands and vintage style logo remain consistent with the ref. 1533. I especially appreciate the latter, because nothing screams vintage quite like the addition of “& Co.” to the brand.

Despite the clear vintage inspiration, the [Re]master01 was designed to look into the future at the same time. For this reason, the cal. 4409 inside is one of the brand’s latest-generation movements and reflects AP’s modern watchmaking capabilities.

The [Re]master01 was limited to just 500 pieces, which combined with its history presents strong value at around US$30,000. You’d be hard pressed to find a base-model Royal Oak Chronograph for less than that. For those that want something different, or perhaps just a contemporary AP that isn’t octagonal in some way, then the [Re]master01 could be it.

Vacheron Constantin perpetual calendar ref. 43031

The perpetual calendar is a must-have complication for haute horlogerie brands, and it is almost always a pricey complication, especially within the “Holy Trinity”. Vintage Patek Philippe perpetual calendar watches can be six-figure watches, but this is not the case for all “Holy Trinity” perpetual calendars. One more affordable example is the Vacheron Constantin ref. 43031 of the 1980s.

At 36 mm in diameter, the case was typically sized for the 1980s, but large enough for contemporary tastes and classic in style.

Produced in a variety of metals, with yellow gold being the most common, it houses the automatic cal. 1120. This movement consists of a perpetual calendar module on top of the Jaeger-LeCoultre cal. 920, the ultra-thin movement better known for being found in the “Jumbo” luxury-sports watches of the 1970s.

The ref. 43031 is a classic perpetual calendar that displays the time, along with the day, date, as well as the month and leap year combined in a single register. The leap year indicator with its text scale, as opposed to just numbers, is a charming detail often found in vintage perpetual calendars. On top of this, the dial features a moon phase disc of lapis lazuli, a refined touch that’s seldom seen today.

Available for about US$20,000, the ref. 43031 offers a good deal of complicated value. From the elegantly-sized case to the traditionally presented perpetual calendar, it perhaps the best value for a calendar complication from any “Holy Trinity” brand.

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