Feature: The BARGAIN 3 Watch Collection For Less Than A Rolex

Today, at the start of the year 2022, a Rolex Datejust 41 costs £6,350. That is a lot of money. It’s easy to get desensitised to it, however, so I decided to see if I could assemble a collection of three great watches from three incredibly historic brands for less to prove a point. This is the result.

Longines Heritage Military L2.819.4.93.2

You might be familiar with Longines. You might have seen them at the cheaper end of the duty free, mixing it with the Diesels and Fossil watches and the like. What that tells you is that Longines does not occupy the same history books as Rolex, that it is a cheaper brand for entry-level collectors who just want something that says Swiss Made on the dial. This couldn’t be more wrong.

We’ll start at the start. Longines opened its doors in 1832—not 1932, 1832, three-quarters of a century before Rolex. It set multiple accuracy records, dominated sales—especially in the US—created the first wristwatch chronograph calibre, was the official supplier to the International Aeronautical Foundation, equipped Charles Lindbergh on the first non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic, timed Donald Campbell for the land speed record in Bluebird II, served as timekeeper for the Olympics and even spearheaded much of the modern, mechanised watchmaking processes we see in Switzerland today.

Longines was so incredibly popular that, even back in the 1800s before logos on dials were really a thing, its watches were often faked, forcing the watchmaker to create a logo and have it registered with the Federal Office of Intellectual Property to afford some legal protection. It is, to this day, the oldest registered brand still in use.

So, while decades of change have shuffled Longines to the back of the deck, nothing can change the incredible history that gave it its existence today. Rumour has it that the Swatch Group, which owns both Longines and Omega, deliberated over which of the two defunct brands to revive as its mid-tier offering, and it was Omega that was chosen simply because it was easier to pronounce.

This Heritage Military watch demonstrates why both watchmakers should have remained equals, harking back to a period in the 40s when Longines supplied the British Royal Air Force with pilot’s watches just like this. The 38.5mm case in steel with the cream dial and blued hands draws inspiration from a Longines that existed before the Datejust had even been conceived—and at £1,750, it’s a considerable amount cheaper, too.

Hamilton American Classic Intra-Matic Auto Chrono H38416111

It’s to the other side of the Atlantic where we find our next contender, to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, birthplace of the Hamilton watch company in 1892. This period marked a boom time in the growth of the United States railroad system, and it was to companies like Hamilton that the challenge was set to build watches both accurate enough and plentiful enough to keep the railroad running smoothly. Poor timekeeping had already demonstrated how deadly it could be when a watch running four minutes late cost nine lives when two trains collided.

So, whilst a Swiss watchmaker consisted of a handful of people in a rented office, Hamilton’s goals needed an altogether larger setup. By the turn of the century, the company operated a factory staffed by 750 people, producing tens of thousands of watches per year. Remember I said Longines was popular in the US and spearheaded much of the processes for mechanised volume watch production in Switzerland? They learnt it from American watchmakers like Hamilton.

Hamilton, despite being purchased by the precursor to the Swatch Group in 1974, remained in the US until as late as 2003, and this Hamilton American Classic Intra-Matic harks back to one of the great American watches the brand produced in the 1960s. As the golden era of motorsport, a classic chronograph was at the top of every brand’s wish list, and Hamilton were not going to be left out.

Not only that, but the watch this is based on was Hamilton’s platform to launch the legendary Chronomatic automatic chronograph—the world’s first—as part of a joint partnership with TAG Heuer and Breitling. At 40mm, it wears just right, it maintains that eye-catching inverted twin sub-dial layout and—best of all—costs just £1,985. Looks, heritage and complication for less than a third the cost of the Datejust? Yes please!

Baume et Mercier Riviera 10619

We’ve seen pilot’s watches from the 1940s and racing chronographs from the 1960s—to really round this collection out, it would make sense to complete it with something from the shock era of the 1970s, when mechanical watches competed against a new technology to maintain relevance. This is the era that delivered the stylised, angular designs that have once again become so incredibly popular—but the problem is, getting a good one makes even the Datejust look cheap.

It seems the choices are twofold: purchase a 70s inspired watch from a manufacturer that has real credibility from the period or choose a copycat watch instead from a brand cashing in on the trends of today. Believe it or not, there is actually a third option with the Baume et Mercier Riviera.

For a second round of disbelief, believe or not but Baume et Mercier is the oldest watchmaker here, founding its business all the way back in 1830. Like Longines, the brand has achieved many things that you might not expect—chief of which was producing a 70s-styled watch before both Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin. Emerging a year after Audemars Piguet’s formative Royal Oak, Baume et Mercier’s Riviera was a very real and very popular alternative to the big trio’s big sports watches.

And the same is true today, with the modern Riviera maintaining the multi-faceted shape and integrated straps that made the era famous. The 42mm case in steel is as imposing as ever, with a blue dial marked with stylised waves catching the light in a way that draws the attention as much now as when these striking designs were first seen all those years ago.

The real difference is that Baume et Mercier had long since established a reputation for style way before Audemars Piguet. Whilst the great maker of complications was focused on what its watches did inside, Baume et Mercier very much led the charge for what they did on the outside, especially during the Art Deco period, even earning the hallowed Geneva Seal for its works. And not only is Baume et Mercier in its comfort zone making stylish watches, it’s also a considerable amount cheaper than its visual rivals, tipping the scales at just £2,250.

Between these three you get over half a millennium’s worth of expertise, style and value, all for a total cost that comfortably sits underneath that of a single Rolex Datejust 41. That isn’t to say the Datejust is the wrong choice, but if a collection of watches that represents different brands and eras through watchmaking appeals more, then that option is very much available—and perhaps with more impact than you might first think.

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