Editor's Note: A few months ago, we conducted an interactive Instagram session to find out which watch brand you'd wear for life.
We even responded to your choices in part one and part two. But we realized we never shared our own team's picks. Now the curtain is lifted: here are the watch brands our editorial team is ready to dedicate their lives to.
Omega
To live with one watch brand for the rest of my life, it must meet some specific requirements. They should create watches that can go anywhere and do anything. They must produce watches that look at home with a suit. They should have respectable brand recognition. They need to produce high-end and complete mechanisms. And they must have a great history. While I am sure all my colleagues will present extremely compelling arguments for their chosen brands as the most obvious choice, it is impossible not to acknowledge how well Omega fits this purpose.
I have a personal connection with Omega through my father's old watch, but when I think about it practically, Omega still remains my top choice. Looking at my list, it is clear that Omega makes watches that can go anywhere and do anything. The Seamaster line has been built around this idea for decades. While the models with the highest water resistance might not suit everyday use or my wrist, the standard Diver 300M is robust enough that I never need to take it off, no matter the situation. If a watch is good enough for Bond, it can handle the rough conditions of a watch journalist's life.
The next item on my list is the ability to dress up the watch. While flagship lines like Seamaster and Speedmaster may not be the ideal choice, I believe the De Ville and Constellation families are too often overlooked. De Ville Prestige offers a plethora of options, and the elegant look of the Constellation with a meteorite dial is very hard to resist. And if I really want to go old school, vintage Seamasters might just be the best dress watches available on the secondary market right now.
Brand recognition? Well, I'm not sure I need to justify this with Omega. James Bond, Olympians, astronauts - need I say more?
In Omega, watchmaking expertise is confirmed from various sources. The fact that they have the giant Swatch company with ETA movements behind them helps a lot. But they also had the foresight to become the first and only brand to commercialize George Daniels' brilliant work by applying his co-axial escapement. Add to that the chronograph repeater movement with a second hand, and the watchmaking art is enough for my entire life.
Finally, it is necessary to consider the brand's history. If I am going to wear this brand for life, I want to have plenty of stories to dive into, as this is what ultimately attracts me to watches. I think it's fair to say Omega has plenty of stories to dive into. The Moon landing, the race to the ocean floor, defining the peak of human achievement at the Olympic Games and many, many other stories to discover. But in the end, if I get bored and want to do something interesting, I can always wear a MoonSwatch!
Seiko
Again, I'm sure my choice will be the best because I made it smartly. Of course, choosing Seiko in the 'one brand for life' contest is cheating, as I'm sure, because I'll allow myself any Seiko. And if you ask me, and I suppose you do, that also includes Grand Seiko and Credor. Even if you consider it cheating and limit me to any watches with 'Seiko' on the dial, I still have a wealth of incredible options.
But let's start with Seiko. If I need a durable and perhaps iconic design, I don't need to look further than the Seiko SKX - and I wasn't wrong, having owned them for several years. Despite the outdated basic mechanism, the watch has always been reliable, whether it was tested in its intended environment during diving, exposed to sawdust, constantly banged during rock climbing, or forgotten during a particularly brutal attempt at high-stakes paintball.
If I'm looking for something more stylish, I don't need to go far. The current Presage line from Seiko offers some of the best dials for the money, and that doesn't mean there's a lack of them. If you want something more versatile, Seiko's Prospex line has an excellent range: whether it's a vintage-style diver like the recent 24MAS model, or perhaps something like the venerable Alpinist model, which perfectly fits the middle ground between dress and sporty style. You can even flirt with high class without stepping into Grand Seiko territory, thanks to numerous Seiko models equipped with Spring Drive, the coolest of which must be the SBWA001 model.
But this is where my genius comes through, and that's even before I start making up the rules of the game. You can't mention Seiko without talking about vintage. This brand is considered the hottest when it comes to modern watches, but I would say this is even more true for vintage Seiko. Moviestar? That's Willard. One of the first (possibly the first) automatic chronographs put up for sale, and coincidentally, a space watch? That's Pogue. Almost killed mechanical watchmaking, but also revolutionized it? That's, of course, Astron. Note, I haven't even mentioned titanium Tuna, Rolex-beater Marinemaster, Lord Marvel, SARB033...
And all this without a single King, Grand, or Credor. If you include them in the collection, a whole new world opens up - both vintage and modern - but I'll just stop at a few. King Seiko was recently revived as a top model for Seiko, but before that, this collection could compete with the best Grand Seiko models - the 4420-9990 is the best example of this. There's no need to wax lyrical about Grand Seiko's recent success, but it's hard to pass by the metronomic ticking of Kodo or one of the brand's signature dials inspired by nature. As for vintage, there's even more news, the pinnacle of which is undoubtedly the VFA models. Released in the 60s and 70s, accurate to two seconds per day, they are becoming more and more collectible - recently a reference 6185-8000 was sold in all its palladium glory for $90,000.
And then there's Credor. You're most likely thinking of something like the Eichi II - and rightly so, because the level of finish here rivals the most revered Swiss and German brands. As with any other brand close to Seiko, you can still buy a Credor in a tungsten carbide case 2 mm thick cheaper than a Tudor bracelet, and these will be the best dress watches you ever wear.
Cartier
I love Grand Seiko. But another contender I could be monogamous with is the master of form: Cartier. The beauty of Cartier for me lies in the fact that, while the brand may not necessarily have a wide range of reliable everyday watches, its extensive catalog of timeless and always relevant models offers plenty of forms and colors.
Judging by the wearing experience, the Santos de Cartier will obviously be my most popular choice for everyday wear. Whether in less favorable weather or during active recreation, the Santos de Cartier has the elegance to satisfy any needs. And blue, green, and white dials, along with other dial options, will allow me to add some variety and spice, complemented by quick-change bracelets and straps.
I must admit, I am an editor of a watch publication, and I don't face extreme situations in everyday life - I don't need a dive watch while working on an oil rig. Nine times out of ten, 30-meter water-resistant watches on leather straps are perfectly suitable for my purposes, and here I have virtually unlimited choice at Cartier. In collections like Tank, I can choose the case metal, dial color, and even the shape of the watch (such as Cintree, Normale, Louis). Then I can resort to a wider range of Tortue or Crash options. And, splitting the difference, there's always the Santos Dumont line, which resembles the Santos de Cartier in shape but has more daring colors and designs like Rewind or lacquered case models, you probably know how much I love this line.
Moreover, in recent years, Cartier, at least in the mainstream, is not so often discussed or recognized for the fact that they have indeed raised the level of movement development: the Masse Mystérieuse model became obvious in 2022, and the new Privé Tortue Monopoussoir model presented at the Watches and Wonders exhibition this year showed that this is not a single exception.
And finally, very importantly, the size of Cartier really suits me. I like more compact profiles and sizes, and what is large for Cartier is small for most brands. For me, it's definitely a green, not a red flag. Besides, we haven't discussed this, but if vintage is fair game, there's nothing hotter right now than vintage Cartier, and I welcome the opportunity to choose in this rabbit hole as well.
Jaeger-LeCoultre
If you can wear only one watch brand for your entire life, you should choose a brand with an extremely diverse range: it's just logical. Call it maximizing utility. Seiko and Omega are excellent options in this regard, and while it may not be the first brand that comes to mind in terms of range diversity, Jaeger-LeCoultre, 'the watchmaker's watchmaker', absolutely claims this.
What other brand on the market can offer diving watches with a compressor bezel and triple-axis tourbillons? The beauty of choosing JLC is that you can enjoy the very best of high horology, but still have practical (albeit slightly elevated) watches for everyday wear at the lower end. If you turn to vintage JLC watches, you can play with field watches and motorsport chronographs... Heck, JLC even used to make cameras, but that's beyond the point of 'wearing'.
I believe that if you can wear only one brand, you need a brand that has icons, and the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is one of the true icons of watchmaking. Indeed, I would be happy to wear only a Reverso for the rest of my life, as I consider them some of the most versatile watches ever created. Technically, they are sports watches - that's what they were invented for - but in the 21st century, they are also considered some of the most stylish dress watches you can wear. Damn, I really need to buy a Reverso...
I know I'm stretching the definition here, but if you can wear watches from only one brand for your entire life, do watches using this brand's movement count? In that case, I could wear Vacheron Constantins and Patek Philippes powered by JLC... That's definitely cheating.
Tudor
Despite Seiko being my 'gateway drug' and vintage Breitling capturing my heart, if I have to stick with one brand for life, it will be Tudor. No other mainstream brand has a current lineup that speaks so directly to me and my preferences. I named them my brand of the year and even chose the silver Black Bay 58 925 as my hypothetical one-watch collection (don't judge).
These are the watches I would genuinely open my wallet for, and instead of some three-axis tourbillon-slash-amusement park on the wrist, I would actually wear them every day. After all, that's what watches are for, isn't it? To be worn? So the practical aspect is covered. Speaking of practicality: Tudor's prices, while in the luxury category, are quite reasonable considering what they offer: classic design inspired by the past, excellent finishing, and constant improvement of the watch mechanism.
Thinking about Tudor's future, I am quite optimistic. They have shown a willingness to give people what they want. In other words, what classic Rolex used to offer. For the most part, Rolex has grown in size, adorned itself flamboyantly, and set prices above what I'm comfortable with. I'm looking for more tool and less jewel in my watches, and Tudor delivers time and time again.
At the Watches & Wonders show (once again), they introduced the most coveted watch - the Black Bay 58 GMT in all its retro glory. And in Tudor's current catalog, I see at least a dozen watches I would happily wear daily: everything from the aforementioned GMT and BB 58 to the John Player Special Daytona reminiscent Black Bay Chrono S&G (on a stitched strap, of course), the Pelagos 39 diver, and even the integrated 38mm Tudor Royal with silver numerals. It's quite a comprehensive lineup, at least in my view. If Tudor ever decides to bring back the rectangular case, I will have no reason to look elsewhere. And if there's no unforeseen change in the brand's style, I never will.
Vacheron Constantin
Truthfully, my primary choice for this exercise has already been made, but if I have to choose, I'll go with Vacheron Constantin. I hope money doesn't matter in this scenario, because I would absolutely fill a watch box with pure gold and platinum as much as possible. I would have my modern favorites from the Historiques and Métiers d’Art collections, like the American 1921 and Tribute to Great Civilisations Sphinx de Tanis, and then delve into vintage Art Deco pieces adorned with diamonds and sapphires. Of course, there are also iconic models like the 222 and the luxurious sports perfection of the Overseas series, but for me, Vacheron Constantin's priorities are craftsmanship and storytelling. I should stop fantasizing before I make a terrible financial decision.”
Longines
When it comes to a brand dedicated to a single watch, it's very hard to overlook Longines as a contender. Even if you list all possible criteria of what this commitment might look like... Does Longines have a diver? Yes, it has the Legend Diver model, which was worn by Royal Australian Navy personnel in the 70s, so it even has a connection to my homeland. The compressor-style case with an internal rotating bezel offers endless design combinations and rearrangements, and we will likely see more innovation and novelties in this collection than ever.
Speaking of aviation, you have a watch that I declared I would never sell, not because I couldn't get a good price for it, but simply because I can never muster the interest not to have it nearby. It's the Avigation Big Eye, which represents a less avant-garde option of Longines aviation watches. The more standard configuration has plenty of options, but there's also a limited edition with an angled dial - its offset layout is becoming increasingly popular in models like the Vacheron Constantin 1921.
Another aviation representative, the Longines Spirit, is repeatedly associated with one of the best everyday watch options with a value focus, and it falls far short compared to popular watches like the Tudor Black 58. Moreover, Spirit offers a wide range of sizes and is not limited to time and date functions, also offering GMT and flyback chronograph complication options.
Considering the cyclicality of trends, you can endlessly choose outfits with models like Conquest and Flagship, whose design is borrowed from the 60s and 70s. And of course, if you love complications and world-renowned mechanisms that defined an era, you can always collect vintage Longines. Specifically, the 13ZN model, which is recognized by collectors as one of the best chronographs ever made. Longines has its merits in this area too, as evidenced not only by their presence in the 'Dirty Dozen', but also by their rich military stocks, often reissued under former president Walter von Känel, who was himself military. Whether it's famous mechanisms, historical significance, or modern versatility, Longines is indeed a strong competitor among single-brand choices.