The Best Everyday Watches in 2019

One Watch

It’s that time of year. Far and away, our most popular article of 2018 was The Best Everyday Watches of 2018. Turns out a lot of people are searching for the best everyday watch, the best go-anywhere-do-anything (GADA) watch, or the watch to make the perfect one-watch collection (yes, you can have a one-watch collection. That’s a hill I’ll die on).

With the 2019 trade shows (meh as they were) in the rearview mirror, it’s time to update the list for 2019. In 2018, I looked at the best watches that you could still buy new. For 2019, we’re changing the rules. I’m going to look at the best vintage, pre-owned, and new everyday watches out there.

A reminder: there are no real requirements for an everyday watch besides general durability and comfort. We’re talking about watches that can be dressed up or dressed down. Watches that look as good with a suit as they do alongside a t-shirt and jeans. Lume and water resistance are nice, but not necessary. An everyday wearer can come on a bracelet or strap, as long as it sits comfortably on the wrist. And while we’re willing to pay good money for a watch we’re going to be wearing every day, we can’t spend so much that we feel we have to baby it through every door jamb.

First, up, the best everyday watches you can buy new. I’ve broken them down into three categories: (1) the Under $2,000 Club, (2) the Microbrands, and (3) the Classics.

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Kanye Flashes His Cartier Crash on 'My Next Guest Needs No Introduction'

Just for Fun

Today is Kanye West’s 42nd birthday, so I had to write a little something about the producer, rapper, fashion, and cultural legend. Last year when Kanye West made a trip to JP Morgan Chase in New York, I spotted what I thought looked to be a Cartier Crash on his wrist. Ye later confirmed with a Twitter post, and I wrote about how the watch was all too fitting for Kanye. His first single was recorded weeks after he was in a near fatal car crash, and urban legend has it the Cartier Crash’s distinct shape was the result of a similarly unnerving crash.

It seems that Cartier Crash might be Kanye’s daily wearer at this point. David Letterman interviews Kanye in the first episode of season 2 of "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.” Kanye shows Dave around the West-Kardashian estate and Kanye flaunts designs by Axel Vervoordt, name drops Takashi Murakami, and shows off his own Yeezy clothing line. But amidst all the design and high culture, the thing that caught my eye most was a little more subtle: Kanye’s watch.

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Watches of Switzerland IPO Gives Hope to the Watch Industry

Business News

Shares in Britain’s biggest watch retailer Watches of Switzerland Group Ltd rose by as much as 15% on their debut on the London Stock Exchange on Thursday. Shares climbed to as high as 315 pence per share, from an initial price of 270 pence. On its second day of trading, May 31, shares stabilized a bit, closing the day at 308 pence.

The listing of 34% of the company was set to raise around 220 million pounds ($278 million), valuing the retailer at 647 million pounds. The 270 pence initial price was already at the top end of the range initially targeted for the deal, suggesting strong demand for the retailer which accounted for half of all Rolex watches sold in the UK in 2018, in addition to being the UK’s largest retailed of Patek Phillipe, Cartier, Omega, TAG Heuer, and Breitling.

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Swiss Watch Exports Drop 0.4% in April

Business News

After a strong first quarter of 2019, Swiss watch exports slowed in April, down 0.4% compared to April 2018. It’s a dose of reality for the industry, after exports grew a total of 2.9% throughout the first quarter. April’s low sales bring growth through 2019’s first four months down to 2.1%.

The total value of exports in April was still higher than that in March, but growth was down because of a strong comparison base to April 2018. The trend toward precious metals and two-tone (gold-steel) timepieces continued, with the categories up 4% and 5.2%, respectively.

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Richemont Misses Profit Estimates as Watch Sales Grow

Business News

Shares of luxury goods group Richemont closed higher on Friday as it announced strong sales growth amid weaker profitability in its 2019 fiscal year, which ended March 31.

Last year, Richemont purchased online pre-owned watch retailer Watchfinder, as well as online luxury destination Yoox Net-a-Porter. It also recently announced a joint venture with ecommerce giant Alibaba, though it continued to provide few details on that arrangement on its earnings call. With the acquisition of the online retailers, 16% of Richemont’s sales are now online.

Total watches sales in 2019 reached €5 billion.

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Tom Ford Releases Its First Automatic Watch

Drops

As I covered just last week, Tom Ford has some rules for wearing watches in 2019. We knew from his recent runway show and release that his eponymous brand was gearing up to release its second wristwatch, this time a round model. It comes just a year after releasing the Tank style, quartz powered Tom Ford 001 collection (covered in-depth in the previous link).

Well, the Tom Ford 002 collection has been officially released, and it’s about what we expected. There’s some stuff to like and a lot not to like, so let’s dig in real quick. As promised, the 002 collection has a circular case, measuring 40mm in diameter. This seems a bit big for a bezel-less dress watch, but whatever. I also haven’t seen any thickness measurements yet, but I doubt it sits thin: the straps do this weird nato-like thing where they loop through the lugs. This is surely because Tom Ford is intent on selling you multiple straps, and making straps easy to change like this will encourage such additional purchases.

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Timex Goes 'Made in America' with Its American Documents Series

Drops

Of course, just a few days after I write about my favorite “made in America” watches, everyone’s favorite American-based brand releases its own Made in American collection. But that’s what Timex has done with its new American Documents collection.

Timex was founded as the Waterbury Clock Company in 1854 in Waterbury, CT, and has called that area of Connecticut home ever since. Today, even though Timex USA is a subsidiary of Dutch-based Timex Group, there is still a strong corporate presence in Middlebury, CT, the home of its US headquarters.

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Kering Sales Barely Beat Estimates as Gucci Growth Slows

Business News

Less than a week after rival luxury conglomerate LVMH posted a strong first quarter of 2019, sending the stock to record highs, Kering barely matched expectations. Kering shares fell 6 percent on Thursday after signs of slowing growth from the Q1 earnings. And while watches and jewelry aren’t a large part of Kering’s business, the group’s earnings may point towards the general trend of slowed growth in luxury goods.

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Swiss Watch Exports Finish a Strong First Quarter

Business News

Swiss watch exports had their strongest month of 2019 in March, growing at 4.4% with a value of 1.7 billion Swiss francs (CHF) for the month. Total exports for the first quarter of 2019 totaled CHF 5.1 billion, a 2.9% increase over the first quarter of 2018. The total value of exports was significantly boosted by a steep rise in precious metal and bimetal watch exports.

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Pete Buttigieg Wears a Skagen, But Does He Have To?

Just for Fun

On Sunday, Pete Buttigieg (“Boot-edge-edge” as his campaign is encouraging people to pronounce it) formally announced his candidacy in South Bend, Indiana, where he has served as mayor for eight years. The guy has come out of nowhere to become the young upstart that everyone’s talking about for the 2020 Democratic nomination. He’s a 37-year-old war veteran, former management consultant, and the first millennial to run for President. He’s seen a surge of support since he formed his Presidential exploratory committee towards the beginning of this year as well, placing as high as third in polls in Iowa and New Hampshire.

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The Best American Watches in 2019

Guides

I recently posted about why I want Merci’s LMM-01 field watch so bad, but there was a small detail about that watch that’s stuck with me: French President Emmanuel Macron wears one. Like President Obama, Macron seems to find joy (and easy political points) in wearing a watch from his home country. But as I thought about it, it’s an idea I’m drawn to as well. Sure, we’re all citizens of the world, but we’re also proud of where we’re from. “American made,” especially in the context of watches, can be a hard term to pin down; it’s part marketing ploy, part statement of origin. And it’s not without controversy.

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