Whether you want the tech convenience of a smart watch or the luxury of a Rolex, we have outlined the best watch brands for men in 2019!
For many men, watches are tools meant to provide valuable data for a wide range of activities, such as diving and hiking. Some even rely on their timepiece to provide information as they navigate the air with a true aviator or pilot watch.
For others, watches are a mandatory staple to any quality men’s outfit. No formal ensemble would be complete without a beautiful timepiece on their wrist. And no list of the best watch brands for men would be complete without including the following names on this list.
It’s the latter type of situations this list will focus on. These best watch brands for men are staples of iconic timepiece quality and construction.
A watch from any of these brands instantly inspires envy from all who encounter the wearer. Wearing any of these watches instantly enters the wearer into a historic club of exclusivity.
- Rolex–The Standard of Executive Watch Brands For Men
Probably the most iconic name in all of luxury watch brands is one who’s logo makes sure you know who its products are for.
Rolex, the brand with a crown as its logo, makes watches that are perhaps most often seen on the wrist of executives and other high-profile professionals.
The company was founded in London in 1905 by Hans Wilsdorf. From there he set out to make timekeeping precision his primary goal. In 1910, only five years after the founding of the company, his hard work paid off.
That year a Rolex watch became the very first wristwatch to receive the esteemed Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision by the Official Watch Rating Centre in Bienne.
Today, Rolex continues its heritage of building watches which give careful attention to detail to precision.
- Breitling
Another icon in the world of the best watch brands for men comes one of the pioneers of aviator watches.
Breitling was founded in 1884 by Swiss watchmaker by Léon Breitling.
In the history of chronograph watches, Breitling has made its mark. The company was one of the first to release this type of watch for the wrist in 1915. Not long after, Breitling caused an even greater sensation when it released a patented pocket watch designed with two pushers and dials, allowing for the measurement of multiple times in sequence.
A similar heritage of the relationship between luxury and practicality still lives on today in many of Breitling’s watches.
- Ulysse Nardin–An Enduring Relationship With the Sea
Next on our list is a brand that from its conception has had a relationship with the ocean. In the year 1846, Ulysse Nardin set out on his own after apprenticing with some of the leading watchmakers of Switzerland. His focus was initially on marine chronometers.
Today, the relationship between the marine and Ulysse Nardin timepieces lives on. The company still crafts many luxurious watches that couple as reliable diving instruments to be taken even several hundred feet into the ocean depths.
Ulysse Nardin timepieces also have a long history of accumulating prestigious accolades in the watchmaking world.
- Cartier–”The Jeweler of Kings and the King of Jewelers”
One of the few names on this list to not have Swiss origins is the luxury jeweler brand Cartier.
The brand itself was founded in Paris by Louis-François Cartier in 1847. Cartier would remain in the family for more than the next 100 years.
Throughout its history, it has crowned the heads and wrists of royalty from Siam (Thailand), Spain, Portugal, Russia, and more. Even Jackie Kennedy owned one of their watches.
It’s no wonder King Edward VII of England referred to this brand as the “jeweler of kings and the king of jewelers.
- Tag Heuer
Back to the Swiss now. Founded in Switzerland in 1860 by Edouard Heuer, Tag Heuer watches are perhaps more likely to be seen on a greater majority of men than many of the other brands on this list.
This is because of these watches being at price points which range closer to the level of affordability for the more common classy man.
Whether one is looking for automatic or quartz watches, they can get a Tag Heuer in the $1500-$2500 range.
- Breguet–The Longstanding Innovator
The rest of the selections on this list of the best watch brands for men are going to be truly luxurious names that will almost certainly come with a steep price tag.
There is perhaps no better of a place to start than with one of the oldest and most prestigious watchmakers in the world, Breguet.
Abraham-Louis Breguet founded his namesake company in 1775 in Paris after apprenticing with watchmakers there and in Versailles. He quickly made a name for himself there, so much so that his best clientele quickly became the French aristocracy.
Breguet timepieces have been possessed by famous historical figures such as Queen Marie-Antoinette and Napoléon Bonaparte.
- Jaeger-LeCoultre
Another Swiss brand renowned for its innovative contributions to the watchmaking world is Jaeger-LeCoultre, founded in 1833 (then it was just known as LeCoultre).
The brand was inventing and innovating new and improved mechanisms long before many of the names on this list came into being. Today, the Jaeger-LeCoultre company holds over 400 patents.
- A. Lange Söhne–The Phoenix
Next on the list of the best watch brands for men is a company that seized to exist for the better part of a century. Yet, this brand came out of the ashes of a communist regime to continue its past tradition of crafting fine timepieces.
The brand itself was founded in 1845 by Ferdinand Adolph Lange in Germany. Some years later, his son, Richard, joined him in the directorship of the company and it was coined with the brand name we still know it by today.
Subsequent generations of the Lange family kept the name alive and thriving, even producing watches for German airmen in WWII.
Yet, after the War, in 1948, the company was nationalized under the present Soviet regime.
It wouldn’t be for another 52 years that the company would reopen. The founder’s great-grandson, Walter Lange, started the company back up after the 1990 reunification of Germany.
- Patek Philippe
One of, if not the most prestigious name in watchmaking in world history is Patek Philippe. The company itself found its origins through a series of evolutions in the early-to-mid part of the 19th century. These led to the union between Polish watermaker Antoni Patek and French watchmaker Adrien Philippe in 1845.
So prestigious was the reputation of their craftsmanship so early on that in during the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, Queen Victoria of London acquired a Patek Philippe pocket watch herself.
To this day, celebrities, royals, and executives alike are donned with Patek Philippe timepieces.
- Audemars Piguet
Lastly, but certainly not least, on this list is a company founded in the French region of Switzerland by its two namesakes, Jules Louis Audemars, and Edward Auguste Piguet.
To this day, Audemars Piguet can claim two outstanding feats to its name. First, the company is still headquartered in the very locale in which it was founded all the way back in 1875, the Vallée de Joux region.
Secondly, the company is still family-owned, currently in its fourth generation of Audemars family members.
The Best of What Consumer Goods Has to Offer
Whether these best watch brands for men fit into your price range or not, it’s certainly interesting to read about any of the truly outstanding brands that make up a given product line. This is especially true for products like watches, which have almost unlimited potential for build quality and price range.
Are you a naturally curious person who loves reading about other top brands for given product lines? Check out our other lists of the top brands in other divisions of consumer goods.
