Top 10 Iconic Watches of the Last Century

Santos

In 1904 Louis Cartier made a wrist watch for his friend Alberto Santos-Dumont, it was the first wristwatch made for a man (Patek had made wristwatches prior- but these wristlets were made for women). This square watch featured an extra long leather strap so the Santos-Dumont could wear it over his flying jacket- in a sense it was the first pilots watch. Santos-Dumont who wore it every time he flew and this visibility enhanced Cartier’s reputation but also garnished popularity for a wristwatch and in 1911 it became the first serially produced wristwatch. This year at SIHH Cartier re-launched the Santos with a fantastic new design upgrade and fascinating strap change system.

Tank

Launched in the thick of war, the 1917 Tank, was launched. The trenches had proved how cumbersome pocket watches were and wristwatches were now respected as a masculine watch. The design was based on the tanks, which tank depends on who you believe, but was either the Renault Tank or the British Mk IV Tank.  The Tank’s military inspiration led Cartier to present the first new Tank wristwatches to

the American General John Joseph Pershing and some of his officers. Over the years there have been many variations on the Tank, my personal favourite being the

the 1921 Tank Cintrée, with its longer and curved case. The modern version the Tank Americaine, was launched last year for the first time in steel to celebrate the 100^thanniversary of the Tank.

Reverso

On the 4 March 1931, at 1:15 pm, at the INPI (National Industrial Property Institute) in Paris: René-Alfred Chauvot officially patented the flip over watch- a legendary watch we know today as the Reverso.

It’s origins lay on the Polo field, during late 1930, César de Trey whilst in India, attended a polo match at a club of British army officers. One such army Polo player smashed the glass on his watch- as a result of this event, César de Trey proposed Jacques-David LeCoultre, the concept of a sports watch that Polo players could wear. LeCoultre along with Jaeger developed the Reverso.

One additional advantage was that the owner could tailor the back of the case. However, not all was smooth for the Reverso, as it went out of production after the war- to be rescued by an Italian dealer Giorgio Corvo. He found 200 empty cases, had movements installed and sold them all in Italy. The biggest change came with the debut of the Reverso 60ème – which featured the new GT case and allowed for a modern look and additional complications.

Rolex Oyster Perpetual

Rolex of the first waterproof and dustproof wristwatch in 1926, Wilsdorf astutely recognised these as weak points in the development of the wristwatch- no doubt some lessons were learnt from WW1 in the trenches. The new hermetically sealed case was given the name “Oyster. Its proof of water tightness came in 1927, when Mercedes Gleitze swam the English Channel wearing an Oyster watch. After 10 hours in the water, there was no ingress of water into the case. The Oyster case was the perfect home for the next major accomplishment- the perpetual movement. In 1931, Rolex perfected the self-winding movement, by means of a rotor. The new Oyster Perpetual laid the seeds for every watch thereafter- it was the first “Modern watch”.

This year at Baselword, Rolex launched my favourite piece from them- an Oyster Perpetual with a new black dial. Simple- but so elegant.

Patek Calatrava

Launched in 1932 it has become the signature watch for the great house. Without the Calatrava, today there may not have been a company called PATEK PHILIPPE. The Calatrava really is that important in the company’s history. Following the takeover, the Sterns knew they needed a watch that would sustain the company. The reference 96 Calatrava was born. Inspired by the simplicity of the Bauhaus school for design where form is decreed by function it was the watch that had integrated lugs as part of the case. Since then, many companies have emulated the look and the lugs integrated with case have become the norm.

Today, the reference 5196 continues the traditional look of the original 96.

Rolex Submariner

A vain attempt at not including another Rolex, fails miserably. You just cannot avoid a watch, which is perhaps the most recognised in the whole world. The Submariner isn’t just a watch icon; it is also a design icon. The luminous black dial, the rotating bezel and luminous hands have been emulated and copied by just about everyone.

Launched in 1953, there is debate as to whether the first reference was the 6204 or 6200 by “Rolex specialists”, but Rolex themselves attribute the first as the reference 6204. You could argue the real precursor was the 6202 Turn-o-graph.

What ever it was, a legend was born. It is still going strong and gave us the Submariner date and Sea Dweller.

Incidentally, it was the first watch waterproof to 100m, the fifty fathoms, was waterproof to about 93m!

IWC Pilots watch

Perhaps the most famous of all the pilots watches. In my opinion deserving to be here as it sets the standard for this genre of watch and is still in production and is as popular as ever. The Spezialuhr für Flieger (Special Pilot’s Watch), was produced in 1936. It featured a black dial with luminous hands and a rotating bezel. This first watch was followed by the Mark X ordered by the British Ministry of Defence, and issued to the military for service in 1944. The legendary Mark XI in turn superseded this. Incredibly the Mark XI was in production right up to 1993. The latest version the Mark XVIII was recently launched in a tribute to the Mark XI. Is this the perfect beater?

Breitling Navitimer

It was 1952 and Breitling introduced an iconic pilots watch: the Breitling Navitimer. A superb design, featuring the slide rule bezel from the 1942 Chronomat, it set new standards for an aviators watch. Variations followed such as the Cosmonaut (which Scott Carpenter took into space). It has changed very little and thankfully today you can get in the 41mm case size. Its design is so powerful; it is instantly recognisable- and is again copied by many.

Omega Speedmaster

The reference CK2915 gave us perhaps the most iconic chronograph of all time. A watch that has conquered the moon- and time itself. Pretty much unchanged it celebrated 60 successful years in constant production, with no breaks- and who would bet against another successful 60 years. The best part is you can still get this legendary watch, with a mechanical Lemania movement.

Royal Oak

Finally, a watch that spawned a whole new genre- the luxury steel watch. Not quite sports but not dress. It bridged the gap between a dress watch and sports watch, a half way house between a Calatrava and Submariner if you like. Launched in Basel, April 1972: at the annual Swiss Watch Show (later renamed BaselWorld), Audemars Piguet presented the Royal Oak. Designed by the genius Gerald Genta (who accredited it as being his greatest achievement) it shook the world. It also paved the way for the Patek Nautilus, Vacheron 222 and IWC Ingenieur SL.  It has remained unchanged and is a design icon. I would love to have one in my collection.