Everyone from Drake and Future to Pusha T, Dave and Stormzy love nothing more than to rap about how golden their prized gold watches are. Professional footballers, perhaps less vocally, also like flashing a bit of bling, be it Leah Williamson or Bukayo Saka. They serve as a trophy of sorts in themselves, a symbol of status that us mere mortals can aspire to own.
From yellow to white to rose, here are some of our favourite gold watches – and some are even affordable if you start saving up now.
How a watch showered in sapphires – both on the bezel and the dial – can retain any air of subtlety is a trick only the Crown could pull off. And just because Rolex loves to geek out over incremental changes to its enviable stable of grails, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have fun en route. At a glance, this Day-Date is small-ish at 40 mm, but compact watches are having a moment. Just DM Drake if you don’t believe us. £87,600
Amid the bombastic Alessandro Michele runway shows, it’s easy to forget that Gucci has been playing the haute horology game for half a century, with sometimes groundbreaking, always whimsical results. In this way, the Italian fashion house has quietly gone about making its watches a force to be reckoned with – and the 18kt yellow-gold 25H Tourbillon is a perfect example: a case as inspired by the ’70s as a pair of Michele flares, with an in-house calibre that holds its own in the big, bad watch world. £107,000
Name a more universally popular panda dial. Yeah, we can’t either. Tudor’s stock is rising as it continues to spread its Rolex-owned wings and fly Pegasus-style towards horological greatness. Models like the Black Bay Chrono in steel and yellow gold have helped Tudor shed the little brother tag and enter an era that’s as shiny and bold as any other brand. Incidentally, the matching bracelet can be swapped out for a leather or fabric strap if you’d like to dial down the bling. £5,760
In the same way Zenith had an ‘it’ moment in 2021, Montblanc has played a blinder in 2022. CEO Nicolas Baretzki called up Australian fashion bad boy Justin O’Shea as a mate of the brand, which gives you an idea of the trajectory Montblanc is headed in. This year, the new 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date had the watch fraternity leaning in for a sip of ‘Iced Tea’ (nicknames like this are taken as a compliment), and another 1858 – the limited-edition Geosphere – has gained a following thanks to its world timer and broody bronzeness. £5,300
The open caseback of the Fiftysix Complete Calendar is mesmerising. Flip it over and you’ll see the dial is pretty special too. Somehow, it has the time, the day, the date, the month and a moon phase on show while retaining every drop of elegance you’d expect from Vacheron Constantin. They have had over 265 years to practise, though. £35,500
The Pasha is the round peg in Cartier’s square lineup, and it’s once again gaining a hold on the culture. The Pasha de Cartier Grille, which Paul Mescal quietly debuted earlier this year, raises the stakes with a hand-polished gold grill. The not-too-big 41 mm gold case, automatic movement and alligator strap pack a familiar Cartier punch, and should you get the itch to rock a more traditional Pasha, those gorgeous grills come off – no tools required. £16,300
The Swiss watchmaker famed for its links to aviation now very much has the air, land and sea covered. While Breitling Navitimers and Superoceans get the largest portion of the love, the Premier collection not only tempts as a killer dress watch, but also adds some serious watchmaking credentials to Breitling’s roster; as complications go, it’s on an even keel with other brands’ minute repeaters and tourbillons. Plus, that classy chunk of red gold is as legible as it is dashing. £15,900
The cut of Vuitton’s cloth has always been different – and the same goes for its watches. The rose-gold Escale Spin Time is a pretty face, sure, but its technical movement speaks volumes. Exhibit A: the dial is literally out of this world – it’s made from meteorite. £42,000
