Pinnacle of Prestige: Six Platinum Watches To Covet

Breguet Jump Hours “Heure Sautante”

First up from our pick of platinum watches is the very special Breguet Jump Hours “Heure Sautante” ref. 3420 P from the 1990s. Housed within the 36mm platinum case is a white enamel dial with an interesting time keeping layout. To indicate the time, this Breguet platinum watch has an hour window at 12 o’clock in addition to one single center hand that points to the minutes. Of course, this being a Breguet timepiece, it’s a “Breguet-style” hand in blue steel with the hollow circle at the tip. As the watch’s name suggests, the hour jumps to the next every sixty minutes.

This particular Breguet timepiece is one of the brand’s limited edition platinum watches. As a result, on the caseback, we see the 162/400 designation. Under the caseback sits the Breguet Caliber 561 automatic movement with 25 jewels. Finally, topping off this unconventional, yet elegant, timepiece is a classic black alligator strap.

A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Up and Down

With a history that dates back to the 1800s, A. Lange & Söhne is the pinnacle of German fine watchmaking. The A. Lange & Söhne’s 1815 collection is in honor of the birth year of Ferdinand Adolph Lange, the founder of the company, and takes its design cues from pocket watches of yesteryear. While this particular A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Up and Down is from 2003, it offers a much more vintage vibe.

An especially attractive version of the watchmaker’s range of platinum watches, this A.Lange & Sohne 1815 Up and Down includes a 36mm case and white dial. Since this is a manual-wind watch, A.Lange & Sohne includes a power reserve indication at 8 o’clock to allow wearers to know when it’s time to wind the timepiece. Balancing out that indicator is the running seconds subdial at 4 o’clock. Completing the look of the classic timepiece are the center blue hands, which point to Arabic numerals and a railway minute track.

Patek Philippe Annual Calendar

Today, the Annual Calendar is one of Patek Philippe’s most popular models. However, it’s worth noting that this particular watch complication is only two decades old. In fact, Patek Philippe unveiled the first annual calendar in 1996 with the Patek Philippe ref. 5035.

This particular Patek Philippe ref. 5035 from 1997 sports a 37mm platinum case with a matching platinum tang buckle on the black leather strap. The black dial plays background to the Roman numeral indexes along with the calendar information. There’s, of course, the day, date, the month, in addition to a 24-hour indicator. And since this is an annual calendar rather than a perpetual calendar, the timepiece requires adjusting only once a year at the end of February.

Cartier Tortue XL Tourbillon Chrono Monopoussoir

Limited to only 40 pieces, this is Cartier platinum watches at its best. The Cartier Tortue XL Tourbillon Chrono Monopoussoir combines an iconic Cartier silhouette with two coveted watch complications—the tourbillon and the chronograph. However, unlike more standard chronographs, this is a single pusher chronograph. Therefore, all functions are controlled by the single winding crown, lending a more streamlined look to the watch. Prominently displayed on the off-white dial at 6 o’clock is the tourbillon complication.

Encasing the Cartier watch’s functions is a platinum Tortue 39mm case. Created in 1912 by Louis Cartier himself, the Tortue tortoise-inspired shape is one of Cartier’s oldest models. Paired with the platinum is a black alligator strap finishing off the look of this very distinct Cartier timepiece.

Rolex Day-Date President

The Rolex Day-Date President is perhaps one of the most famous platinum watches out there. While the Rolex President is available in gold too, the platinum versions are undeniably the ultimate expression of prestige. Making its debut in 1956 as the first watch ever to include the day of the week written in full on the dial, along with the date window, the Day-Date quickly became Rolex’s signature luxury dress watch. As a matter of fact, the President nickname stuck to the Rolex Day-Date thanks in part to it being the go-to watch for the world’s most powerful men.

With its classic 36mm platinum Oyster case and matching platinum President bracelet, this Rolex Day-Date ref. 118206 is especially elegant due to its silver dial and Roman numerals. This specific model, the Rolex ref. 118206, is part of the current Rolex catalog.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Perpetual Calendar

When it comes to calendar watches, the Perpetual Calendar is the grandest of all. Not only does it provide all the info one could possibly need—time, day, date, month, leap year, moon phase—it also (almost) never needs adjusting. As its name suggests, as long as the automatic movement keeps going, a perpetual calendar will continue to tell the correct time and date in perpetuity. This mechanical marvel can differentiate between the number of days in each month, even taking into consideration the leap years. The only time it’ll need manual adjusting on the part of the wearer is in 2100 when what would typically be a leap year is disregarded.

The perpetual calendar features on this Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Perpetual Calendar lives in a 37mm platinum case with a charcoal dial. Complementing the dial is a blue leather strap.

Wearing a platinum timepiece signals an appreciation for serious watchmaking. As demonstrated by these six platinum watches, top watch brands reserve their best functions, complications, and designs to this noblest of metals.