“I love gold! The look of it! The smell of it! The taste of it! The texture!” Gold has always been seen as a symbol of distinction, with flashes of its bright tones making any timepiece all the more recognisable.
The versatility of gold lends itself to classical, conservative pieces, which respect the traditions and codes of watchmaking, to statement pieces, which utilise the colour of gold to draw all eyes to its desirable lustre.
Naturally, watchmakers often choose gold to house their most fanciful mechanical creations – so many of the world’s most impressive and exclusive watches are gold watches.
Here, we present a few of our favourite gold watches that make a statement for all the right reasons.
In this best gold watches article…
- Glashütte Original PanoMaticCalendar
- Rolex Day-Date 40 ‘President’
- Hublot Big Bang MECA-10 King Gold
- Cartier Tank Louis Cartier
- Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222
- Grand Seiko Evolution 9 ‘Tree Rings’
- Chopard Alpine Eagle
- A. Lange & Söhne Triple Split
- OMEGA Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional Moonshine Gold
- Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Frosted Gold Double Balance Wheel Openworked
Glashütte Original PanoMaticCalendar
Let’s start things off with something a bit ornate – gold tends to suit high-end watches, funnily enough. The Glashütte Original PanoMaticCalendar is both highly traditional and somewhat avant-garde, combining classic high watchmaking mechanics with an original design.
This annual calendar watch features an offset time-telling dial with a panoramic date window, moonphase indicator and a unique, curvaceous month display, all housed in a lustrous pink gold case.
Retail Price: AU$43,500Rolex Day-Date 40 ‘President’
No other watch screams ‘old money’ quite like the classic Rolex Day-Date ‘President’. The nickname specifically refers to the yellow gold version of this watch on a ‘President’ bracelet and refers to the fact that every US President from LBJ to Clinton wore one of these bad boys while in office.
As the name implies, it features a day and a date window, the former spelling out the day of the week in full. The Day-Date is only ever made in precious metals (primarily gold) and is available in 16 different languages. This year, Rolex even released a fully platinum version of the Day-Date – but the buttery, yellow gold President is a timeless classic.
Retail Price: AU$52,850Hublot Big Bang MECA-10 King Gold
Gold in all its forms has been prized since ancient times – but Hublot has taken the metal and modernised it for the 21st century. The entire case of the Big Bang MECA-10 King Gold is made of Hublot’s proprietary blend of 18ct King Gold, which doesn’t just look impressive, it’s the composition of the gold itself and its new-found properties that really puts it ahead of the pack.
The Hublot Metallurgy Department successfully combined ceramic and gold to create the world’s first and only scratch-proof gold. The matte finishing of its case combined with its unique colour really set the watch apart. That’s before we start talking about its MECA-10 movement, which boasts a whopping 10-day power reserve and an eye-catching power reserve indicator.
Retail Price: AU$61,500Cartier Tank Louis Cartier
The Cartier Tank is arguably the archetypal dress watch… There’s a solid argument to be made that no man’s wardrobe would be complete without a gold Tank. First created by Louis Cartier in 1917 and inspired by the new Renault tanks which saw use on the Western Front in WWI, the Tank is a perennially stylish choice and. oneof the best gold watches on the market.
This large manual-winding model is cased in rose gold and features a beaded crown set with a sapphire cabochon, a silvered beaded dial, blued-steel sword-shaped hands and a brown alligator strap. Talk about old-school cool.
Retail Price: AU$18,500
Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222
A recreation of the famous 222 luxury sports watch, the grandfather of the ever-popular Overseas, the
Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222 has been one of the hottest watch releases of 2022. It’s remarkably faithful to the 70s original – right down to that awesome integrated bracelet and its absurdly heavy weight on the wrist – but with a few key differences.The main difference is that unlike the original, the new 222 has a sapphire caseback, which lets you admire its Calibre 2455/2 movement and its ‘222’ engraved rotor. This thing is absolute grail material and is just what a gold watch should be: eye-catching, a bit outrageous, and extremely luxurious.
Retail Price: AU$102,000Grand Seiko Evolution 9 ‘Tree Rings’
Grand Seiko is one of the most dressy and conservative luxury watchmakers on the planet, but surprisingly, they don’t make too many watches in gold. When they do, though, they’re real stunners, like this model which has been dubbed the ‘Tree Rings’ thanks to its evocative, textured brown dial, which pairs wonderfully with its warm rose gold case.
It’s powered by one of the brand’s desirable Spring Drive movements – a Seiko invention and something exclusive to the brand which combines all the accuracy of a quartz watch with the class and convenience of a traditional automatic mechanical movement. The result? A 5-day power reserve and impeccable accuracy.
Retail Price: AU$73,000
Chopard Alpine Eagle
Another luxury sports watch that absolutely shines in gold, the Chopard Alpine Eagle is one of the most underrated and luxurious gold watches a gentleman can strap to his wrist.
Not only does its integrated bracelet resemble a swathe of gold bullion dripping down your wrist, but the super-cool dial – modelled after an eagle’s iris – is mesmerising to look at. Crafted in ethical 18-carat rose gold, it beats to the rhythm of a chronometer-certified movement.
Retail Price: AU$59,000
A. Lange & Söhne Triple Split
A. Lange & Söhne is a highly prestigious firm that has a long history of producing some of the most refined, complicated and stylish timepieces in horological history. They’re also known for producing virtually all their models in precious metals – which usually means gold.
The Triple Split is the world’s first mechanical split-seconds chronograph that allows for multi-hour comparative time measurements – that is, the Triple Split can compare the times of two opponents in a race, time consecutively starting events or add the times of multi-hour events.
Retail Price: AU$238,575
OMEGA Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional Moonshine Gold
Speaking of cool gold chronographs, this new rendition of the famous OMEGA Speedmaster Moonwatch is an absolute killer. It’s crafted from OMEGA’s proprietary Moonshine Gold: an 18ct yellow gold alloy that has a distinctively paler hue than traditional 18ct yellow gold, and is much more resistant to the fading of colour and lustre over time.
Combine that lovely gold with that green PVD dial and bezel, and you’ve got a truly luxurious combination on your hands. Of course, green and gold are Australia’s signature sporting colours, so this new ‘Speedy’ represents perhaps the pinnacle of horological perfection for any patriotic Aussie.
Retail Price: AU$57,925
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Frosted Gold Double Balance Wheel Openworked
Let’s finish off this list by totally blinging out. Audemars Piguet makes dozens of different variants of their iconic Royal Oak but this very verbose, very gold model is easily one of their most decadent.
If the hammered frosted 18ct gold case, matching integrated bracelet and skeletonised movement weren’t enough for you, this AP also has a bezel set with a rainbow of baguette-cut multicoloured gemstones. Needless to say, this is one of the more expensive gold watches you can buy…
Retail Price: AU$1,000,000
Read Next- The Best Black Watches For Dark & Brooding Men
- The Best Australian Watch Brands You Need To Know In 2022
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