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Listen, we’re the last people who are going to justify the “need” for a mechanical watch in 2026. The time, calculated to the last atomically confirmed nanosecond, is available everywhere: on our phones, on our laptops and on digital smartwatches synched up to orbiting satellites. Clearly, if one collects mechanical watches, it ain’t for their accuracy, nor for their affordability.
But for plenty of other reasons, collect them we do — for the beauty of their artistry, for the wonder of their mechanics, for their fascinating history. If you count yourself among these happy few who appreciate fine watchmaking, then there’s a healthy chance you’re the type who goes all in on a hobby. You know, the collectors’ groups, the meetups, the internet rabbit holes, the fancy coffee table books. Actually, speaking of the latter, have you seen Taschen’s latest tome? We think it may pique your interest.
Ultimate Collector Watches is a two-volume, 960-page set detailing 100 of the most important timepieces ever made, from 1892 to today. It includes history, statistics, sales data and interviews with prominent industry luminaries, including collector Auro Montanari, Phillips Watches expert Alexandre Ghotbi, Hodinkee founder Ben Clymer and many more. On the visual side, the tomes feature copious photographs, copies of original drawings, blueprints and period advertisements. Indeed, for horological history buffs, the first volume (1892-1958) is a veritable treasure trove of information worth the price of admission.
The types of watches included will no doubt be familiar to even casual watch fans: the very first Cartier Santos from the turn of the 20th century; Henry Graves Jr.’s Patek Philippe minute repeater wristwatch from the 1920s; a Rolex ref. 4113 split-seconds chronograph from the 1940s; Paul Newman’s Cosmograph Daytona ref. 6239 from the 1960s. But there are myriad others that are less well-known that receive equal billing, from the world’s first wristwatch minute repeater dating to the 1890s to a platinum-cased, minute-repeating perpetual calendar chronograph designed by an independent New York City watchmaker. This is to say nothing of the important pieces from modern high-end independents detailed in the second book (1958-present), from George Daniels’s stunning creations to the modern masterpieces emanating from Rexhep Rexhepi’s Akrivia.
The Best Adventure Watches
Everything from affordable quartz field watches to high-end mechanical GMTsBeautifully designed and well researched by the husband-and-wife team of Charlotte and Peter Fiell, Ultimate Collector Watches is the type of reference material that watch collectors will turn to again and again. That it looks beautiful sitting on a coffee table or shelf is merely a bonus. At $250, it’s a purchase that requires some consideration. But much like with a fine watch, said consideration is part and parcel of the owner’s experience.
For someone who relishes the details, who delights in the history of watchmaking and who collects with deliberateness and dedication, a book like this is quite simply required reading.
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