Watch collecting is just another way of justifying the overconsumption culture that capitalism feeds on. 

I know, huge statement. Especially in an article about buying watches.

This article is me, your friendly neighborhood watch connoisseur, recommending a few watches I would spend my hard earned money on. Nothing crazy, nothing niche or experimental or weird. But definitely cool and useful. Because you should never forget that watches are tools. Tools that serve a purpose in a certain context. 

Disclaimer: “Without breaking the bank” doesn’t mean cheap. It means taking your time to pick a watch that works for you and your lifestyle, and that you’ll be wearing for a couple of years and build an emotional bond with.

Anyway, here are the 7 chosen watches (tap on their names to discover each one):

1. Unimatic UC1

Unimatic is what happens when industrial design nerds start making watches instead of furniture. The UC1 is pure Italian tactical minimalism. Big lume plots, matte surfaces, chunky proportions, zero unnecessary decoration. It looks like military equipment somebody accidentally turned into a collectible. And somehow, despite the brutalist look, it’s still pretty elegant.

This is also one of those watches that reminds you why tool watches became cool in the first place. Automatic movement, 300m water resistance, clean legibility, no fake vintage gimmicks. Online, people constantly compare Unimatic to old military instruments, which honestly feels accurate. It has that cold functional beauty a James Bond fanatic like myself is a sucker for.

Price: €640.

2. Nomos Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer Ref. 792

I already said during Watches & Wonders 2026 that this watch would probably end up in my collection soon. Still true. Nomos somehow managed to make a worldtimer that does not feel like it belongs to a finance bro explaining airport lounge access. At 40mm wide and only 9.9mm thick, this thing is absurdly wearable for a worldtime complication.  

The best part is the dial layout. Technical without becoming messy. A lot of collectors online compared it to aircraft gauges and vintage dashboard instruments, and I completely get it.   The DUW 3202 movement is also genuinely impressive for the price point, especially considering most brands would make a watch like this twice as thick and twice as expensive. This feels like a real daily watch for people who actually move around. 

Price: €4,260 retail.

3. Charlie Paris Initial Coeur Ouvert Vert

I had this watch on my wrist for more than a week and it completely surprised me. This is the perfect spring and summer watch. The green dial absolutely wakes up under sunlight and the open worked section slowly grows on you the more you wear it. Usually open heart watches try way too hard. This one feels balanced and relaxed.

Charlie Paris also understands something a lot of brands forget: not every watch needs to scream “luxury.” This thing is approachable, comfortable, easy to style, and honestly just enjoyable to wear. Linen shirt, sunglasses, coffee outside somewhere warm. That is the vibe. It feels very French in the best possible way.

Price: €485.

4. Minim MN01 CNY LE 

Minim is for people who are slightly tired of safe watches. Not weird for the sake of being weird, just creative enough to feel refreshing. The MN01 limited edition has a really strong visual identity without sacrificing wearability. Sharp case architecture, interesting dial execution, modern proportions. You can tell actual design people worked on this.

I’m also paying extra attention to Minim recently because I’m working on something pretty exciting with the brand. And honestly, I like seeing smaller independents take risks while bigger brands keep recycling the same three sports watch designs over and over again. This is the type of piece that gets noticed by actual watch enthusiasts instead of people just recognizing a logo.

Price:  €1,200–€1,400

5. Anders & Co AC2 VOLCAN Manual Wind

The manual wind AC2 VOLCAN collection is probably what Anders & Co needed the most. It gives the brand more credibility. Manual winding changes the whole experience of wearing a watch. You interact with it. You slow down for five seconds every morning instead of treating it like another object you throw on before leaving the house.

The open caseback also helps a lot. Being able to actually see the movement makes the watch feel more honest somehow. Design wise, Anders & Co continues mixing vintage inspiration with modern execution without becoming cosplay or homage coded. That balance is harder to achieve than people think. I’ll go deeper into this collection in another article because there is way more to unpack here.

Price: €1780.

6. Jacques Bianchi JB200 Poulpro

This might genuinely be my favorite modern dive watch brand right now. The founder is a friend and I’m excited to spend more time with the watches soon, but even without that connection, the JB200 Poulpro would still be my pick from the catalog. I got the chance to handle it at Chronopolis Watch Fair in Geneva and It has real old school Mediterranean dive tool energy. Rough around the edges in the best way.

Most modern dive watches feel overly polished and sterile now. This one still has soul. The asymmetrical case, oversized hands, our octopus friend ofc, and overall design language feel rooted in actual diving history instead of “luxury ocean lifestyle” marketing campaigns. It also somehow works ridiculously well as an everyday watch, which honestly matters more than most collectors admit.

Price: Around €1,162.

7. Arsène Lippens Artigiano Collection

I saw the Artigiano collection during Chronopolis at Geneva Watch Days and the dials immediately stole the show for me. I was ready to skip the rest tbh. These watches impress emotionally because it plays with textures and colors that have a ridiculous amount of depth in person, and the way light hits the dials makes them constantly change character.

What I like most is that the watches still feel elegant despite all the visual work happening on the dial. A lot of brands overdo texture and end up making something exhausting to wear. Arsène Lippens keeps things controlled. This feels like the kind of smaller independent brand collectors will suddenly pretend they always knew about in two years. Because they always do…

Price:  €1,109.

If you end up getting any of these watches, please email me or DM me on instagram (@walid.benla) your experience and first impressions!

As an avid lover of this sport and of course a devoted watch collector and enthusiast, writing about golf and its relationship with watches as the closing piece for our “In Play” miniseries – A sports and horology retrospective – is extremely satisfying.

Golf has become something of a therapeutic escape for me as of late. And while escaping, I always make sure to bring along my favorite companion: A watch. 

Something that many watch people, like myself, would consider a bad idea. The aggressive nature of this rather slow and poised sport is not one that is suitable for a fine timepiece. 

However, when done right, and by the right people, it’s a match made in heaven. 

On any day at the club, you might notice something beyond the manicured greens: a glow on a golfer’s wrist. Beyond the cool style choice, golf and watches have long clicked. There were times when pro shops (the stores in golf clubs that sell equipment) used to stock used Rolexes. And in typical gentlemanly fashion, players swap stories often while checking the time – and/or the instrument that displays it – and therefore, the clubhouse becomes “a space where worlds of golf and timekeeping blend seamlessly”. Or to put it simply, somewhere with people with good enough taste (and fat enough bank accounts) with whom watches could be a conversation starter.

On A Bigger Scale ? 

Rolex caught on early. In 1967 Arnold Palmer signed as the brand’s first golf “Testimonee,” sparking an era where Rolex became official timekeeper for the Masters, The Open and many tour events. The sponsor list grew to include the entire “Big Three” – Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player – each famously wearing the gold Rolex Day-Date. Hodinkee even calls that model “the pro tour’s horological benchmark”. These days, Rolex logos majestically watch over every green and fairway, making it known that the crown sits on top.

On the topic of OG legendary golfers and their watches,

Mr. Jack Nicklaus and his trusty Day-Date deserve a chapter of their own. Phillips auctioneers noted that Jack wore the yellow-gold Day-Date “nearly every day” he won a major, and Nicklaus himself said it was “the first watch I ever owned, and the only watch I wore for every tournament I’ve won”. It was basically his lucky charm on the presidential links. When he finally parted with it in 2019, the watch’s storied history – 18 major titles and counting – made it a multimillion-dollar sale to benefit his children’s charities.

Other legends made statements in steel and gold too. Seve Ballesteros joined the squad by the early ’80s, choosing a yellow-gold Day-Date to match his flamboyant game. Payne Stewart, on the other hand, played the contrast card: he won the 1991 U.S. Open wearing knickerbockers and a Ben Hogan flat cap, with a slim yellow-gold Ebel chronograph on his wrist. Hodinkee wryly notes that Stewart’s Ebel “was really understated compared to the rest of his outfit” – a polite way of saying he let the pastel sweater do the talking.

The Newer/Younger Guys ?

Rory McIlroy (The man who made me cry this year on the Masters) by contrast,

has been an Omega man since 2013. So when he finally clinched the Masters in April 2025, he celebrated by strapping on an Omega Speedmaster “Silver Snoopy Award” 50th Anniversary. A playful twist on the classic green-and-gold celebration. (His wife Erica joined the party too, matching her rose-gold 35mm Patek Nautilus with the occasion.)

“Chef” Min Woo Lee – the most interesting person you’ll read about in this article – plays fast, dresses sharp, and doesn’t miss a moment to post a mid-round fit check.

But look closer and you’ll catch something unexpected on his wrist: a De Bethune. That’s right — while most of the tour’s elite are playing it safe with Rolex or Omega, Min Woo’s out there strapping on a DB28xs “Starry Seas,” a wildly avant-garde piece of independent watchmaking that looks more Blade Runner than country club.

It’s not just for photos, either. He actually wears it while playing — bombing drives with a six-figure micro-mechanical sculpture clinging to his wrist. The DB28xs is light, shock-resistant, and stunningly weird in the best way: blue titanium case, floating lugs, and a dial that mimics rippling starlight. It’s the kind of watch that collectors obsess over and casual fans mistake for a gadget.

Keith Mitchell might be the most stylish golfer of our generation.

He made headlines with a sudden-death playoff win and of course his sartorial flair. Hodinkee’s Ben Clymer sat down with him and noted Mitchell is “known not only for his success on the pro tour but also for his sense of style and his deep love of watches”. Mitchell proved the point by showing up one day wearing a classic Cartier Tank on the course. A freaking Cartier Tank guys… I want to do that with mine but since I don’t even trust its water resistance, I’d be reaching if I put it under so much shock. Some guys are just too cool…

It’s all about the Media if we’re being honest.

Watches and golf mingle in the public sphere. Golf media and watch journalists thrive on the intersection of their fields. Spotting a killed piece on a champion’s wrist is now almost as newsworthy as the score itself.

On the marketing side, watchmakers court the golf market directly. Tag Heuer and Garmin advertise golf-specific smartwatch features; Omega sponsors international tournaments and even the Olympics (where golf returned in 2016); and connected golf watch ads run during Majors for the “tech-savvy player” AKA tech bros. Even retailers get involved – for instance, Bob’s Watches (a pre-owned Rolex dealer) sponsors PGA Tour events. 

The message is clear: golf is about precision and lifestyle, so a finely crafted watch fits right in the clubhouse.

The Ladies ?

They are in on the act too. Rolex’s female ambassadors read like a dream team: Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson, Nelly Korda, Maria Fassi and others on tour, plus Hall-of-Famers like Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sörenstam. 

Omega’s roster includes Danielle Kang, Celine Boutier and Michelle Wie. Beyond sponsorship, many women golfers simply love their watches. LPGA star Alison Lee said she used to have a superstition that she had to wear a watch during tournaments – “otherwise I’d know I’d mess up my swing”. Her first Rolex, a gift after her rookie year, meant so much she ultimately gave it to her mother. It’s a lovely reminder that for players, a watch can be both a talisman and a family heirloom – more than bling basically, it’s part of the game and their story.

At the end of the day, golf and watches share a single mindset: a love of precision and tradition. Every approach shot must land just right, and every gear must click just so. Whether on a 19 hole course or in a manufacture, in golf as in horology, it’s all about perfection. The sweet spot of all of this is being both a collector and a golfer. For collectors, a golfer proudly showing off a vintage GMT on a Sunday morning is almost as thrilling as spotting a hole-in-one.