The Best Men’s Watches to Spend Your Bonus On

Words by Tony Wilkes

You’ve put the hours in and hit your targets – and with bonus season comes your reward. How will you choose to pat yourself on the back? Our advice: a new watch. Lasting as an investment piece, and a flex that will bring joy whenever you clock it. Pun intended. Here are some of the best timepieces for that all-important purchase – from an IWC Schaffhausen classic to an adventurous sports watch by way of Jaeger-LeCoultre.

IWC Schaffhausen

Portofino Chronograph
Good investments will stand the test of time. When it comes to fine watches, a certified signature like IWC Schaffhausen’s Portofino Chronograph more than hits the brief. Channelling the laid-back mood of the Mediterranean, it riffs on archival designs of the 1950s and ’60s: considered, understated and refined. The current (and renewed) appreciation for round dials arrives in tandem with menswear’s broader return to traditional sophistication – and this is a watch best worn with great wardrobe classics or heritage Italian suiting from the likes of Brioni, Canali and Corneliani.

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H. Moser & Cie.

Pioneer Centre Seconds
When Edouard Meylan took the helm of H. Moser & Cie. in 2013, he had a job to do. Despite nearly two centuries of history and a superb archive, the brand was in the red. Fast-forward a decade, and Meylan has rocketed H. Moser & Cie. into the stratosphere, combining technical mastery with irreverent modern appeal. Case in point: this Pioneer Centre Seconds watch in stainless steel has a characteristically bold fumé dial and is backed with a skeletonised HMC 201 movement, water resistant to 120 metres and assembled by hand in Switzerland. Epic.

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Jaeger-LeCoultre

Polaris Chronograph
Large, rugged and typically constructed in tough stainless steel, sports watches are primed for adventure. Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Polaris family is among the finest of the genre and derives from the brand’s 1968 Memovox diving model (combining the Latin for ‘memory’ and ‘voice’, it was named for its in-built alarm). Even if you’re sticking to dry land, it’s satisfying to know that the Polaris Chronograph is water-resistant to 100 metres. Choose between a cool black or gradient blue dial – the result of more than 30 layers of varnish, followed by coloured and transparent lacquer. A final touch? An interchangeable strap mechanism, allowing you to switch between stainless steel and rubber.

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Parmigiani Fleurier

Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante
Is the airport lounge your second home? Made for the modern globetrotter, Parmigiani Fleurier’s Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante seamlessly tells time across two zones, while somehow retaining the exquisite minimalism of the Tonda PF collection. Instead of date windows and AM/PM indications, you’ll find a jumping white-gold hour hand that can be set to whatever time zone you need, alongside another hand for reading the time back home. Every detail is crafted by Swiss artisans in the maison’s single Watchmaking Centre – a rarity, even in fine horology.