No-Budget Three-Watch Collection: What Are Your Picks?

The other night at dinner, my cousin-in-law asked me one of my favorite questions to answer: if money were no object, what would your three-watch collection be?

If you're a watch nerd like me, you've thought about this and probably answered it dozens of times. The answer always changes, which is why it never gets old. Maybe one day it'll settle and stay put. In which case I'll have to start saving.

Start With A Daytona, Of Course

Rolex Daytona "RCO" ref. 6263. Image Source: Wind Vintage

My mind went immediately to a Rolex Daytona, and after some careful consideration, I'd try to find a vintage "RCO" or "Oyster Sotto" ref. 6263 — the exotic 'Paul Newman' dial paired with screw-down pushers. Those screw-down pushers earn the word OYSTER on the dial (collectors call it an RCO, for Rolex Cosmograph Oyster), as well as a real water-resistance rating, though I won't be swimming with this watch. Even though money is no object here, I'd be nervous wearing this one around.

It's impossible to separate the hype of a Paul Newman Daytona from your own opinion of it. Since Paul Newman's own Daytona, reference 6239, sold for $17,752,500 at Phillips in October 2017, every example with an exotic dial has gone vertical. Most cross six figures now with no provenance, just the dial. I'd like to think that if none of that had happened, I'd still love it. I love the negative space on the dial; it's easy to read and perfectly proportioned. I love the flat, contrasting, textured surfaces. You can see every layer, every typeface, the way the registers sit just below the matte dial.

The Mechanical Marvel

A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus in Titanium. Left Image Source: aBlogtoWatch

Next I said I'd choose an A. Lange & Söhne — the renowned German watchmaker known for bringing haute horlogerie back to Glashütte, Saxony. Founded in 1845 and reborn in 1990 after German reunification, Lange now ranks among the most respected names in the craft. To my eye, Lange has the best movement finishing I've ever seen in person. It's just an absolute treat to stare at any Lange movement for even a few seconds. Beyond that, they have such a unique, charming design language that I've always connected with: the oversize date, stunning dial geometries, and characteristic straight, notched lugs. I circled the Datograph, the Triple Split, and the Lange 1 Moonphase before landing on a titanium Odysseus, mostly for its wearability.

Patek Philippe ref. 2499 fourth series. Image Source: Hairspring

In retrospect, I'd swap it. If I'm choosing a ridiculous dress watch, give me a fourth series Patek Philippe reference 2499. The 2499 is a perpetual calendar chronograph Patek built from 1950 to 1985 across four evolving series, only 349 examples in total. Each series refined the last: by the third, Patek had stripped the early tachymeter scale and Arabic numerals down to clean baton markers, and the fourth, reference 2499/100, added a sapphire crystal in place of acrylic. It's the most modern of the four, which in practice makes it the most "durable," and to my eye the proportions are perfect.

Now I Have a Problem

Seiko Prospex SPB313 dive watch. Image Source: Hodinkee (Mark Kauzlarich)

Two watches in, I've assembled a pair I'd be nervous to wear out of the house. A dozen-example Daytona and a half-million-dollar Patek aren't a practical start.

So the third slot started somewhere sane: the Seiko SPB313, a modern Prospex diver I've been curious about for a while and still haven't seen in person. Then I remembered the rules. No price limit. The SPB313 is wonderful and completely the wrong answer to this question.

Rolex Submariner 14060M. Image Source: Analog Shift

So I changed it to a Rolex Submariner ref. 14060M — the no-date Sub that Rolex produced from 1999 to 2012. This is the everyday watch, and my most modern pick, so I'd take a later example: the four-line "Chronometer" dial with the engraved rehaut, which Rolex introduced in 2007, running the caliber 3130. It's the last of the classic 40mm Submariners before the ceramic Supercase, with an aluminum bezel and a symmetric dial free of a date or cyclops, and nothing precious enough to keep me from putting it on every morning without a second thought.

Honorable Mentions

A few more watches come to mind when I think about a world wherein I can only wear three.

I tried on a few examples of the Seiko 62MAS, Seiko's first dive watch from 1965, and they're just nails, with big blocky rectangular indices that are so cool. Seiko reissued it as a faithful recreation, the SLA017, for $3k-plus, about what an original runs anyway.

For the third slot, I thought about the titanium Rolex Yacht-Master 42, reference 226627, but a 5-digit Sub is more something I'd wear every day — not to mention that at 50.3mm lug to lug, the Yacht-Master 42 pushes the limit of what my wrist can carry. A vintage Cartier Tank Cintrée, probably in white gold, is the total opposite of everything else here—long, curved, elegant, no bezel or pushers to fidget with. And the Explorer II reference 1655, with its broad orange 24-hour hand, has always been a favorite of mine.

That's the thought experiment, though. The list rearranges itself every time you reconsider, and the fun is watching where your taste pulls you when the price tag stops mattering. So I'll turn it over to you: money's no object, you get three watches. What is your collection?