Watches of the YearZENITH CHRONOMASTER 2
The El Primero, Zenith’s groundbreaking
automatic chronograph movement,
which debuted in 1969 , is displayed beautifully
in this anniversary edition’s titanium case
with a ceramic bezel. $9,600; zenith-watches.comYou see, I’ve always appreciated OG watches. IBut then the Apple watch was released in 2 0 15.more dressed-up outfit called for one.
Here’s the thing: Although the Apple watch has now surpassed all Swiss watches
worldwide in sales, it’s not necessarily a zero-sum game. It doesn’t mean you can’t
impress some dude with a Submariner one day and a toddler with the animated
Toy Story watch face the next. The two can coexist in your life. That said, the Apple
watch has pretty much replaced the idea of the beater watch for me because, even
at the low end—you can get one for as little as $2 00 —they possess a refinement
that mechanical watches in that price class rarely have. And with all of the other
features—heart-rate monitoring, step counts, the ability to read your messages in-
stantly—they’re also some of the most utilitarian watches around.
So if you’re a luxury-watch guy, check them out. You’d be surprised by the new
titanium models, the ceramic watch shown here, and especially the murdered-out
Hermès edition (see page 11). And if you’re just a normal-watch guy, consider try-
ing on something a little more special. —Kevin Sintumuang
Oh, Hi, SiriNovember 2019_Esquire 81Watches of the YearSEIKO PRESAGE ARITA
While Seiko is renowned for dive watches,
it still produces dressier pieces through its
Presage line. This year’s line features an Arita
porcelain dial tinged with blue. It’s a relatively
affordable way into mechanical dress watches.
$1,700; seikowatchesusa.com