5 Watches That Have Stood The Test of Time Starring Rolex, Patek Philippe, Omega, and Cartier

Credits: Article and images by Elizabeth Doerr @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2024/11/17/5-watches-that-have-stood-the-test-of-time-starring-rolex-patek-philippe-omega-and-cartier-3/

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Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Gran Complicación

Patek Philippe en Watches and Wonders 2025: desde el 5308G con split-seconds, hasta el Calatrava 6196P, y el Nautilus Haute Joaillerie

Patek Philippe Aquanaut: 20 years

As the watches in this selection go, the Aquanaut is the new kid on the block. And that’s okay because it’s not every day that Patek Philippe introduces a casual chic watch with a contemporary feel.

Patek Philippe Aquanaut Reference 5168G

The sporty Aquanaut was introduced in 1997, but it has never appeared in white gold until now. Here is that first example, introduced at Baselworld 2017. And at 42 mm, it is a “Jumbo” Aquanaut with a very attractive graduating blue/black dial: it is very blue toward the center and gradually gets black outward toward the flange.

For more information, please visit www.patek.com/en/mens-watches/aquanaut/5168G-001.

Quick Facts Patek Philippe Aquanaut Reference 5168G
Case: 42.2 x 8.25 mm, white gold
Movement: automatic Caliber 324 S C with Gyromax balance and Silinvar Spiromax balance spring; Patek Philippe Seal
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds; date
Price (2017): $38,557

Cartier Tank: 100 years

The classic Cartier Tank turns 100 years old in 2017, which is hard to believe as it still looks as fresh as the day Louis Cartier designed the Tank Normale in 1917.

Pre-CPCP Louis Carter Tank in platinum (left) with CPCP Louis Cartier Tank in platinum (right)

Pre-Cartier Privé Collection (CPCP) Louis Carter Tank in platinum (left) with CPCP Louis Cartier Tank in platinum (photo courtesy George Cramer)

Martin Green describes the history of this famous model in What’s It Like To Get Your Grail Watch And Live With It? The Story Of My Louis Cartier Tank.

Quick Facts 1990s Louis Cartier Tank
Case: 33.5 x 25.5 mm, platinum with sapphire cabochon in crown
Movement: ultra-slim manual winding Caliber 21 by Frédéric Piguet for Cartier, 20.8 x 1.73 mm
Functions: hours, minutes
Years of manufacture: 1990s, pre-Collection Privée Cartier Paris (CPCP)
Original retail price as of 1997 on German market: 14,900 German marks

What does an anniversary mean for a collector?

I recently came across some interesting information from Collector Square, which demonstrates what watch anniversaries actually mean in terms of collecting.

Collector Square has developed a tool it calls the LuxPrice-Index to gather and analyze data on thousands of auction results over the past 12 years. This digital marketplace with a brick-and-mortar showroom in Paris was launched in 2013 by the founder of Artcurial, Nicolas Orlowski, and digital entrepreneur Loïc Bocher.

And in the framework of this, Collector Square has determined that an anniversary generally means that a watch’s value will increase. Notably, it could also mean an influx of new collectors, making it a lucrative time to both buy and sell.

This is in part thanks to a marketing drive by brands that capitalize on the potential to create renewed interest by introducing celebratory new models. Furthermore, auction houses and pre-owned websites often mark the occasion by hosting special sales dedicated to these brands and models (Omegamania, anyone?).

Average price of Rolex Daytona, Paul Newman models excluded (graphic courtesy Collector Square)

Collector Square put together a neat little graphic for us on the 50th anniversary of the Rolex Daytona in 2013; as you can see in the graph above, its LuxPrice-Index recorded a 79 percent jump in value for this model during the anniversary year (the jump in 2008 corresponds to Rolex’s brand centenary).