The Rolex Submariner
Rolex Submarine Series, commonly known as "Water Ghost", literally defines mechanical diving watches and modern sports watches. The water ghost dial is neat, the design style is simple and tough, and it is unexpectedly "both talented and beautiful". Since its launch in 1953, almost everyone has one: from Sean Connery, who plays James Bond, to commandos or divers, they are all loyal fans.
Until today, there are still many people who pursue it. Especially those guys who claim to be old-fashioned tough guys, or gentlemen who just want to start with an old-fashioned tough guy.
2。 The Cartier Tank
The Cartier Tank
Like the Rolex Water Ghost, Cartier tanks are also among the most imitated watches in the world. But as far as it is concerned, it is actually very precious and rare. Its shape is derived from the outline of tanks in World War I when viewed from above, hence its name.
Since its birth in 1918, this watch has been produced in very small batches all the year round, and it is common that the annual output is less than 100. When it was officially put into production in 1919, Cartier only produced eight tank watches that year. Of course, it is much easier to buy a tank watch now. After a century of development, it has many variants. However, a classic tank is still the most respected and influential watch in the world, and it lasts forever.
3。 The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
When the Royal Oak was officially released in 1972, it was not what a famous watch should look like at all. For the whole watchmaking industry, it was a year of anxiety-in 1969, the first quartz watch was made public and sold, and before that, quartz watches had already threatened Switzerland’s business for hundreds of years.
Maybe it was not a good time for radical innovation, but the Royal Oak was born. It is the first famous watch made of stainless steel in the world. Its watch chain is integrally formed and seamlessly connected with the octagonal dial. At that time, compared with gold or platinum, steel was at best a scrap.
What is more controversial is that its price is no different from other famous watches. But today, its success is enough to put an end to those dissidents. As a breakthrough innovation and a modern design, Royal Oak will always be remembered and regarded as a treasure.
4。 Ulysse Nardin Freak.
Ulysse Nardin Freak.
Fifteen years ago, a watch caused another storm in the watch design circle. It was Ulysse Nardin Freak.
The name "whimsy" is really appropriate for it. As far as the rules and regulations of watchmaking are concerned, it is simply a stunning watch: it has a huge and novel Tobelen rotating device, and the rotation of this device itself is the way this watch tells the time. It doesn’t have a traditional case or hands, but it has a new clip. You know, all watches produced in the last century used the same escapement system, and the design of this escapement system has not changed since the mid-18th century.
The whimsical watch has created a new era of high-end detection, high-end design and high risk. Although there are many imitators and challengers after it, the geek still stands alone at the peak of novelty.
5。 The Swatch
The Swatch
For centuries, the general trend in the watchmaking industry has always been to avoid making watches cheaper, more reliable and more accessible. Interestingly, the survival of Swiss famous watch industry in modern society is due to this cheap, reliable and easily available watch-Swatch watch.
Swatch watches are economical and bright in color, and have been widely recognized and loved by the public. When it was first published in 1983, it gave the Swiss watchmaking industry a shot in the arm. At the same time, it also proves that the watch industry will not become a sunset industry, and it will enter a new century with the world, giving generate new vitality.
6。 Seiko Astron(The Seiko Astron)
Seiko Astron(The Seiko Astron)
In Christmas 1969, Japanese Seiko Co., Ltd. released and sold the first quartz watch -Astron to the public in Tokyo. This watch is not so much a wave of change in the watch industry as a sign that change is coming.
In Switzerland, a consortium jointly built by several mechanical watch manufacturing companies has already produced the prototype of quartz watch, but this Astron has realized the transformation from prototype to commodity for the first time, which has also prompted every watch brand to accept the fact that the world is constantly changing and not to rest on its laurels.
7。 Breguet No.169 (Breguet No.169)
Breguet No.169 (Breguet No.169)
Of all the watch precision structures, tourbillon is perhaps the one that has been innovated the most. It is an eternal and great theme, and when the parts work, it is like playing a symphony in harmony.
Few high-end watch manufacturers will deny the importance of tourbillon to watches. But this great device was not invented until the 18th century by a Swiss French-born named Abraham Breguet. Mr. Breguet fled Paris to Geneva during the French Revolution. In 1808, in the pocket watch he gave to his friend’s son, the first Tobey wheel rotating mechanism was placed. And this lucky boy, is the later famous manufacturer of navigation tables, John Arnold. This exhibition is hidden in the British Museum, but it has never stopped a series of imitations, creations and improvements in watchmaking.
8。 The zenith El Primero chronograph.
The zenith El Primero chronograph.
At that time, it was really a controversial decision: this watch was named El Primero (the word means "first") because it was the first self-winding chronograph watch in the eyes of Zhenli Company. It was introduced in 1969, but two other watches of the same type were also launched that year, from Breitling and Seiko respectively.
Historians argue endlessly about which watch is the "first" in the true sense. However, there is no doubt that El Primero is the first watch with a horizontal rotary wing and a high-frequency chronograph. Therefore, its timing can be accurate to one tenth of a second. It is worth mentioning that Seiko and Breitling stopped producing their 69-year-old watches long ago, and El Primero is still in production today.
9。 The Omega DeVille Co-axial.
The Omega DeVille Co-axial.
Imagine that all cars are using the same engine. Imagine that this engine was born in Britain as early as the 1750 s. This is similar to our watchmaking industry today: all mechanical watches have a timing device called escapement. And every mechanical watch is using the same escapement system: lever escapement.
There is only one exception: Omega. Omega watches love to use coaxial escapement system, which was invented by the famous British watchmaker Dr. George Daniels.
In 1999, Omega broke through the monopoly of the fork escapement system on watches, and launched the first coaxial watch, announcing to watch maniacs and watchmakers all over the world that traditions should never be our bondage, even those that are most unlikely to be shaken.
10。 Casio G-Shock electronic watch (The Casio G-Shock)
Casio G-Shock electronic watch (The Casio G-Shock)
Those conservative and stubborn watch lovers will never say the name G-Shock, but they can’t influence the fact that this watch has created a new era of watches and rewritten the rules of the game.
G-Shock was originally invented by Kikuobe, a frustrated Casio engineer. He was driven crazy by those delicate mechanical watches, quartz watches, and vowed to invent a durable watch with rough skin. They hope that this watch can fall at a height of 10 meters, go under the water of 100 meters, and be intact after 10 years of use. It took Ibe and his team three years to make more than 200 prototypes before they successfully developed such a watch.
There are countless durable rubber or synthetic metal watches on the market today, and their ancestors are all G-Shock DW-5000 in 1983. Whether men or women, whether they are going to take risks, explore, go to the battlefield or take part in extreme sports, if they wear a watch, nine times out of ten it is G-Shock.