Style

The Best Watches of 2018 (So Far)

The good news about the watch market today is that it's going off, thanks to a late-breaking wave of new designs and highly anticipated comebacks. That's also the bad news. There are more choices than ever before—at nearly every price point—for a guy on the hunt for a new timepiece. It's hard to single out the right watch from the thousands of options you can find with just a few mouse clicks. That's where these ones come in. They're the watches that make the heart race, the ones that celebrate the traditional codes of watchmaking while pushing the art form forward. They're the pieces of wrist heat that make ogling expensive watches fun again—not because of the price tag, but because of their sheer beauty and unique attributes. That's why these sixteen watches are the best watches of 2018.
Four black watches on a red background.

All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.

  • Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph Rolex GMTMaster II
    1/21

    Hot Chocolate

    Brown dials and bezels put a masculine spin on rose-gold watches.

  • 2/21

    Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean

    $11,200

    Omega

    The Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean is for both real divers and secret-agent wannabes—it even has a helium-escape valve. (Who cares if you never take it into the ocean? Helium-escape valve!)

  • 3/21

    Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph

    $38,300

    Audemars Piguet

    The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph is the watch that haunts the dreams of guys who know the dollar-to-Swiss-franc exchange rate on any given day.

  • 4/21

    Rolex GMT-Master II

    $36,750

    Rolex

    The rose-gold Rolex GMT-Master II, with an iconic “root beer” bezel, is a brand-new configuration from The Crown that has watch nerds going nuts.

  • 5/21

    The Dress Watch to Own

    The villainous combination of black and gold sets these timepieces apart from standard formalwear embellishments.

  • 6/21

    Movado Ultra Slim

    $675

    Nordstrom

    Movado’s Bauhaus-inspired dial is famous in the watch world; the Ultra Slim is updated with subtle markers. (You know, for telling time.)

  • 7/21

    Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse

    $30,850

    Patek Philippe

    Patek Philippe unveiled the mean color combo for the 50th-anniversary version of one of the most elegant designs in watch history: the Golden Ellipse.

  • 8/21

    Hublot Classic Fusion Ceramic King Gold

    $13,200

    Hublot

    For when you’ve got a Formula 1 race at 2:00 and a black tie dinner at 8:00.

  • 9/21

    Panerai Luminor Due

    $15,700

    Panerai

    The new 38-millimeter Panerai Luminor Due is slim enough to tuck under the sleeve of your tux.

  • 10/21

    It's Not All Black & White

    There's no Pantone color of the year coming out of the Alps' artisanal-watch labs. But all of a sudden, our favorite watch brands are making shiny slate-gray dials. These three feature slim silver cases and tonal croc straps. It turns out the Germans are not above a subtle swerve.

  • 11/21

    Montblanc Star Legacy Moonphase

    $4,200

    Montblanc

    Montblanc, the maestros behind CEO-level writing instruments, also make a damn fine timepiece.

  • 12/21

    Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date

    $10,700

    Glashütte

    Glashütte Original traces its roots to the beginning of the Saxon watch industry; the simple Senator design maintains a taste of that tradition.

  • 13/21

    A. Lange & Söhne Little Lange 1

    $34,400

    A. Lange & Söhne

    The other Saxon horological heavyweight, A. Lange & Söhne, was founded in 1845, and is now known for these modern guilloché-dialed beauties.

  • 14/21

    Our Kind of Sport Band

    Rubber wristbands also provide a bit of deep cover for your high-end horological spending habit, making even the most expensive timepieces look downright casual.

  • 15/21

    Breitling Superocean Heritage II

    $4,560

    Breitling

    Originally developed for military divers, the Breitling Superocean is about as serious as civilian watches get.

  • 16/21

    Longines Legend Driver

    $2,300

    Nordstrom

    When Longines re-issued its classic dive watch, casual beachgoers and deep-sea explorers alike rejoiced.

  • 17/21

    Baume & Mercier Clifton

    $2,250

    Baume & Mercier

    Baume & Mercier, artisans of affordable timepieces, don’t skimp on performance.

  • 18/21

    Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Memovox

    $7,600

    Jaeger-LeCoultre

    Though most collectors wouldn't dream of dunking their Jaeger-LeCoultre in the pool, plenty of sleek luxury sport watches have aquatic origins—so if you want to, go right ahead.

  • 19/21

    "Pepsi" Bezels are Back

    Earlier this year, at Baselworld in Switzerland—the Super Bowl of horology—sister brands Rolex and Tudor stole the show by introducing two new models with the famous blue-and-red “Pepsi” bezel.

  • 20/21

    Rolex GMT-Master II

    $9,250

    Rolex

    The Pepsi Rolex GMT-Master II is already an O.G. collectors' favorite, and the update—with a special Jubilee bracelet—is an instant classic. Most of these watches are spoken for...

  • 21/21

    Tudor Black Bay GMT

    $3,900

    Tudor

    ...but the Tudor Black Bay GMT can more than tide you over till your local watch guy calls you with good news.

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