Watchmakers have successfully convinced the world that steel has value in jewellery and they have several options to prove why.
The post The Timeless Appeal Of Steel Watches appeared first on LUXUO.

Image: Tissot

Fine watchmaking has plenty of complicated and difficult to understand concepts. By far the toughest to explain is the enduring appeal and value of watches in steel, with some examples commanding the highest value in all of watchmaking. Even worse are the core collection watches that achieve eye-watering prices by being cased in humble steel. This is the reason steel is sometimes called unobtainium in watchmaking circles, being that it is potentially more elusive than even the same watch in platinum.

Part of the reason for the apparently timeless appeal of steel can be found in the key watches of the 1970s, namely the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and the Patek Philippe Nautilus. To this, one might very reasonably add the Vacheron Constantin Overseas, the Royal Oak Offshore, the Aquanaut and the Girard-Perregaux Laureato, amongst others, as well as the entire catalogue of all non-precious metal Richard Mille watches. These types of watches are classed together in the luxury sports watch category, and Richard Mille in particular has legitimised extraordinary price points for ultra-lightweight watches.
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