Successful, sophisticated, adventurous – a wristwatch reveals much about its wearer. Gone are the days when a watch’s primary purpose was to tell time. Today, one glance at your smartphone is all you need. This means that the choice of mechanical watch says all the more about the character of its owner. Read our takes on what a watch can communicate about your personality – do you recognize yourself?
Rolex: The Successful Businessman
Rolex is the most famous luxury watch brand in the world – most people are aware of this, not least Rolex wearers like yourself. Whether a Datejust or Submariner, a Rolex stands for success, and you’re not shy about showing that. A Rolex is also a truly universal timepiece and never out of place: It pairs as well with swim trunks and flip flops on the beach as it does with a shirt and tie in the office. And if you want to turn heads at the club, your Rolex is the way to go. After all, who’s going to notice an Omega Speedmaster from a distance?
As a Rolex lover, you appreciate the finer things in life: You wear expensive brand-name clothes, are a regular at the French Laundry, and drive a Porsche 911. Your motto in life is “higher, farther, faster,” and those around you know this from the first moment they meet you. However, you’re not very interested in experimentation. You trust the stable performance of your Rolex and know that your Daytona is a safe investment.
Omega: The Adventurer
“That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” Just like Armstrong in 1969, you’ve got your sights set on the Moon. However, given that a career as an astronaut is not in the cards for most of us, other kinds of adventure like mountain biking, surfing, or paragliding will have to do. You’re game for anything that gets your adrenaline pumping. Wherever you go, your Omega goes with you, preferably a Speedmaster or Seamaster. With the latter, you feel like James Bond, a self-professed Omega fan since 1995’s GoldenEye.
You’ve also deliberately chosen an Omega so as not to flaunt your success. Connoisseurs will immediately recognize you as a watch enthusiast with good taste – even more so if you’re wearing a rare vintage Speedmaster or a coveted limited edition. Be prepared for scintillating conversations with other watch nerds when you put on this timepiece. And with a bit of luck, you’ll have made a good investment without even meaning to do so in the first place.
Breitling: The “Doer”
As a Breitling wearer, you like to get down to business. At a young age, you started your company and fought hard for success. “Doer” is the first word you choose to describe yourself, and you show this with your gold Breitling Chronomat. The watch is forceful, bold, and masculine – just like you. Complementing your taste in watches, you drive a muscle car, which, of course, you keep in tip-top shape. Considering you’re in the business of selling used cars, this is a simple task for you. You also built your house with your bare hands. Granted, you did get some help for a couple of special tasks here and there, but you usually leave out those details from the story.
Like your overall appearance, your fashion sense is very masculine and can sometimes intimidate the people around you. This works to your advantage when negotiating because, in this department, you drive a hard bargain. On weekends and in your free time, you take your high-horsepower roadsters out for a spin. When you get home, you enjoy spareribs and tomahawk steaks from a grill that’s big enough to feed an entire football team. Your Breitling is your trusty companion, and you wear the nicks and scratches that it’s accumulated over the years with pride – they are evidence of a hard day’s work.
Panerai: The Urban Creative
Panerai watches are extravagant – just like you. The imposing timepieces go perfectly both with your flamboyant outfits and your casual ones, which you like to switch up several times a day. Chunky boots, tight jeans, and a plaid shirt are standards in your closet. You also own countless sneakers, chinos, printed T-shirts, and denim shirts in every color under the sun. Your perennial accessories are your full beard and your Panerai, which your wear while taking care of business at the agency. Your job there has something to do with marketing or design. You draw your inspiration from your fellow “Paneristi,” including famous actors like Dwayne Johnson and Sylvester Stallone and politicians like Bill Clinton.
In your free time, you enjoy taking pictures with your vintage analog Leica. You get around town on a fixed-gear bike. Wary of jolts and shocks, you put your Panerai in a watch roll and don your Casio digital watch when going to the gym. After all, you want to keep your best piece intact. The small scratches on the watch are a result of desk diving and one of the many after-work parties you attend.
Patek Philippe: The Cultivated Gentleman
Patek Philippe watches are among the finest and most exquisite timepieces Switzerland has to offer. At the same time, they symbolize understatement, taste, and success. Owning a Patek means you have summited the Mount Olympus of both horological and professional life. As a Patek wearer, you’re always thinking about the future because a watch like yours is made to be passed down for generations. Furthermore, you know that you’ve most likely made a fantastic investment with your choice of wristwatch – especially if you belong to the select community of Nautilus owners.
Both professionally and privately, you like to wear tailored suits made of the finest wool. Your handsome leather shoes are, of course, handmade and perfectly fit your size and taste. You waltz in and out of Per Se, Masa, and Atelier Crenn, where they know you personally and always have a table reserved for you. When it comes to wine and whiskey, you sip only the finest. And when you get in a car – preferably a Maybach or at the very least an S-Class – you usually ride in the back on the right-hand side. You are a connoisseur through and through, and your Patek Philippe epitomizes exactly that.
Hublot: The Bird of Paradise
With their colorful polo shirts with large brand lettering, eye-catching Louis Vuitton belt buckles, white leather loafers, you can’t miss a Hublot wearer. Some Hublot enthusiasts in their mid-fifties like to hide their affluent bellies behind tops cut a little too wide, or handbags bought to match their belts. Parties in Palm Beach and the Virgin Islands are the order of the day, and of course, the Moët bubbly flows like water.
Expect to compete for women’s attention with members of your own Hublot camp: the tanned, tattooed musclemen of the next generation. About 30 years ago, you, too, might have looked like this.
Richard Mille: The Visionary and Multimillionaire
Superstars like Rafael Nadal, Bubba Watson, Ed Sheeran, or Neymar have one thing in common: They all wear watches from Richard Mille. The Swiss manufacture is known for exceptional timepieces that are extremely lightweight and technically unique. Among famous athletes and other superstars, these wristwatches are all the rage.
If you don’t belong to either of the aforementioned celebrity circles but still own a Richard Mille, you are a visionary along the lines of an Elon Musk or a Jeff Bezos. Even though the two tech entrepreneurs may not be wearing one of these watches (yet), they still make for a perfect match. An RM 11-05 would have certainly looked great on the wrist of Starman – the mannequin in a spacesuit that has been racing through our solar system in a red Tesla Roadster since 2018. In March 2021, Starman and his Roadster came awfully close to Earth, getting to within about 45 million kilometers (27.9 million miles) of us. With the help of the RM 11-05’s flyback chronograph, he could measure his “lap times” around the Sun; only the automatic winding mechanism would be of little use to him in zero gravity. But for Earth dwellers who wear their Richard Mille daily, the automatic movement is highly convenient: No matter if you’re on your mega yacht, on your private jet, or in your luxury villa.
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