From Patek Philippe and Chopard to Breitling and Audemars Piguet, it’s usually important for most watch enthusiasts to have one of these popular brands of luxury designer watches. Luxury watch fanatics everywhere should know that the Swiss watch shows in Basel and Geneva, Switzerland revealed the top 10 luxury watches of 2010. The rankings are based on the following criteria: technological advances, timepiece designs and new collections. Here is the list of the 2010 top 10 designer watches of the year…
1. Audemars Piguet – With only 500 pieces released, the Audemars Piguet Quincy Jones Limited Edition watch features a 45 x 40mm oval blackened stainless steel case, automatic movement, an engraved Quincy Jones signature on the caseback, and an off-center inner oblong black circle, which is typical for the series. If that’s not enough, the Quincy Jones Limited Edition watch comes with an alligator strap and a stainless steel folding clasp.
2. Breitling – Breitling’s high-end diving watch, Superocean, has in-house Calibre 17 automatic movement and a unidirectional ratcheted diver's bezel. Additionally, the dials are available in Abyss Black, Abyss Silver, Abyss Blue, Abyss Red and Abyss Yellow.
3. Cartier – Cartier’s first luxury timepiece dedicated to men, the Calibre de Cartier, has new in-house 1904-PS MC self-winding movement and a crown featuring a synthetic spinel cabochon. This watch is available in two-tone stainless steel and 18K rose gold, and also has an alligator strap with a stainless steel folding clasp.
4. Chanel – Chanel’s sporty J12 White Ceramic women's watch is perfect for diving. This durable and reliable luxury watch sports a white ceramic case and a stainless steel bezel with blue indicators. It also has a white dial with blue hands, and a white rubber strap.
5. Chopard – Boasting a robust design with a sophisticated stainless steel case, automatic chronograph movement, and a black rubber strap, Chopard’s Superfast Chrono racing watch is one of the hottest items in today’s market. It has a black dial with date display and black rubber pushers and crown.
6. Omega – The 09 Collection of Omega features quartz precision movement with a rhodium plated finish, a 32-month power reserve, and a brown mother-of-pearl dial with an embossed 'Supernova' pattern. Also with diamond bezel and hour markers, Omega’s 09 Collection has an 18K red gold and stainless steel bracelet.
7. Panerai – The Panerai Radiomir Composite Marina Military 8 Day has an aluminum-based composite case, Manifattura movements, a rugged brown dial and a vintage leather strap.
8. Patek Philippe – The Swiss maker’s Annual Calendar watch, which was first introduced in 2006, now has a larger 19k white gold case in 40mm, self-winding movement and a two-tone rhodium/silver gray dial with 18k white gold hour markers.
9. Tag Heuer – The Tag Heuer Silverstone Chronograph Limited Edition watch was re-issued to celebrate Tag Heuer’s 150th anniversary. There are only 1500 pieces released. Featuring in-house Calibre 11 automatic movement and a perforated alligator strap, each Silverstone piece is numbered and engraved with “150th Anniversary 1860-2010”.
10. TW Steel – TW Steel’s large and elegant CEO TECH has a 48mm rose gold PVD case and a black tachymeter chronograph dial with a black rubber strap.
