Four Watches for the Super Rich

Watches for Lottery Winners 

[This article is adapted and updated from an article I published on the now defunct Yahoo Contributors Network and on this blog many years ago. However, it is still fun to dream. I've updated some of the watch picks so that they are still out there to add to your collection.  They are all just a lottery ticket away.]

Watch making is an art. It reaches it's pinnacle in watches for the world's wealthiest people. If I were one of those people, here are five watches that would definitely be on my shopping list.

Every week the Megamillions and Powerball lotteries get bigger and bigger. When they do, they give everyone something to dream about. If I were to win a big lottery or become super wealthy, here are five watches for the super rich that would join my watch collection:

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver 

As a man of wealth and means, I would enjoy yachting again. Of course, I'd have to step up from the 19-foot Flying Scot sail boat of my youth. I'd have to buy a much larger yacht with steeped in teak and tradition. I'd also need a watch to go with it. For yachting, I'd have to go with the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Diver. According to Audemars Piguet, the Offshore Diver is made of exotic materials including "black ceramic case, glareproofed sapphire crystal, glareproofed sapphire crystal caseback, black ceramic bezel and crowns."I like the octagonal bezel that evokes the looks of a nautical portal.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Diver

Breitling Bentley Super Sports Watch

Of course, if I were super rich, I wouldn't spend every waking moment on the yacht. I'd have to drive around some too. Thus, I'd need a watch to go with my car. That would leave me with no choice but to buy a Breitling Bentley Super Sports watch. A certified chronometer, the Bentley Super Sports watch features a Breitling automatic movement, a date window, and three subdials. You can see one here on Amazon.com. It is price at just over $10 grand. For now, I'll just keep looking for a Toyota Highlander watch.

Breitling Super Sports Watch (Amazon Photo)

Constantin Vacheron

One can't join the ranks of the super-rich and not wear a suit from time to time. I'd at least have to don a sport jacket to sit with my skybox friends for big sporting events. For those formal occasions, the perfect dress watch would be the Constantin Vacheron Traditionnelle Perpetual Calendar Chronograph. According to Constantin Vacheron, this 43mm diameter watch has a manually wound 1142QP movement with a 48 hour power reserve. But, the workmanship and materials make this watch amazing. There is something special about the platinum case, white gold hands and indices, the fine alligator strap, and a happy or sad moon gracing the dial depending on the moon phase. Plus, at only $117,671.40 on watchxnyc.com, it's a bargain. When a company has been making fine watches since 1755, they must be doing something right.

Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Perpetual Calendar Chronograph (VC Photo)

Wait, isn't salmon the same thing as pink? I might have to choose another watch. 

RGM Pennsylvania Tourbillon

Of course, being super-rich doesn't mean you stop being patriotic. I like watches that are made in America and one of the finest is the RGM Watch Companies Pennsylvania Tourbillon. It has a movement that is made in the United States of America. That's a tremendous accomplishment for a small watch company. Plus, the watch is simply a stunning handmade work of art. Pictures on the RGM website reveal an exhibition side window on the case as well as an exhibition case back. Starting at $125,000 at RGMwatches.com, it is a truly awesome watch that should make the watchmakers of Europe a little nervous.

An RGM Pennsylvania Tourbillon (RGM Photo)

When I look at these watches only one question remains: Is it too late to buy a lottery ticket today? If I were a rich man, I know exactly which watches I would buy!

Best Watches for Lottery Winners

As I write this, the Powerball lottery jackpot is climbing to over $1 billion. That's some serious money.  It would certainly be enough to allow for an expanded watch collection.  While the odds of winning are astronomically low, the fun of playing the lottery as a game is that participants can dream and imagine winning. 

If I won the lottery, I would buy some nice watch winders.  I'll need something like this Oryx 6 watch winder to keep all the automatics running nicely and keeping good time.  

The Oryx 6 Watch Winder

Once I have the winders, I would revamp my watch collection.  Of course, I'd have to go down my fantasy watch gift list and pickup my Tudor Black Bay, Omega Seamaster, and Rolex Daytona.  But here are some of the watches that I would buy as a Powerball or Megamillions lottery winner.

1. Tudor Heritage Advisor.  Winning a big Powerball jackpot wouldn't change me.  I'd just get a nice watch like this Tudor Heritage Advisor. I like it a lot.  It has a single readable sub-dial and a great look. 

Tudor Heritage Advisor

2. Bell & Ross BR-01-93-GMT Aviation.  With a Powerball jackpot going jingle-jangle in my pocket and the convoy of semi-trucks full of money that might follow me around as a winner, I'd FINALLY get a real instrument panel watch.  While they've come up with some nice vintage aviation watches of late, I'd still want a square original.  They are different and they just look cool.

Bell & Ross BR-01

3.  Rolex Air King.  Finally, I'd have to get myself a Rolex.  I'm thinking the Air King would be sufficient.  I'd like a masterpiece watch, but I've looked at the Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe, and Richard Mille watches.  I think I'd find it difficult to pull the trigger on a $100,000 model.  I'd really have to ease into the billionaire lifestyle.  An Air King is perhaps the humblest of Rolex watches and would tell the world that I like the brand without being an over-the-top victory lap.

Rolex Air King