One of the things I’ve always enjoyed doing is mining random categories in replica watch field. With so many watches released every year, it’s easy to forget things you were infatuated with before your memory was taken up by “the next big thing.”
On one of my recent hunts — due to my story on the JLC Master’s ultra-thin calendar — I fell down the rabbit hole of sub-$200 watches. It was a fun ride. You might be surprised to see which watch brands have overturned the depreciation peaks over the years. We’re not talking about hundreds of different replica watches here, but the five models I’ve chosen certainly cover a wide range of styles and brands.
For a variety of causes, this product is easily a personal favorite. It’s a chronograph with a steel case and integrated watch band that has a very similar atmosphere to previous Aquatimer models. It measures 43 mm and comes in white, blue, silver, black and salmon dial. Not many perpetuals(new or old) have a more “tool-watch” aesthetic, which is a bit rough, but has aged well since it hit the market in 2001.
Some called it a “minor alternative” to IWC because of its use of calendar modules on the Valjoux 7750 chronobile chronograph, but considering the fact that a comparable Portugieser, with eight days of power reserves, was bulkier. If its aesthetics appealed to you, it wouldn’t be hard to go with GST. Also, with a price range of around $7 to $9k for a perpetual chrono, this thing is an unbelievable value.
AP calendar continues to gain the popularity among many collectors and enthusiasts. The product was first introduced in 1978 and discontinued in 1993 (replaced by a newer movement with a leap year indicator), only 7,291 replica rolex watches using this 2120/2800 were produced. Of course, it’s made of gold and it’s a very modest 36 millimeters, but in fact you can access an incredibly thin calendar from the AP for around $11 to $12,000 still blew my mind.
Very thin in time, it effectively rewrites the calendar rules – some of them are less than 4mm in size! With smaller cases and gold back in favor, I would be surprised if we did not see at least a modest appreciation of these components in the next few years.
I would like to point out that this Glashutte Original perpetual calendar is the most widely appealing part of this list. Of course, this is a square case (it won’t appeal to everyone). However, its calendar layout and elegant two-tone silver dial give it a particularly timeless feel.
Those who know the FP Journe catalogue – especially Octa Quantieme Perpetuel – will see some pretty obvious similarities in the layout and color of the dials, but the inspiration is a separate topic. If you’re on the market for a clean, well-dressed, compact calendar with a little personality (again, under $12,000), it’s hard to go wrong here.