The Best Buy Watches Under $10000

We gave $10000 to Horobox editors and asked them to share their top 5 watches that they would buy with their budget.

ROLEX Submariner Ref. Nr. 116610 LN

Whether you are interested in watches or not you should have heard about Rolex and their Submariner. Perhaps this is the watch that made the brand what it is today.

The Submariner was first launched in 1953 and during the last 60 years it has not changed too much visually. This also indicates how fine this watch was designed.

We can call the Submariner the forefather of diver’s watches and although the Submariner visually remains loyal to its roots, technically it features a number of novelties.

To put it in a nutshell; Parachrom hairspring that is hardly affected by heat changes, CeraChrom bezel insert that makes scratching this piece almost impossible, Glidelock system that allows you to adjust the bracelet without removing the watch from your wrist even if you wear a diver’s suit, ChromaLight, a phosphorus material, which offers much longer and clearer shine than SuperLuminova, 904L stainless steel case that is durable against acid erosions on the case, bracelet, and bezel... These are just a few details that make this watch stand out of the crowd.

Rolex Caliber 3135 Parachrom Hairspring

Rolex Cerachrom Bezel

Rolex Glidelock Klips

Rolex Chromalight Fosfor

When it comes to utility the Submariner has no rival. It will suit you whatever you wear no matter if it is tuxedo or a swim short.

As a natural consequence of over 60 years of evolution, prestige, reliability, and its uniqueness are clear advantages of why to buy this watch.

Our list’s rightful number one is the ROLEX Submariner Ref. Nr. 116610 LN.

ROLEX DateJust Ref. Nr.: 116200

It would not be right if we would not add another iconic model of the brand other than the Submariner. Here comes the mighty DateJust.

The Datejust was first launched in 1945 (40th anniversary of the brand) and just as other Rolex models, it gives us a brief summary of the features that Rolex was capable of, since the day it was founded.

Just like the Submariner, over time the DateJust had undergone a lot of changes technically, but visually it remained loyal to its roots. While to some it seems like the DateJust has lost its relevance among the brand’s product range with the introduction of the DayDate in 1956, its place in the horology world will not change as long as world goes around. This watch has simply become a symbol for luxury and prestige.

Especially the model’s trademarks, the fluted bezel and Jubilee bracelet still count as some of the most desirable pieces.

Over time, according to Rolex’s technological level the DateJust has taken all the novelties, which look quite good on it. Whit its delicately made and recently updated classical Jubilee bracelet Rolex makes a lot of watch lovers wonder how the brand Is able to manufacture 1 million watches a year.

Because the fluted bezel version of the watch exceeds our price limit for this topic, it is Ref. 116200 that is our number two with its domed glass and navy colored dial.

With its 41mm size the DateJust II also fits into the recent trends, namely going oversize. Rolex has also modernized the DateJust’s 36, 34, 31, and 26mm versions according to today’s trends. They crowned these pieces with a SuperCase (thick lugs) as well as higher bezels.

Panerai Luminor Base Acciaio PAM00560

Panerai’s adventure starts with a request from the Italian Navy (Marina Militare) ...

The actor Sylvester Stallone spots and buys a Panerai Luminor from a jeweler in Rome in 1995 to wear during the shooting of the film Daylight. As Stallone hears the story of Panerai he orders a small batch of watches for himself. Panerai produces 50 pieces and sends them to Stallone. Stallone offers some of them as gifts to his lucky friends.

As a result of this coincidence Panerai’s fate starts to change and with a bit of luck, marketing, but mostly with their “timeless classic” designs, Panerai becomes an indispensable brand for watch lovers all around the world.

According to die hard Paneristis the ultimate watch of the brand with the perfect DNA is the PAM000560.

The 44mm robust Luminor case, 3/6/9/12 sandwich dial, the beautifully finished hand wound caliber bring together the “perfect Panerai”.

Over time Panerai stopped using ETA calibers and started to make their own in-house movements. With their in house 8 days power reserve P.5000 caliber Panerai forces us to give a new definition to the “entrance level” phrase. Besides, its reasonable price tag Panerai surely makes everyone’s heart skip a beat.

OMEGA Seamaster Professional 300 Co-Axial

Over time the Seamaster went through a lot of cosmetic and technological changes. One of the most important updates was the 300m water resistance that was added in 1998.

Pierce Brosnan who breathes life into Ian Fleming’s unforgettable character James Bond wore this watch in the series and the phrase “Bond Watch” was officially born.

SMP 300 features a lot of specialties such as the 300 meters of water resistance that enables it to become a “Professional” watch, the anti reflective coating inside the glass, all around workmanship, a lock mechanism that was completely ahead of its time, helium valve and of course the co-axial caliber which was developed by the recently passed away watch genius; George Daniels. With all these features the Omega Seamaster secures a safe position in the world of horology.

With the technical developments came a ceramic bezel that you will see on some of the models.

TAG Heuer Carrera 1887

The brand’s connection to motor sports is obvious. The legendary Carrera series is an indispensable model especially for those who like sportive chronograph watches.

The Carrera was first manufactured in 1963 and thanks to Heuer’s solid commercial connections with racing cars, in short notice the Carrera series found itself as a cult model.

In their 50 years of history the Carreras with different technical and optical features became official timekeepers for the brand’s organizations and an unofficial “must have” for the brand’s aficionados.

First designed by Jack Heuer, the Carrera 1887 represents the brand’s newest technical and visual improvements.

The Carrera 1887 combines a wide and legible dial with classical narrow lugs, a bright metal case, and a well chosen bi-compax layout around the dial.

The Carrera 1887 gave place to both iconic and new Carrera features while maintaining integrity with with its large chronograph buttons, domed glass, and tachymeter scale around the inner bezel. This particular piece has already taken its well deserved place among the brand’s models, and the Carrera fans.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Ultra Thin

At the end of our ranking we wanted to give place to a classical dress watch. As a consequence of rapidly rising trend of “oversized watch”, this elegant segment almost started to be forgotten. We think however that these pieces resemble some of the most important concepts of watchmaking history, namely being “compact and functional. Nowadays (thanks to the oversized trend, 50mm watches seem normal to a number of people) there are only a few watches, which we can call gentlemen’s accessories. Among the ones left we have chosen the Jaeger – Le Coultre Master Grande Ultra Thin.

JLC features a beautifully designed thin caliber that is also highly successful among the brand’s fans.

Thanks to its bright surfaces, elegant and fine appearance, the 8.62mm thick stainless steel case seems even a bit thinner than it actually measures.

The case measures at 40mm, which normally we would not call compact, but due to its thinness this watch is certainly a compact one.

Inside the watch beats the caliber 896, which is only 4mm of thick. This caliber successfully survived JLC’s famous 1000 hours test and when it is fully wound it offers 43 hours of power reserve.

JLC Master Grande Ultra Thin has an exceptionally plain dial design and offers both elegant and retro looks with wide hour and minute hands, and its sub seconds at 6 o’clock.