Seven of Our Favorite Gem and Diamond Factory-Set Watches
Let’s be real - Among the major enthusiasts circles, Diamond and gem-set watches aren’t the most popular, or frequently discussed pieces. In fact, I’d argue that many of my closest industry friends find them gaudy, ostentatious, and rarely appropriate for most settings. Honestly, there’s rarely a proper time to wear an iced out wrist piece that doesn’t make the wearer look like he’s trying way too hard to look rich.
With that being said, they exist. And because they exist, the argument can be made that they have their place. Since a Diamond encrusted timepiece is made to stand out, we figured we’d share some of our (ahem…) favorite precious stone laden wrist candy - and not just with a simple Diamond bezel or hour indicators.
Royal Oak Flying Tourbillon Concept Colors
When it comes to factory set gemstones, there are few that stand out more than the Audemars Piguet Concept watches. The Concept Collection watches tend to be wildly ambitious in their own regards, and this years addition to it takes everything a step further. There are 6 new watches in this run of Concepts, but none so beautiful as the Rainbow style gem-set version.
Implementing a flying Tourbillon at 6 o’ clock, the entire aesthetic seems to be built around the beautifully set, and meticulously vetted 468 individual gemstones laid out to create a rainbow effect on the case. The mix of vibrant colors and complicated movement (calibre 2951) and dial (would you believe this is a two hand piece?) create a serious collectors watch. And with the breakout rainbow dial movement flooding everything from G-Shock to Breitling, Audemars Piguet’s entry features 12 different kinds of stones set into its white gold case. These include rubies, tsavorites, diamonds, emeralds, topaz, tanzanites, amethysts and various colored sapphires - and there’s a hefty amount of precious stones to dazzle the 38.5mm x 11.4mm case. This watch is a crazy gem set flex, and dare-I-say, somehow not too much.
Price is expected to be around $200,000.
2. EPIC X TOURBILLOn BAGUETTE BLUE SAPPHIRES
This one may come as a surprise, but hear me out. I’ve always felt the Epic X has the potential to be a serious contender in the steel sport watch space. The Epic X is surprisingly wearable, takes some unique design queues, and could have enough variation to keep people interested in it over time with a few tweaks to its overall vibe.
That being said, until we see some of that toned down look, the watch works superbly well as a Diamond and Sapphire encrusted mega-sporty watch. The Epic X Tourbillon Baguette in any of its variations has just enough umph to remain gaudy enough but not too gaudy - while still maintaining its aggressive look. If you’re going to spring for a precious stone sport watch, why not this one? It’s fairly available if you were looking for it, and you can just about guarantee that nobody else at the Red Bar meetup will have it. As much flack as the Epic X collection gets, I’d challenge any enthusiast not to be impressed with this watch in the metal. Say what you want, Jacob & Co. can set some gems as well or better than any of the rest of the majors. Seriously.
Retail price for the Epic X Tourbillon Sapphire is $554,000.
3. Roger Dubuis Excalibur Superbia
This watch features a lot of interesting firsts in Roger Dubuis, and is an impressive technical feat as far as gem cutting and fitting is concerned.
First, the watch is the first to include the RD108SQ movement. This is a highly skeletonized hand wound, double flying tourbillon complication with 72-hours of power reserve - a serious technical marvel.
Second, this (to my knowledge) is the first watch to feature Tetrahedron cut stones. These are elongated triangles and almost reminiscent of stained glass. The big deal about this cut and fit, is that they are fastened to curved edges of a watch case. This is an especially big deal because the corners of the cuts are extremely brittle and susceptible to breaking, so Roger Dubuis had the seemingly impossible task of setting these stones on a purposefully rounded 45mm watch case. 600 of them to be exact - Over 10 Carats of diamonds and sapphire. The Superbia is a visual and technical marvel.
Price is just north of $900,000.
4. Grand Seiko Masterpiece (Ref. SBGD205)
This Grand Seiko is probably the most classy on the list. Featuring a platinum case, that’s specially finished for a unique shine, the watch is a simple dress watch, but dazzling.
The dial is Diamond set with a chapter ring made of brilliant and tapered baguette cut diamonds with sapphire hour indicators to offset. All of the stones are set against a white gold dial baseplate with set rails so thin they appear “invisible”. This is truly a watch that fits in at any high class event with an insanely limited number in production.
Price is $185,000.
5. Patek Philippe Nautilus 5719/10G
What list of factory Diamond-set heavy hitters doesn’t feature one of Patek Philippes most recognizable watches - the Nautilus? Adorning the wrists of rappers, movie stars, and big shot hedge fund managers, the 5719/10G is borderline impossible to obtain without some serious clout, and a wallet to match.
The watch features a dizzying 1,343 diamonds and sits at 8.63 carats. The bracelet itself carries the heft of those with 803 individually set diamonds. The dial is set with 255 Diamond that are so small and meticulously lined, the brand has special tools just to to accomplish the layout. Which is quite the feat considering the 40mm white-gold case only measures in at a crazy thin 8.7mm thickness.
Price was last reported at $453,600 which is a little wild considering the green dial steel Nautilus released earlier this year was just auctioned at a very similar price-point.
6. Rolex Daytona Rose Gold Rainbow Diamond Black
So, obviously we were going to include the Rainbow Daytona… how could we not? The second rainbow watch on this list, the rose gold Rolex Daytona has become a sought after collectors piece. We’ve seen many celebrities with this watch here at Wrist Enthusiast and it’s become a bit of a favorite amongst our team.
The 40mm case is made of solid rose-gold, with a solid Oyster bracelet. Each of the 36 baguette sapphire gems around the bezel is hand selected for the specific hue. In fact, Rolex is so meticulous about the gem selection, that they expect the diamonds to flow seamlessly from color to color with minimum break to the eye. The expectation is rather than seeing individual colors in each gem, the bezel flows as a whole without noticeable breaks in the stones. The only break is in the hour indicators - with specific colors for each marker. The subdials are made of pink gold “crystals” (or flakes) with the lugs and crown guard lined in diamonds - a truly elegant timepiece.
Last price reported for this watch was $520,000.
7. Jacob & Co. Billionaire Watch
Rounding out our list, is the last-but-not-least Jacob & Co. Billionaire. This watch has recently made its round in the media because it adorned the wrist of Floyd Mayweather.
The Billionaire features a 47.3mm x 14.3mm white gold case with a whopping 260-carats Diamond weight. The bracelet and case is made of 239 emerald cut diamonds that are meticulously bead-set and encase the entirety of the watch. Inside the watch is a skeletonized, hand wound, time only Tourbillon movement - ironically, only featuring 19 Jewels, but a 72-hour power reserve.
Is this watch gaudy? Hell yes. Is it, in this case (no pun intended) designed to be? Also yes. This is what a marriage of high jewelry and high horology looks like. This watch is designed to be noticed. It’s designed to be envied. It’s designed to be gaudy.
Which is why this watch price is approaching $20,000,000 last time it was reported.