18 Swiss Watch Brands You Absolutely Need to Know (2024)

Hublot was the first brand to put a solid gold watch on a rubber strap, which in 1980 was as revelatory and transgressive as wearing sneakers with a suit. Forty years later the brand is still experimenting with materials, recently figuring out how to carve an entire watch case out of a single block of lab-grown sapphire.

IWC

Year Founded: 1868
Best Known For: WWII pilot's watches you can wear with a suit.

IWC redesigned their Big Pilot watch this year, but to see it next to the ones they made for British pilots in the 1940s, you might not be able to tell which is which. Everything else about this watch—and every other watch made by IWC—is an exercise in top-down luxury, from the sand-colored ceramic case on the Mojave Desert edition to the tide indicator on the Portugieser Yacht Club.

Jaeger-LeCoultre

Year Founded: 1833
Best Known For: Highly sophisticated sports watches; unpronounceable name.

Jaeger-LeCoultre's most famous creation, the Reverso, was designed for polo players in the 1930s. It was also the watch Don Draper bought when he got his name on the door at Sterling Cooper. Wherever you're wearing yours, say it zhey-ZHER leh-KOOLT or risk being mocked by ad execs and horse people alike.

Longines

Year Founded: 1832
Best Known For: Spot-on vintage reproductions of archival designs.

When you're spending thousands of dollars on a watch, the idea of "good value" becomes more than a little subjective. That said, Longines offers everything that a top-tier Swiss watchmaker should (heritage, high-quality Swiss movements, unique design) at a (relatively) attainable price point. If you want something with vintage looks and modern reliability, look no further.

Omega

Year Founded: 1894
Best Known For: Being the first watch on the moon.

More than half a century after Neil Armstrong made what might be the biggest watch flex in history, Omega's Speedmaster is still the brand's most-wanted creation. Tough, refined and technically-advanced mechanical sports watches are what this brand does best, and there are many to choose from—with or without ties to Apollo 11.

Panerai

Year Founded: 1860
Best Known For: Big, beefy dive watches beloved by Sly Stallone, Dwayne Johnson and other guys with arms like tree trunks.

Panerai's first watches were created for the Italian navy, with dials that glowed bright green thanks to Radiomir, their patented luminous paint. Radiomir turned out to be radiocative, but Panerai's original design details and bulked-out proportions are as good as they ever were.

Patek Philippe

Year Founded: 1839
Best Known For: Extremely expensive, buttoned-down watches coveted by hedge fund managers, oligarchs, and John Mayer.

At the highest levels of watchmaking, a certain amount of OCD is considered an asset. A case in point: Patek Philippe hand-finishes every single component in their watches—even ones that no one but the watchmaker will ever see. That, combined with nearly 200 years of heritage and famously stable resale value is what makes this one of the most coveted brands on the planet.

Piaget

Year Founded: 1874
Best Known For: Impossibly thin mechanical movements.