If there’s one thing the watch world isn’t short on, it’s collaborations.
Well, those and reissues of old, vintage watches. But collaborations are the more fertile ground for creativity, not limited in scope to the resuscitation of old things, and by their definition, able to harness the ideas and design prowess of two disparate parties. And they’re positively all the rage these days, with new ones seemingly debuting each week, with no end in sight.
A collaboration could be anything, really, so long as one of the collaborating parties is — well — a watch company. (Creating a collab watch without one’s participation would be nigh on impossible, after all.) Some of the most beloved — Todd Snyder’s long-standing mashup with Timex, for example — aren’t necessarily the most expensive, while some of the best-selling — Omega’s pairing with its fellow Swatch Group maison — are far from predictable. Because one party in the collaboration is often not a watch company, the products are often limited-edition. This, of course, contributes to collectability on the secondary market, which fuels the entire cycle anew.
The best collabs, however, are fun, and well designed irrespective of price. Given that there are so darn many of them out there these days, we thought it would be fun to gather ten of our favorites for your perusal — while they’re still available, that is. There will surely be more next week — the trend doesn’t seem to be subsiding any time soon, especially within the Swatch Group — but these are the ones that caught our eye at the moment. Have fun, and most importantly: Remember to buy what you like, and not what some watch editor tells you is cool : )
Omega X Swatch Moonswatch
The frontrunner for “Most Famous Watch Collab” given its zeitgeist-piercing, Beanie Babie-like popularity, the Moonswatch from Omega and Swatch turned the watch world on its head directly upon its surprise March, 2022 debut. Essentially a quartz-powered, bioceramic-cased version of the Omega Speedmaster priced at just $260, it launched in 11 variations, to which the brand(s) have since been steadily adding more. (There are currently over 30 variants.) Highly collectible, wildly difficult to come by, and decidedly awesome, the Moonswatch effectively democratized the Speedmaster — whose pricing has increased substantially these past few years — and brought greater awareness of watchmaking to the general public. Pretty cool!
- Diameter: 42mm
- Movement: Quartz chronograph movement
- Water Resistance: 30
- Price: $260
Unimatic X Massena LAB U5S-ML
A spiritual successor (it could be argued) to Braun’s own minimalist AW10 conceptualized by industrial design titans Dieter Rams and Dietrick Lubs in 1989, the U5S-ML is a big step forward for Unimatic, representing as it does the Italian microbrand’s first timepiece in 36mm. Designed in collaboration with noted watch collector and industry veteran William Massena of his eponymous Massena LAB, the U5S-ML is a simple, sleek, Brutalist-chic take on the field watch, with a black dial accented in white, a matching rubber, strap, and little else. And while tool watch fans will surely appreciate its brushed, stainless steel construction; its impressive 300m of water resistance; and its excellent legibility, the design set will be even more thrilled: Here, finally, is a tough-as-nails, everyday sequel to their beloved Braun.
- Diameter: 36mm
- Movement: Sellita SW200-1 automatic
- Water Resistance: 300m
- Price: $995
Timex X Todd Snyder MK1 Jet Stream
While many of Todd Snyder’s excellent collabs with Timex were inspired by vintage models from the latter brand’s archive, it would seem that the MK1 Jet Stream is more of an amalgam of famous military watches. Rather than end up looking like an overbaked Frankenwatch, however, the MK1 Jet Stream takes the best of several inspirations and combines them in a cohesive whole: The American MIL-W-46374 series of mil-spec watches is present and accounted for in the inner 24-hour dial and bold, Arabic typeface, while the “Dirty Dozen” series from 1945 inspired the “broad arrow” mark on the dial, typically used to indicate Crown property. Meanwhile, a cream, grey, and orange color scheme (and an Indiglo backlight) keeps things interesting and differentiates it somewhat from more standard military fare.
- Diameter: 40mm
- Movement: Quartz
- Water Resistance: 50m
- Price: $138
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Openworked “Cactus Jack”
A special version of AP’s Perpetual Calendar Openworked take on the Royal Oak, this limited edition of 200 pieces is a collaboration with American rapper Travis Scott and his Cactus Jack label. Done up in chocolate-colored ceramic — which is a first for AP — it features a special typeface taken from Scott’s handwriting, plus a moon phase display with graphics derived from the Cactus Jack logo. Horologically, it’s a stunner, with a perpetual calendar complication powered by an automatic, openworked, in-house movement visible from the dial and caseback. Paired to a matching brown calfskin strap with a pink gold folding clasp, it’s a hell of a statement piece — and certainly not an impulse buy at $201,000.
- Diameter: 41mm
- Movement: Audemars Piguet Calibre 5135 automatic
- Water Resistance: 20m
- Price: $201,000
Nivada Grenchen X Analog:Shift Chronomaster ‘Big Eye’ Yachting Limited Edition
A modern take on the vintage Chronomaster tool watch from the 1960s, the Chronomaster ‘Big Eye’ Yachting Limited Edition is a special, limited-edition chronograph with a dial modified to include a yachting countdown timer. Conceptualized by the vintage watch lovers at Analog:Shift, this handsome timepiece measures a perfect 38mm in diameter and ships on a comfortable beads-of-rice bracelet. Powered by a hand-wound, Swiss-made Sellita movement and water resistant to 100m, it’s an excellent choice for summertime fun, but its relatively thin profile also makes for a hard-wearing everyday option. Whether or not you chose to go race yachts while wearing one is sort of irrelevant — though giving it a try couldn’t hurt!
- Diameter: 38mm
- Movement: Sellita SW510 BH B hand-wound
- Water Resistance: 100m
- Price: $1,995
The Best Watches of the Past Month
Including a classic from the hand-wound chronograph movements and a dive watch design from 1970
Boldr X Worn & Wound 3XT GMT Limited Edition
Leave it to the design-savvy folks at Worn & Wound to develop a truly useful GMT that doesn’t simply rip off Rolex’s famed traveler’s watch, as many others GMTs do. The 3XT GMT Limited Edition, a collaboration with Boldr Supply Co, features the ever-compelling — but typically much more expensive — “flyer”-type GMT movement of Rolex’s famed watch, presented here in the form of the affordable Miyota 9075 automatic movement. Its colorful dial, available in two different colorways, features three different informational readouts: an inner 24-hour ring to display home time; a central 12-hour ring to display local time; and an outer, rotating bezel with combination 12-hour and minutes displays for displaying a third time zone or tracking elapsed time. (These guys truly thought of everything!)
- Diameter: 41mm
- Movement: Miyota 9075 automatic
- Water Resistance: 200m
- Price: $594.15
Zodiac x Rowing Blazers Super Sea Wolf World Time GMT Limited Edition
A three-way collab between preppy clothiers Rowing Blazers, vintage watch dealer and scholar extraordinaire Eric Wind, and the good folks at Zodiac Watches, this special version of the Super Sea Wolf World Time GMT is inspired by — of all things — Trading Places with Eddie Murphy and Dan Akyroyd! (At one point Akyroid tries to pawn off a gold watch that “tells the time simultaneously in Monte Carlo, Beverly Hills, London, Paris, Rome, and Gstaad!” — but the pawn shop owner, played by Bo Diddley, is not impressed. The crew behind this fun-loving traveler’s watch actually engineered the bezel such that it displays all the aforementioned time zones — which is kind of hilarious, considering four of them are in the same zone.
- Diameter: 40mm
- Movement: STP 7-20 automatic
- Water Resistance: 200m
- Price: $2,195
Autodromo Group B Rallysport Chronograph T16 For Hodinkee
For some strange reason — don’t ask us how — this stupidly cool-looking watch is still available in three out of five colorways. Designed by Bradley Price of Autodromo and the good folks at HODINKEE, it takes Autodromo’s 1980s-inspired Group B design concept and applies it to the chronograph complication. Powered by the Swiss-made Sellita SW 510 M B manually-wound movement, it features a triple-register display, a wildly cool dial, and a matching, stainless steel integrated bracelet. (The watch case itself is fashioned from lightweight titanium.) At just $1,495, the Group B Rallysport Chronograph T16 For Hodinkee is truly an awesome value, and considering it manages to synthesize disparate influences whilst looking wholly original and cohesive at the same time, we’d venture to say it might be one of the coolest chronos currently on the market, full stop.
- Diameter: 40mm
- Movement: Sellita SW 510 M B hand-wound
- Water Resistance: 50m
- Price: $1,495
Zenith X Time & Tide Boutique Edition Defy Classic Night Surfer
A sequel to a watch released in 2021, the Zenith X Time & Tide Boutique Edition Defy Classic Night Surfer — a collab between the Swiss watchmaker and the Australian watch website — was easily one of the hippest pieces to see the light of day in 2023. A special sandblasted, dark grey titanium entry in the Zenith Defy collection, it features a skeletonized dial with a highly lumed, four-point Zenith star motif giving way to blue movement bridges and plates. A time-only watch, it lights up like a Christmas tree for a futuristic look helped along by the tactical appearance of the brushed titanium case and bracelet. Limited to 200 pieces and featuring Zenith’s famous hi-beat automatic movement, it comes with an extra blue rubber strap — and lots of “watch guy” points.
- Diameter: 41mm
- Movement: Zenith El Primero 3620 automatic
- Water Resistance: 100m
- Price: $12,000
Furlan Marri x Auro x Revo – Flyback Chronographs 3188-A ‘Salmon Flyback’
While not everyone can necessarily drum up the scratch for a rare, vintage Patek Philippe, many more of us can scrounge together enough bucks for a Furlan Marri. Founded in 2021, this captivating brand brings together the best in vintage designs with both mechanical and Mecaquartz movements, bringing the looks of the beloved Patek reference 1463, for example, to the masses. This particular Furlan Marri, a collab between the brand, Revolution Magazine, and super-collector Auro Montanari, pairs a salmon dial with a cool pulsations scale to a dual-register chronograph, all of which is powered by a Swiss Sellita AMT5100 hand-wound movement, which has flyback capability.
- Diameter: 38mm
- Movement: Sellita AMT5100 hand-wound
- Water Resistance: 50m
- Price: $3,175
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