Feature: These watches could pass for a Rolex
These watches may not bear the sacred Rolex crown on their dials but they are by brands that can rightly call themselves horological royalty. Not only that, they each bear a resemblance to an iconic Rolex, feature similar functions and, most importantly, won’t have you weeping into your empty wallet.
TAG Heuer Autavia CBE2111.BA0687
With its three-register “panda” dial, mushroom pushers and black bezel—albeit without a tachymeter scale—this radiates vintage Daytona vibes (the Autavia actually pre-dated the Daytona). To enhance the Daytona aesthetic even further, you could swap the beads-of-rice bracelet for a three-link Oyster-style alternative.
Tudor Black Bay Pro
Tons of watch designs pay homage to iconic Rolex models, so you can forgive Tudor, the Crown’s sister brand, for joining in. With the Black Bay Pro, it went back to the 1970s to draw inspiration from the collectible Explorer II, reference 1655. Without doubt, this Tudor looks more like that first-generation Explorer II than Rolex’s current version of that watch.
Breitling SuperOcean Automatic
The Breitling SuperOcean was created in 1957 and it made Breitling a competitor in the water as well as the sky. This model is a great alternative to Rolex’s Submariner thanks to its steel case and bracelet, black unidirectional dive bezel and whopping water resistance of 1,000m. Even better, it’s significantly more affordable than the Submariner.
Grand Seiko Heritage Collection
This piece from Grand Seiko reminds us of Rolex’s ever-popular Datejust, a model that is one of the Crown’s big hitters. Sadly, that watch has never featured a GMT function, but if you like the understated, slick style of a smooth-bezel Datejust and want a dual time function that’s discreetly incorporated into the design, this hits the spot.
Davosa Ternos Ceramic GMT
The GMT-Master is one of the most distinctive-looking Rolexes around thanks to its iconic bezel colour combinations such as the blue and black “Batman” and red and blue “Pepsi”. This affordable Davosa Ternos GMT features the latter, as well as the iconic “Mercedes” hour hand and red arrow GMT hand.
Omega DeVille
Omega’s DeVille range and Rolex’s now discontinued Cellini line share some similarities. And no, it’s absolutely not that they’re the collections people care least about. Both the DeVille and the Cellini are dress watch collections with a decades-long heritage and an aura of timeless elegance. We think this DeVille, with its rose gold case and brown dial with Roman numerals, is as beautiful as any Cellini.
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