0:00 Some watches aren't just watches. They're icons, symbols, cultural milestones. Every watch brand has that one model. The watch that defines their own legacy. The one you see on someone's wrist and you instantly know what it is. Think about the Rolex Submariner, the Ottoarp Royal Oak, the Protect Philippe Nautilus. The list goes on and on. Today, we're putting the 12 most iconic watches from 12 different brands head-to-head to answer one question. Which brand actually makes the most iconic watch of all time? They'll face off in a battle of design, prestige, and value. 12 watches enter the ring, but only one leaves with the crown. Starting with our first matchup, which is Rolex versus Tehoyer. The Rolex Submariner is
0:45 arguably the most iconic watch in the world. First seen in 1953, first shown to the public in 1954. The Rolex Submariner is by far the most popular watch in the world, period. And it's up against the Tech Hoyer or the Hoyer Monaco, which is an iconic watch for me because the K shape is so recognizable. A square watch that dates back at a 1969 and arguably the first ever automatic chronograph. It's not the oldest watch on this list by any stretch of the imagination, but it's definitely a watch that stayed true to its core. This is a very interesting matchup between copied history with the Rolex Submariner and we can argue to say that the Rolex Submariner copied the Blair 50 Phantoms
1:31 and something completely unique, something that never existed before, a square chronograph sports watch. I'm very interested to see which of the watches is going to win, but I'm not going to judge this alone. With me today is Steven Davidson, the managing director of my company, Pride and Pinion, and then Gavin Bigger, our client manager here at Pride and Pinion. Together we are going to define the actual most iconic watch in the world. The Rolex Submariner up against the Tehoyer Monaco. Well, it resembles Teo Monaco. We don't have the Teoy Monaco in stock. Which one is the most iconic based on design, prestige, and value? Yeah. I mean, the Samar for me is just when you think of Rolex, that and Daytona is what comes to mind for me. And the the Samar is always just been
2:17 hugely influential across the entire watch industry. There's been so many brands have tried to replicate the submariner. Absolutely agree. That's the first ever uh automatic chronograph though. Does that not beat that? Yeah. Is it not the first in a square case if I'm as well as that? We've seen rectangular shapes but not like pure square as that. I look at this I think Steve McQueen I think back to my days work at a watch of Switzerland Goldsmiths and like this was like this was the dog's boss. More than happy to interfere like instead of sitting like a bag of sand. I'm just waiting. The only thing I would say is in the last four or five years the price of this has come very close to the price of this. What are these retail now? And they've spoiled Monaco now because they're 7 and 12 8 grand I think. Yeah, there's 100 variations of Monaco. This used to be
3:02 triple the price of this. So in terms of value like this was yeah it was a big stretch to get to this. Now you're almost spending the same cash. So it's like would I put that near 10 grand in this or for 10 grand I could probably very close to picking this up. That's a hard choice. They're two to look they're two totally different things. The comparison is difficult. You know, I agree. When I think about Tag Hoyer, I think about the Monaco. And when I think about Rolex, I think about the Submariner. But it's a fairly easy answer for me actually. Right. Let's write our answers down. I think I have a clear view of what the winner is for me. 3 2 1 Reveal. It's every all three probably, isn't it? It's unanimous. It is unanimous. Yeah, it's unanimous for me. Subra is definitely in this battle the more iconic and more important watch. The
3:48 Monaco is cooler but the sub's more important. Yeah, significantly for me it was a clear winner. Rolex Submariner is going to the next round. Winner number one. What did you call the guy you met? The taco chief marketing guy George. Maybe just get him to build a smaller variation of this and I would probably choose this. There is a smaller variation though. But it's quartz. That's girl's watch, bro. Yeah, but you G this. You've got to get his dick. Tech Hoyer misses out this time. I feel like the winner of this is going to be something boring as hell, like a Submariner, which is Well, you're a judge, You realize you get to choose what the winner is. That's why this works. There we have it. Rolex secures its place in the semi-finals. Before we get into round number two, I want to introduce you guys to the new
4:35 drop of IFL watches. is finally back with a god tier Kazio the Kazio fully hand painted. This is the blue flamingo and there's only going to be 200 of these produced. So please make sure you do not miss out. First link in the description and I round number two. Moving on to matchup number two. Omega versus T- Omega of course with their most iconic watch, the Speed Master which made his debut in 1957. Rumors had it that NASA requested a watch from 15 different watch brands. Omega was one of the four that actually sent in a watch. Rolex also sent in a watch and this is where we've seen a different type of matchup of Omega versus Rolex. Omega of course won that matchup with the Speed
5:20 Master and therefore became the first watch on the moon. A watch that was created for racing measuring speed and distance became the first choice for astronauts. And it's up against the Tisso PRX, which actually stands for precision, reliability, and the X, funny enough, stands for 10, meaning that it was waterproof to 10 m. You know, the PRX the way it is today. But the PRX actually has a really rich history, dating back at a 1978. And the design we see here today is very similar to the design it was back in the day. However, it was named a wee bit different. It was called the Tisso Sea Star. Very curious who's going to win this battle. me, that's not fair. The Tiso PRX when it was launched in 1978, it actually came out in quartz. And during the quartz crisis, of course, a lot of brands were
6:08 struggling. AP launching the Royal Oak in 72, 6 years earlier. Prior to that, no one had tried to combine both the quartz and the steel integrated sports bracelet bar Rolex prior to that with the 1530, the 1630. Did it go to the moon? No. I tried the PRX is an unbelievable watch and it's a cool watch and it's a very accessible watch and it's so that a lot of people really enjoy it but just you you've thrown it in the fact that they relaunch. No, but we also need to look at design. We also need to look at value the quartz variation for a really important watch in the history of our industry is only retailing like at 400 quid which is 15 times less than the Speed Master nearly. Oh, so you're going to put a PRX in? I'm not saying that but
6:53 like okay I'll write it up. Let me put it to you this way. If it wasn't for this watch, I wouldn't be able to tell you the moonlanding story. The moonlanding story has been fed to me for 10 years. Do you believe that we went to the moon? No. No, we didn't go. I wasn't even born. You're the only one who was born back then. That's not true. I'll write it up. I've done it. But is that that's it? How long? I heard a lot of reasons why PRX's class. I didn't hear anything about the Omega. I said it. I went to the moon. But that's it. No. Well, and just going to the moon. It's not just going to the moon. The watch was introduced as a racing watch later because the NASA Omega beat Rolex on accuracy and of durability with the Speed Master. So, it's not just a watch that went to the moon. 3 2 1 reveal.
7:40 In unanimous probably, isn't it? You're upside down. Oh, I thought we were doing the model, not the brand. I think you get that Jesse. It's all right. Omega moves on to the next round. Our third matchup in round one is Carte against Zenith. The Carte Santos is arguably the first ever wristwatch made as a wristwatch. The name Santos comes back from Alberto Santos Demon which was a Brazilian aviator which Luie Carte made the watch for. It was a watch that really changed the industry. It was made for him in 1905 and first made available to the public in 1911. It's a watch that completely changed the industry forever because wrist watches were actually considered feminine. But Carte with the Carte Santos made wrist watches masculine. But it's up against the
8:25 Zenith El Primero. In the late '60s, there were several battles going on in our industry. First of all, the battle against the quartz movement, which wiped out nearly 60% of the Swiss watch industry, but also the battle for the first fully integrated automatic chronograph between several brands including Bretling, Hoyer, Hamilton, and Seco across the water in Japan. The winner for me was Zenith when they launched the El Primero for the first time. Interesting matchup. This is fairly easy for me to be honest. Zenith is a brand that sort of passed me by a bit. Um, they're cool for varying reasons, but if you took out El Primero from Zenith, I don't think it would be in my radar whatsoever. Like that is probably one of the most iconic watches in the world. You know, I find this a very difficult one because both watches, both brands has changed the industry
9:10 forever. one with wrist watches alto together and and really make it a masculine thing and the other for pushing the boundaries of engineering with the integrated chronograph. I find it a very difficult one. Well, I don't find it that difficult to be fair. I think in terms of engineering as you say what Zenith has contributed towards the industry has been huge. The history of it is cool. But in terms of design value and like especially I guess the Santos has become a lot more in demand in the last several years we would say like there's been a lot of celebrities seen wearing I think I think there's a clear winner. Is it unanimous? Yeah. Yeah. All right. Fair enough. I thought that this was going to be a close matchup. It's a clear winner. Cart Santos is going to the next round. That brings up the matchup number four in round one. Lult versus Ulus Narda. Ja cult wouldn't be
9:58 the same if it wasn't for the reversal. First of all, the reversal was introduced in 1931 and it was a groundbreaking design. It was introduced for polo players to make sure that the face watch face was protected in a very innovative manner in a wee bit of a design of Kachche. But if there's one company that can take that design, it was Ja Lult. Actually, the truth be told, Mr. Ja and Mr. Lultra were working together for many years producing watches for Kachchain and they were two different companies and we would argue to say that the reverso is the reason why we saw a merger between Mr. Ja and Mr. Lultra and it's up against the Ulisa Freak. Two years ago the Ulles Freak won the GPHG awards which is the Oscars for watches for most iconic watch in the world. The Freak is the youngest watch
10:45 on this list but we still call it iconic because it changed the industry forever. It was the first time ever that we seen a movement that tells the time instead of a movement powering hands that tells the time which is unique in every way, shape or form, but also the first time we see the usage of silicone in movements. The uses of silicone was groundbreaking in our industry and we see many brands copying this exact format like but Philipe with the advanced research is not a freak against reverso iconic in every way shape or form we can say both of them. What do you think Gavin? Again it's kind of a little bit of an unfair matchup. This is one of the most iconic watches ever just like some previous rounds. This won the GPHG awards two years ago
11:30 for being the most iconic watch in the world. Yeah. Look, I feel like this is a bit more style over substance. You know, it's an iconic thing. It flips over. How much use is that? Very little use. But, you know, iconically in terms of its design. This is far in terms of a technical achievement. It's head and shoulders above it. But again, it's a it's a difficult comparison. This is very new though. This is like very modern. Obviously, this this is going to be a great in the future. I feel like if there are another three plunkers in 50 years doing the same thing again and this comes up, this is going to going to be a far more iconic thing then, but now it's difficult to upgrade. But the first watch to ever use silicone in their escapements to improve the the durability of the movement and and basically reduce the interfall of surfaces. Something to become an icon
12:17 takes time, you know, and as I said, I think that could become could and will become an icon, but right now it's a difficult job. That's that's history. That's heritage. That's like this doesn't have that. This is This is the better watch. But if you're asking me which is the more iconic, right? I have a feeling that this is another unanimous. What? You spelled JLC wrong. You're not going to tell me that that is a better watch than that. No, it's more iconic. 60K of that is better than 5K of that. 100% for value. More bang for your buck. 60K. Yeah. Look at the technology in that. That's the What's going on? I'm not touching that again. I think we
13:03 need another print out. Jesus. Let's get the scissors out, Johnny. Reversal moves on. Now on to matchup number five in round one. Pekk Philipe against Bretling. The Nautilus is arguably Gerald Genta's most famous design. The Nautilus was first introduced in 1976. It was of course very much inspired by the automarp Royal Oak. The protect Philip Nautilus is against the Bretling Navy timer which actually finds its origin from a different watch of Bretling. We're talking of course about the chronomat Willie Brett who took charge of Bredling in 1934 wanted to create a watch that you can make measurements with mathematics with one turn of the bezel. In 1940 the chronomat was born. The Navi timer was the most popular watch on their aviators because
13:48 it was an analog computer in every way, shape, or form. It was a real groundbreaking chronograph which first saw daylight 12 years after the Chronomat was launched. This will be a very interesting match. Well, we're definitely not going to have the same opinion on this. My 10-year-old knows the answer to this question, by the way. Yeah, I feel like this is but unfair. This isn't just more iconic than this. This is one of the most iconic watches in the world, period. This is the grave for most of the people in the game. People will see that from across the room and they know also see a nav timer. Yeah. And that look Nava timer. I've seen Nava time. I was just like we say this all the time, but I see Nava timer and I think back to my childhood when I was aspiring to have nice watches and John Travolta was the poster boy for
14:33 Nava Timer. Him and his big jumbo jet flying in and out of places. When I think about Brightling, I think about Nava timer. When I think about Pate, I think about Nless. And that's not right because Pate Tech are far more than Nautless. They are complicated precious metal wristwatches on leather minute repeater. That sort of complication. That's what they're all about. I'm very curious. Very curious. What? You're just trying to be a prick now. Let me explain this. Right. I don't even think that this should be a debate in any way, shape, or form. Bar 10 years ago, nobody bought an Yeah. Well, people bought an Nautilus, but it is driven by hype on recent years. Look at the importance of the Navy timer specifically functionality of the watch, design of the watch and value of the watch. Bar the last 10 years that the Nautilus is going up to the moon. For
15:19 me, it can't stand the heritage of of the Nev Time in any way, shape, or form. Cool story, bro. Are you just trying to be controversial? I am heartbroken that the the Nev Time is not going through. You're making this way tougher than it needs to be. Yeah. Well, the protect Philip Nautilus is going to the next round, which will bring us to our final matchup in round one, which is of course Automarp PK against Fashion Constantine. Otto PK with the Royal Oak arguably changed the Swiss watch industry forever. In an era that every brand was struggling selling watches because the quartz crisis, AP went absolute mad and everyone declared them crazy when they created a luxury sports watch that wasn't made in precious metal and many have copied since. And the AP Royal Oak is up against the Vashron Constantine overseas or I would actually say the 222
16:07 because it was the 222 that actually was Vashon's answer to the AP Royal Oak. The AP Royal Oak was introduced in 1972. PC Philip Nautilus was introduced in 1976. The 222 was introduced one year after to celebrate the 22nd birthday of the longest run and watch company in the world. The 222 later was renamed and redesigned in 1996 to be called the Overseas. But the series 1 and the series 2 was later introduced in 2004. Who is actually going to win this? That's a proper matchup. These are the two closest watches to each other in all three categories that we've had. Even though that's not precious metal, those are two total icons. The brands are a similar price point. I think the brands that are a similar level of heritage. I think you know the the rounds we've had before, it's been a bit skewed. I would
16:53 say a lot of guys that are heavily into watches, if they own one of those, they own one of those in some variation. I think that's tight. I'm not actually even too sure which I'm going to choose at this point. We talked about Pate Tech. I said Pekk's obviously part of the holy trinity. These are the other two that make up that holy trinity. And these are the poster charts for each of those brands. The Royal Oak is the first integrated sports watch in steel. When the whole industry went left, AP went right. Personally, this is not a matchup because for me, I love fashion. I really like certain overseas. I think that this is the easiest matchup yet. Easier than the Omega Speed Master against the PRX. I mean, I think it's the closest matchup yet, but I still don't think it's like there's a clear winner for me. No, I don't think it's a close matchup. Design is a no-brainer. Value pretty close. Like, I'll give it that. Yeah, they're
17:40 both the same metal. Yeah, let's write it down. Ladies and gentlemen, JLC, how you doing? Oh, it's What are you choosing to overseas? Yeah. Are you out of your Are you out of your mind? What the is wrong with you? This guy was just letters to you and you wrote the wrong letters. Let's reshoot that. You had wrong task. Are you Are you just in a need of attention or something? I like the overseas, but it has no history in any way, shape, or form bar that it's relatively copy. So, with AP securing its place in the semifinals, we move on to an absolute bonkers matchup. Rolex versus Omega. This could have been the final. It's round two. Just these are
18:26 not luxury brands. They're premium brands. Even though people like So, you're saying that Rolex is not a luxury brand? No. Not a company that built 1.3 million of anything is not a luxury brand. It's perceived as a luxury brand. He lost the flop. He's got a butler at home. You You're You're speaking to the wrong person. That is not luxury. What? That is not luxury. That is a premium brand. It is not a luxury brand. You're holding up the wrong watch. No, I neither of those are luxury brands, but this is the closest match up. You're going to get a lot of hate here. I'm not going to get People in the comments are going to be saying he's 100% right. They build 1.3 million watches a year. It's not luxury. It's marketed very cleverly. It's a premium brand. It's like more iconic. Is a BMW luxury? Yes. Yeah. No,
19:12 it's a premium brand. What is a Ferrari? Is it a luxury car? Hyper luxury. Did you just make up a category? No. No, that's true. Luxury. Is it true or not? Well, no. A Ferrari is nothing to do with luxury because it always breaks down. And second of all, it's sports. So, it's different. It's not luxury. It's going to be close. I think this comes down to preference as opposed to cuz there's very little. But what is more iconic in history? What has changed the industry? This is the pinnacle of divers watches. Like, what was it? When was this tomorrow? 52 53 54 right? Okay. So like there was nothing like it at the time and now it's become the iconic seamman's divers watch and then there's been so many brands. It's not it's not used for that purpose though. What it was created for it's not used for. No
19:58 but it's created to to be able to battle the harshest elements. And that's the key and that's what it can do. It can it can't just it's not just about going to depths of water. It's going up mountains or whatever you're doing. It's a it's a it's a tool watch. I've already made my choice. I'm No, I need to think about this one for a second. It's very clear. This is a tough one. Oh, what? Yeah. What? Me, too. I said that. Seriously. Yes. For me, the Speed Master was so important. It was actually produced for something completely different than it became famous for. If I would choose a watch today, I personally would prefer the Senna. But we cannot deny the iconic
20:44 status of the Speed Master. And that is genuinely like one of the most, if not the most important, most iconic watch in the world. I didn't expect that. I didn't expect you two to be pricks. That's not what I signed up for. The fact that you two have agreed is even weirder. For me, I would pick a Rolex over an Omega. But we're talking about the icon status. Omega Speed Master, you're going to the final. But who will join them? Semifinal number two sees Kce facing off against Lult. Match up number two. Round number two. Cartes Santos against an eaten up Jesult reversa. That's a close call. I don't even know why I'm looking at this. By the way, it's a piece of paper and I'm trying to compare what is better, a piece of paper or a actual
21:30 watch. For 15 years, Mr. Jer actually Lulra made watches for Mr. Xer. And Mr. Jia the license of Corte and Jerger were making movements for Patek but Pek Pek did the reversal first. Why do I not know that? In the Pate Museum they have examples of Patek doing that flip style watch. Um Jerger did it after and then Jerger kind of really ran with it and Pekk were kind of thought it was a little That kind of changes dynamic doesn't it? Is that true? Yes sir. Why did I not know that? Cuz you don't know anything about watches. You are like someone in my comment section. Thanks for that. You're struggling a bit with this one. you know, because they're they're two they're two for me personally, they're two watches that I personally wouldn't wear. They're not for me. So, I'm trying to I don't know. I need to figure out that fact of the
22:16 reverso. You're maybe trying to fraud this entire like video. Gavin's Pekk certified. I know. I know. But then arrogant. He did write JLC when he meant Von. So, I don't really know which way to go. You know what I mean? Are we agreeing for once? Yeah. Yeah. Oh, how is that possible? There was a we delayed second there where I thought you wrote something different. I thought you wrote Santa. What I would have wanted to write reversal, but he changed my mind the last minute. Santos is moving to the final. So, the Omega Speed Master and the Carce Santos both secured their spot in the final, but now it's time for arguably our toughest matchup yet. This is going to cause fights here. Final matchup in round two, the semifinals is
23:04 of course the protect Philip Nautilus against the Otto RPK Royal Oak Battle of the Gentas. This is going to be an interesting one because I'm pretty sure where your head's at. I don't know how you know where my head's at cuz I don't know where my head's at. This is actually This is the toughest. This is the toughest yet. And I thought the Speed Master against the Submar was was tough. The age-old question in the industry, Royal Oak or notless? Either one of these is like pretty much everybody's great. Both are now high pieces, but one changed it. The two brands are probably the two most iconic brands in watchmaking. Agreed. I nearly agree. And these are the two most iconic lines of watches within those brands. Yes. By far and away, it's the hardest decision. It's definitely definitely not
23:49 an easy decision, but easy enough for me that I've already done it. Is this unanimous or not? Nope. See you. How can you even do that? What are you two plonkers doing? The Royal Oak is going through to the final round. Omega versus Cartier versus Automarp. What a game we have on our hands. One of these watches is going to be voted the most iconic watch of all time. We have the Cartier Santos, we have the Autoarp Royal Oak, and we have the Omega Speed Master. Forget about values. There's proper importance, a proper iconic status on the table. I know who's going to win for me. any day of the week. It's not even a question. It's It's a no-brainer at this point and it shouldn't have been, but you know, you guys have messed this up. But anyway,
24:35 why why Yeah, like I kind of feel like this motherucker sneaked under the club. Even he's going, "What am I doing here?" Personally for me, right, we need to look at the OG Speed Master in general, right? It completely changed the industry forever. Not the best looking watch. I think it is a really cool watch and it should be in everyone's collection in any way, shape, or form. I like the speed master. If I look at the Santos, I still don't own a Santos. I would like to own a Santos. Gotcha made watches masculine, but AP. Yeah, AP. Like the Royal Oak 1972 Gerald Genta. One of the most in demand watches. It wasn't an hype watch until the last 10 years. It was a very important watch. It put the foundation in for integrated bracelet sports watches. All three could be a winner here to be honest. All
25:22 three. Definitely not. There's only one winner. It's a clear winner. Look, the history like I I give a lot of respect to the Speedy. The Speedy has created a community of watch lovers and followers and it's been able to stand the test of time for 60 years. Like that in itself is a testament to how good the quality, the following and the demand has been for that watch. When you're working in the watch industry, people love the stories. And there is not a lot of stories as probably well told and as well known as the moonlanding and the race to be that watch to be part of the NASA journey. The current generation or younger generation probably don't know how historic that was at the time. We take technology for granted and engineering for granted these days. What that took to do that 60 years ago is amazing. And the baby withstand the elements and be part of that journey to
26:08 time and and be part of that process is amazing. I don't even want to talk about this cuz this is like just this is in the wrong tree. This should be over there somewhere like it's sneaked on the back door. I disagree completely. When I think about what is the most iconic, what is the best, what is the best design, what I think about how do I feel when I put this a watch on and there's only one watch here that I'm smiling ear to ear when you put this on and that's three watches in the table. One shouldn't be there. So, it's a two- horse race. I just wrote something down and changing it and it is because of something that you said. Oh god. And the winner of most iconic watch. See if we have a matchup. And I'm very curious what it's going to be. What if we've all got a single watch each? Yeah. We're 3 2 [Music] 1. Honestly, I'm done. You boys are
26:55 about to. You know why? And you said it. There's no story told better than the speed master story. I had ke written, but then all of a sudden I was like, that is right because nobody knows the real story of Alberto Santos Dum. Nobody is really talking. Nobody talks about that or and then you said there is no story but in the industry told as good as the Speed Master story and you're right the most iconic watch is the Omega Speed Master.
