Luxury sports watches – Fully fledged alternatives to Patek Philippe & Audemars Piguet

Text: Filip Ericsson

The magically sounding originals in the forever cherished luxury sports watch segment, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Patek Philippe Nautilus, are for most people unattainable and hard to come by -as well as routine choices. Eqotime therefore lists four fully fledged alternatives, watches that have joined the two kings on the throne – in form, price, quality and horological brilliance. 

The luxury sports watch as a segment was created by Audemars Piguet in 1972 and was followed by Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin four and five years later respectively. Today the genre is more popular than ever and two of the contributions from "the holy trinity", as the three top brands used to be called, have in particular attained godlike status: the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Patek Philippe Nautilus are for most people entirely unattainable things. 

The never-ending popularity of the segment has resulted in an ever broader range, made possible through a branching downwards in the price classes – to such a degree that some call a Tissot PRX a "luxury sports watch" today, despite a price of a very ordinary 9 000 kronor. 

At the absolute top, however, the three originals from Audemars, Patek and Vacheron are still made, but in recent years they have been joined by several extremely noble creations from equally noble brands.  

So today we are not talking about such admittedly big names as the Bulgari Octo Finissimo, Chopard Alpine Eagle, IWC Ingenieur or Zenith Defy, real luxury sports watches that all cost north of 100 000 kronor. Today we are instead talking about the real competitors to the trinity's masterpieces, watches that are built in a handful of examples every year and that cost from around 250 000 kronor. Even though they are made in steel and cope with the usual wear and tear life. Luxury sports watches in their purest form then. 

Whether the following luxury sports watches are easier to get hold of than Patek Philippe's Nautilus and Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak is surely highly doubtful, but they at least offer new thinking and originality. Every other successful New York broker or billionaire influencer in Los Angeles is surely dashing about with a Royal Oak on the wrist today. So help yourself, and start dreaming! 

Czapek Antarctique 

Patek, Czapek & Cie was founded by the Polish emigrants Fransiczek Czapek and Antoine Norbert de Patek in Geneva in 1839. Patek handled the business side while Czapek for his part turned out to be a brilliant watchmaker. His watches belonged to the absolute top of Swiss watchmaking and only 200 pocket watches per year were assembled for the upper class's eager buyers.  

In 1845 Czapek and Patek went their separate ways. What the latter achieved is of course widely known while Czapek started Czapek & Cie. Already around 1870, however, the tale came to an abrupt end when Czapek quite simply disappeared and his company with him. No one seems to know what happened.  

Fast forward the tape to 2012 and Czapek is brought back to life after its long sleeping-beauty slumber. The business model is unusual, where several hundred watch enthusiasts got to invest in order to raise the necessary funds. The launch took place in Geneva in 2015 and the focus was, just as before, watches in the very top price segment.  

In 2020 came the watch that really made the world open its eyes to the new Czapek – the luxury sports watch Antarctique. At the same time the company presented its all-new movement in the form of the Caliber SXH5.  

The idea behind the Antarctique was to create an uncompromisingly elegant wristwatch that at the same time can be used in any environment whatsoever; the original requirement specification for a luxury sports watch then. The suffix "Terre Adélie" is meant as a tribute to the wife of the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville, who named a part of Antarctica after her during an expedition in 1840.  

And they certainly did manage a beautifully cut case and matching integrated bracelet at any rate, with newfound brand identity by the bucketload. A beautifully brushed dial in silver, blue, red and black gave a coolly luxurious impression.  

The dimensions were harmonious at 40.5mm in diameter and 10.6mm in height. With water resistance to 120 metres, a luxury watch was promised that would withstand all manner of adventures. 

99 pieces were built and of course sold out in a flash, despite a price of around 200 000 kronor. A further 10 examples of a special variant with a dial in a hand-painted, abstract motif were incidentally also sold.  

The new movement produced in-house boasted a refined so-called micro-rotor, an elegant construction that allows a thinner profile thanks to the rotor – as small as it is – being integrated into the movement instead of rotating underneath, as with full-size rotors.  

The rotor was in platinum, the precious metal of precious metals, so that it would be as heavy as possible and thereby produce enough kinetic energy. 56 hours of power reserve was offered, as was a chronometer certificate. A case back in sapphire crystal gave the opportunity to visually enjoy the masterpiece within.  

In 2022 the Antarctique programme was expanded with a couple of variants with a dial in glacier blue as well as an on-trend salmon tone. Pleasingly, the light blue was sold in an unlimited edition and is still in production. The salmon variant was built in 99 examples.  

New was also an enchanting dial with a newly drawn pattern, called "Stairway to Eternity" by Czapek. It consists of small trapezoids that are woven together and create a striking pattern that you can stare yourself blind at. With this Czapek has tried to create a signature dial that is to create a clear brand identity for the future.  

In 2022 the Antarctique S also came out, a smaller variant at 38.5mm as a complement to the larger watch. It came with a dial in glacier blue and salmon, both unlimited. A special variant limited to 38 examples called "The Frozen Star" was presented at the same time. While the price for the Antarctique S at its introduction was around 200 000 kronor, the Frozen Star went for a more outrageous 74 100 Euro! 

Both the Antarctique S and the Antarctiqie 40.5mm are still sold today. The S with the mentioned dials in glacier blue and salmon while the latter is chosen with a dial in glacier blue, navy blue, black or white. A rubber strap as a complement to the steel bracelet has been added as an option for both models. Several special versions have also been added, among them a so-called "Skeleton" and a variant in titanium.  

The Swedish list prices are 295 000 kronor for the base variants of both sizes, and they are most easily bought via Czapek's Swedish retailer INDP Watches

H. Moser & Cie Streamliner 

The awkwardly named brand was founded, to everyone's surprise, in Russia in 1828 but eventually moved to Switzerland, in 1953. The quartz crisis that hit the industry during the 60s and 70s, however, struck H. Moser too, who like many others were swept away from the scene.  

In 2002, though, the Moser lamp would begin to shine again, when the great-grandson of the founder Heinrich Moser, Roger Nicholas Balsinger, together with others pulled the old brand from the grave.  

In 2005 the doors opened to the company's new factory in German-speaking Schaffhausen and the same year the first watches were released in the form of advanced, mechanical dress watches in the top price class.   

In 2020 came the watch that would really put the brand on the map: the Streamliner. With an eye-catching flybackchronograph at 42mm the brand stepped into the exclusive world of luxury sports watches. 

With its organic shapes the brand added something completely new and its own to the luxury sports segment, something for those who wanted to be avant-garde where Patek and Audemars have after all accustomed the public's eyes for decades.  

Since then a Perpetual Calendar (42mm) and a very exclusive Tourbillon in gold (40mm) have been added. Beyond that several special versions have come and gone. In 2023 H. Moser & Cie refined the concept and chiselled out something that ought to have appealed to even more connoisseurs.   

It is a "time only" watch with a small seconds hand at six o'clock and a case that has been scaled down to a harmonious 39mm – as well as a cool 10.9mm in height. The dial is executed in enamel in a deep blue shade and with a sort of rough surface, which someone described as "a bubbling deep blue body of water". 

Inside sits a real treat of an inhousemovement with a micro-rotor in platinum that offers 74 hours of power reserve (Caliber HMC 500). The other Streamliners too are blessed with internally developed and built movements.  

An entry version at 40mm has also been added, with a large seconds hand and a movement with a traditional, centrally placed rotor in gold, in the form of the Caliber HMC 200. The dial is in "smoked salmon" and the watch is sold in an unlimited edition – but only for one year! 

In the Flyback there is the Caliber HMC 907, an automatic chronograph with a so-called flyback function and 72 hours of power reserve, which can be viewed through a case back of sapphire crystal. The Perpetual Calendar for its part is driven by the Caliber HMC 812, a manual unit with a full 168 hours of reserve. This masterpiece too can be seen through the case back.  

All Streamliners are water resistant to a fit-for-purpose 120 metres and the prices start at over 200 000 kronor for the simplest 40mm variant, continue at around 300 000 for the 39-millimetre one with a micro-rotor and end on the wrong side of a million for the Tourbillon. In between there are the Flyback Chronograph and Perpetual Calendar which sell at around half a million each. 

Laurent Ferrier Sport Auto 

The today 77-year-old Swiss Laurent Ferrier belongs to the third generation of watchmakers, as both his parents and grandparents were watchmakers. After a 37-year career at Patek Philippe he finally chose to start his own watch brand, and the company that bears his name was founded in 2009. 

It would take until 2019 before the young brand attempted a luxury sports watch. With a steel watch at a well-fed 44mm under the name Tourbillon Grand Sport they really went all out. With such a high-flying designation a real nobleman was promised, and few are likely to have been disappointed.  

The newly developed, hand-wound movement was a so-called Tourbillon, an advanced construction that was invented more than 200 years ago and that befits a watchmaker like Laurent Ferrier. The purpose is optimised precision and the construction consists of a sort of "cage" in which several central parts such as the balance spring, escape wheel and other things share space, which is meant to stabilise position and centre of gravity.  

Only twelve (!) examples of the Grand Sport were built and the price was a dizzying 172 000 Swiss francs, which at the time of writing corresponds to just under 1.8 million kronor. 

At the beginning of 2022 the simpler (well, sort of), more series-produced luxury sports watch Sport Auto was presented, which is still in production today. It follows the same stringently undulating design language as its extremely exclusive predecessor, but is more manageable with its 41.5mm in diameter. 

Another decisive difference is that the case is executed in titanium which together with 120 metres of water resistance creates a real sports watch and not just something to wear at the opera or the casino in Monte Carlo.  

The bracelet is fully integrated as it should be and just like the case completely brushed, while the dial comes in a deep blue shade.  

The movement, Caliber LF270.01, is newly developed and automatic with a micro-rotor in platinum and a power reserve of a good 72 hours.  

At 12.7mm in thickness the Sport Auto is hardly super-thin compared with the competitors in this top class of luxury sports watches, it must be said. But its strongly sporty profile means it perhaps does not matter for many. 

Something that does measure up, however, is the utterly exquisite finish of the movement as well as the case in titanium, which at least ought to provide a little comfort when the outrageous price of roughly 500 000 kronor is considered.

During 2023 the Sport Auto 40 was added, which does not refer to the case dimensions (it measures 41.5mm like its blue relative), but to the crackling green dial which was inspired by the paint on the Porsche 935 that Laurent Ferrier himself drove in the glamorous 24-hour race at Le Mans in 1979. "40" refers namely to the car's race number.   

Yes, Ferrier was in fact not only a successful watchmaker but also a racing driver in his young days. In the 1979 race he came third behind no less than Paul Newman! 

Otherwise it is the same watch as the blue variant, with case and bracelet in titanium and an even higher price – 51 000 Swiss francs is stated on the company's website, which corresponds to a bit over half a million.  

Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF 

Yet another young brand is Parmigiani Fleurier which was founded in 1996 by the Swiss Michel Parmigiani, a successful watchmaker who originally specialised in the restoration of noble vintage watches. 

The company's first luxury sports watch came out as late as 2021, with a design language that had been developed from earlier models and cemented a real signature design for the brand.  

Tonda PF was the name and the launch took place with several versions; a time/date variant at 40mm, a chronograph at 42mm and an annual calendar with the same circumference. All came in steel or rose gold.  

In addition to them a highly limited Split Second chronograph in platinum was also released which was built in a mere 25 examples, at an astronomical price of course. The others were unlimited editions. 

Today the palette has been expanded with a 36mm version that is sold in steel with a bezel in platinum, in steel/gold as well as gold, a sportier variant (Sport Automatic) at 41mm and a rubber bracelet as well as a good number of more advanced models such as the GMT Rattrapante, Tourbillon, Annual Calendar and Skeleton, all in steel or gold. And of course dizzyingly expensive. To underline that the Tonda PF is a sports watch, all models are water resistant to 100m. 

The original 40mm version measures only 7.8mm in height, a refined attribute that is made possible by the internally developed movement PF703, which just like its competitors above has a micro-rotor in platinum and measures a mere 3mm in height – despite a date function at "6 o'clock".  

The 36mm version is driven by the Caliber PF770 which instead has a more ordinary centre-mounted rotor in 22 carat gold. The smaller watch therefore becomes somewhat thicker at 8.6mm in height. The power reserve is however longer than for the 40mm watch: 60 against 48 hours. 

The Tonda PF 40mm is also sold in a pure platinum version. Price: 85 000 Swiss francs – not far from a million then. The Tonda PF prices incidentally start at around 200 000 kronor for the 36 version and north of 260 000 kronor for the simplest 40-millimetre one in steel with a platinum bezel. Then the prices of course go upwards with precious metals and complications. All prices are shown on the company's website. 

With the Tonda PF, Parmigiani has managed to create an entirely own, easily recognisable style, not a completely simple task for a young brand without old design merits to fall back on. You do have to start from square one. The finely fluted bezel, the beautiful hollow hands (a seconds hand is missing!) and the discreetly chequered dial are all part of this.  

That the design language and details are considered by many to be strikingly attractive hardly makes the result less impressive. And that can probably be said about all four luxury sports watches in this article. 

The availability of the Tonda PF is unclear, but since the company builds around 5000 watches per year they are at least considerably more of a series producer than for example Laurent Ferrier.  

If you want to buy luxury watches such as Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe in Stockholm you can do so at Stories of Time.