5 Fancy Gold Swiss Watches That Don’t Suck

We are here to defend the gold watch. Yes. We know what you’re thinking. You’re right. Gold watches (especially of the yellow gold variety) couldn’t be less popular with the population at large. And yes, sometimes there’s just a certain stigma about people who choose to rock such pieces.

Obviously exceptions exist; Hodinkee recently wrote an article about how the gold Rolex Day-Date, a.k.a. the 'President,' is the de facto NBA 'starter watch.’ (We would assume NBA players are at least sort of cool.) But most people aren’t trying to dress or act like professional athletes these days; they live in a completely different world compared to the one us mortals inhabit.

The hottest modern Rolexes and Pateks aren’t even gold; they’re steel. Or if a 'hot watch' isn’t steel, it’s usually made of white gold, platinum, titanium, anything except classic yellow gold. Even Presidents don’t really wear the Day-Date anymore; Carter, Reagan, the Bushes, Clinton, and Obama never got on the gold Rollie train. (Trump of course sometimes wears a gold Day-Date golfing; but of course that man’s never seen something gold he didn’t like.)

The fact that the 45th President wears one, as do many pro athletes, says a lot about the 'Texas Timex.' But again here we say that things can’t be all bad. There are times in life where one might want to stand tall. Where one might want to say, 'flex' a little. White suits, red convertibles, and champagne bottles exist for a reason. Gold watches firmly live in that same universe.

Actually, strike that. A gold watch can be much less conspicuous than those other things previously mentioned, especially if one spends most of their time in a cold climate. Here at CC Worldwide Headquarters near central Berlin, any sort of watch might as well be underwear for nine or ten months out of the year.

So wearing a gold watch in this scenario is not unlike a lady wearing, say, something from Agent Provocateur or the like underneath a bunch of winter layers. No one’s ever gonna see it! Or maybe a very small percentage of the population will, and in that way it’s a sort of surprise. A treat. Or 'hidden armor' that maybe you reveal every once in a while for personal amusement or yes, to 'flex' a little.

So why not have a gold watch?

Here’s five that don’t suck.

Vintage Rolex Submariner, 18k

Okay, let’s just get it out in the open. This bad boy is maybe the least subtle watch in the entire world. It’s absurd. Rolex’s diving watch, the original 'tool watch,' the James Bond ticker, but executed in full gold. It makes no sense. So it makes perfect sense. There’s a lot of Florida fishing boat captains and old dive heads that wear these, and not all of them got their money from running drugs into the States back in the 80s. (Well, surely a couple of people acquired them honestly.)

But the 'Scarface' vibe remains, and we’re here for it. Stupidly elegant. If you have this watch, hopefully at some point you’ve also driven a boat very fast while listening to Notorious B.I.G.’s 'Hypnotize.’ Kind of the old head’s Mille or Hublot; you’re not as wild as you used to be, but you’ve seen some *things.*

Patek Phillippe ref. 2508

We mention the 2508 here, but honestly most yellow gold or rose gold Patek and VC pieces fit in this space. With apologies to JLC Reverso and Cartier Tank fans, a Patek dress watch is kinda sorta a be-all-end-all. Clean. Traditional. Minimal. It’s the final boss, the Grail. Almost never seen in real life unless you move in really strong circles, it could be argued that the most classic Pateks are executed in gold.

Safe to say that if you have one of these, your 401(k) is in excellent shape and you’ve gone way past the point of trying to impress other people. This watch probably lives under a suit most of the day, and might even be written off as a business expense depending on your field of expertise and the creativity of your accountants. The gold standard, for real.

Gold Rolex Bubbleback

The vintage head’s choice, and the choice of the Far East. Bubblebacks are some of the most classic Rolex designs, and their smaller size adds unisex appeal to the overall vibe of the watch. All vintage watches have 'mojo,' but if yours is a gold Bubbleback, there’s a good chance the piece was the most prized possession of multiple people before you ever saw it. And it’ll be valued and loved by many other owners long after you leave this earth. How can you argue against that?

This watch also scores multiple points for its versatility; it’s smaller, less-flashy (well, less-flashy in a gold Rolex sense at least) and looks great on either a strap or a bracelet. We fell in love with CC contributor @_passion_66 's piece; it’s a rose-gold example of iconic 40s design. One could envision sharing this piece with a significant other, and even passing it down to a relative in the future.

Patek Phillippe 3424

Yes, this is the second Patek on the list. Yes, we know it’s not cool to make lists like this with two things from the same brand. We don’t care. This watch is niiiiice. It’s basically the Cartier Crash, but a Patek version. A sort of surrealist, messed-up, wild design that may or may not have been created while on acid. If you like these kinds of things, you’re probably also into DMT or crypto and probably made a bunch of money doing something completely random and innovative. That or you’re just a weird rich dude, one of the two.

Designed by Gilbert Albert, and famous from Roni’s 'Talkimg Watches' episode; only about five of these have ever been found in yellow gold. Flex.

Vintage AP Royal Oak in Gold

This is sort of the cousin of the all-gold Sub, but slightly weirder and a little more understated. Well, it’s subtle in a sort of Studio 54 kinda way! You can just picture this on the wrist of someone in Basquiat or Warhol’s 70s and 80s NYC, checking out galleries during the day and wilding out to underground disco trax by night.

If you like Mies Van Der Rohe, 80s DeLoreans, and fancy Italian furniture, this might be your all-gold watch.