10 Luxury Watches You Can Buy Online Direct From The Brand

It’s the shopping season, and that probably means at least one thing – you are stressed out from shopping. The last thing any of us wants to do is visit more stores, so good thing the internet has us covered. In the context of luxury watch sales (for the purpose of this article I mean watches with a retail price of $5,000 and up), more and more brands are launching official e-commerce boutiques this year, which means you can buy safe and buy direct. Even though the sale of wristwatches online is anything but new, the luxury watch industry itself has only recently “officially” entered online sales in an appreciable way. Let’s take a look at some of the luxury timepieces that you can buy direct from the company this holiday season.

First, a few thoughts on authorized e-commerce sales for watches in general. The most important thing to know is that for the most part, you’ll be paying the full retail price. Though doing so yields some unexpected benefits of buying directly from a brand. It is true that (especially in the past) many brand new luxury watches could be purchased from various online discounters. For those of you accustomed to getting great deals on new luxury watches, the reality is that those days are ending. As a consumer you were benefiting from a broken distribution system that the watch industry is increasingly trying to clean up. I say this because while in the past, it might not have made sense to spend full retail and buy directly from the brand, moving forward you’ll see a lot more price consistency online – whether you buy a watch direct from a brand or an authorized third-party retailer.

Few brands are putting all their available watch models for sale online, and at the same time there are going to be more and more watches that you can exclusively buy online direct from a brand’s website (or a brick & mortar boutique). I say this because there will continue to be special or very high-end models that are not available to purchase online. In fact, a lot of brands are only putting their “core collection” products online, with limited edition or other harder-to-get watches being available in other ways (though a phone call to the brand’s customer service number usually helps you buy what you are looking for).

At the same time, you’ll increasingly see watches being sold directly from brands online that will not be available in other places. Watch companies know that exclusivity is an important factor in you making a decision about what watch to get, and where you get it. Their hope is that by offering certain models direct to the consumer (without first being sold to a third-party dealer), they will convince enough people to shop directly from them.

Finally, many luxury watch brands are still experimenting with how they communicate with their consumers, offer incentives to shop directly on their websites, or in general, manage an effective e-commerce platform that you as the consumer want to use. Consider the next few years to be a sort of transitional period when traditional watch brands accustomed to older ways of doing business finally introduce the convenience of e-commerce that so many customers have been asking for. Allow me to also note that concurrently to brands offering their watches direct to consumer via their own e-commerce stores, many are also allowing their third-party brick & mortar retailers to sell online (at presumably the same or similar prices). Note that some watch brand e-commerce stores are still available only in particular markets (such as the USA).

Chopard L.U.C XP

Chopard has among the more developed luxury watch e-commerce stores out there, servicing the US along with a number of other major markets. Even though not all of their timepieces are available to purchase online, they offer more extremely high-end and complicated watches via e-commerce than most other brands I can think of. This includes much of the celebrated L.U.C collection. While it is nowhere near the top of what they offer, the recently released 40mm wide Chopard L.U.C XP in steel with the blue fabric cashmere strap (aBlogtoWatch hands-on here) is a lovely dress watch with an exciting in-house made automatic movement. Price is $9,250 USD. chopard.com

Panerai Luminor Due 3 Days Automatic

Panerai just recently launched their official e-commerce boutique in the US for watches, but have been selling straps and other accessories for a while. Panerai has a loyal following of collectors, who likely enjoy the ability to get their timepieces online with ease. The Panerai Luminor Due (aBlogtoWatch review here) is among the new Panerai watch families and is distinguished by a familiar look but a thinner case (about 40% according to Panerai) and an in-house made automatic movement. The pictured model has a 45mm wide steel case with a retail price of $10,500 USD. panerai.com

IWC Portugieser Chronograph Classic

Sporting an in-house made automatic chronograph movement and (as implied by the name) a classic look, the IWC Portugieser Chronograph Classic is a sensible, and versatile luxury watch designed to go most places you want to take it – and like most other IWC watches, you can get it direct from the brand. IWC has continued to refine its Portugieser (Portuguese) watch collection for years, a design that was originally inspired by ship deck clocks. The Portugieser Chronograph Classic has a 42mm wide steel case, alligator strap, and attractive (plus legible) blued hands and hour markers. Retail price as pictured is $12,100 USD. iwc.com

Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M Co-Axial Master Chronometer

Omega just recently launched their own e-commerce shop to join many others. I like the newly updated Seamaster Planet Ocean collection, that has a series of important upgrades which make it better than ever. Available in a range of sizes and styles, the three-hand 43.5mm model is a relatively fresh addition, and now contains a Co-Axial Master Chronometer movement (which you can see through the sapphire crystal caseback). The pictured model with the orange accents easily has the best mix of personality and fashionable versatility. As pictured in steel on the bracelet, price is $6,550 USD. omegawatches.com

Longines Master Collection 40mm Gold 18K Chronograph With Moon Phase

Unlike some watchmakers, Longines has a totally separate (which can be confusing for consumers) website area for e-commerce, aside from the basic longines.com. Value-laden Longines timepieces are a good option when you want a reasonable price for a solid-gold watch (among other types of pieces) such as this Master Collection 40mm Gold 18K Chronograph With Moonphase that contains a Swiss ETA Valjoux 7751 automatic movement. The 18k gold case is paired to an alligator strap, and the overall composition of the timepiece is intentionally timeless by design. It is as straightforward as the retail price, which is $10,250 USD. shop.us.longines.com

Bell & Ross BR V2-94 Aeronavale

Paris-based Bell & Ross has, in my opinion, always been an excellent curator of sports watch looks. Taking the best of 20th century instrument and watch design, Bell & Ross is great about making well-made, good looking products that men like to wear (including myself). The 41mm wide steel BR V2-94 Aeronavale has a blue and gold-toned dial paired with a sensible vintage-style case and bracelet (and a Swiss automatic chronograph movement). It also comes on a blue strap for those who want a more colorful look. As pictured, the Bell & Ross BR V2-94 Aeronavale has a retail price of $4,700 USD. bellross.com

Tiffany & Co. CT60 Chronograph 42mm

American luxury brand Tiffany & Co. was an early adopter of e-commerce given its sophisticated market position. A couple years ago Tiffany & Co. relaunched their watch collection with the CT60, which is a modern take on timepiece design from the 1940s. The Tiffany CT60 Chronograph 42mm in black DLC-coated steel is easily the brand’s sportiest current model, and it comes paired to a hip NATO-style strap. It also comes in a smaller 40mm wide three-hand version. Price as pictured is $7,450 USD. tiffany.com

Cartier Ronde Louis Cartier

Few brands do “classic” and “luxury” equally as well as Cartier. The Paris-based brand is a champion of wristwatches and jewelry equally, with a specific focus on designs meant to recall the birth of the wristwatch from the early 20th century. A less common, albeit excellent model, is the 42mm wide 18k pink gold Ronde Louis Cartier watch. Rather thin on the wrist, the manually wound in-house movement offers just the time, though in a very satisfying and legible manner. It’s a masculine dress watch just like Cartier does best. Price as pictured is$17,800 USD. cartier.com

TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T Tourbillon

Compared to many colleague luxury watch brands, TAG Heuer is an e-commerce veteran, but with a fancy new digital store that allows you to shop through their many available models. Among the higher-end and more exclusive pieces are TAG Heuer’s in-house tourbillon-based watches with their Heuer 02T automatic chronograph COSC Chronometer certified movements (aBlogtoWatch review here). TAG Heuer made a big splash when these came out given the relatively accessible pricing. Seen here, it’s in a 45mm wide black ceramic case with matching bracelet. Price as pictured is $18,050 USD. tagheuer.com

Bulgari Octo Roma

Bulgari is one of our favorite brands when it comes to combining a contemporary fashion aesthetic with traditional watchmaking. The Octo is the brand’s most popular men’s watch collection and the newest member of the family is the Bulgari Octo Roma (aBlogtoWatch hands-on here) – that rounds out the Octo case a bit, while maintaining the same angular presentation. Case is 41mm wide in steel, and it looks pretty good on the matching bracelet or strap. Price as seen for this Bulgari Octo Roma watch is $6,500 USD. bulgari.com