By Harlan Chapman-Green
Welcome to another Top 5! This article is a sort-of sequel to our Top 5 solid gold sports watches article. In this article, we’re looking at some more watches which are sporting and made of two different metals. The traditional two-tone watches are steel and yellow gold or rose gold, we won’t accept steel and white gold or platinum as they are both white metals, we also want to see sporty watches. We will also only accept two tone watches on a bracelet for this list but of course, we are also allowing watches which were sporty once upon a time, but would now prefer to sit by the sea with a gin and tonic watching the waves. Let’s get started!
5. Santos De Cartier Galbée XL Yellow Gold & Steel
The Cartier Santos as it’s more commonly known is one if those iconic watches that refuses to let the edge slip to the competitors by reinventing itself every so often. Another watch which does this is the Rolex DateJust, the arch enemy of the Santos. While it didn’t quite outsell the DateJust like Cartier had hoped, the exposed pins and screws used for the bezel and the bracelet set a trend which became immensely popular, pretty much every watch beforehand had hidden the screws away as if they were something to be ashamed of, however, Cartier decorated them and put them on display. cartier.com
4. Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Pink Gold & Steel
Audemars Piguet’s longstanding claim to fame has been the introduction of stainless steel as a luxury metal to make watches out of. Before 1972 a luxurious watch was made of yellow gold or platinum and any watch made of steel was seen as cheap or “working class”. Since the introduction of steel as a premium metal, everyone’s giving it a go with the other top watchmakers being no exception. The two-tone Royal Oak Selfwinding is the result of Audemars marrying the luxurious pull of gold with the security of steel to bring us a watch that looks and feels the part. audemarspiguet.com
3. Patek Philippe Nautilus Chronograph Rose Gold & Steel
The Nautilus was Patek Philippe’s direct response to the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak as featured above. They hired the same designer, Gerald Genta, to make them a watch which would be able to compete. Sadly the lead Audemars Piguet had when the watch was on sale meant that the Nautilus never did gain the cult status it dreamed of, until now. The Nautilus is one of Patek’s best selling watches alongside the Calatrava and is a fantastic watch to own. The chronograph adds another level of desirability with the rounded corners of the case being transported to the chronograph pushers and a lovely blue dial. patek.com
2. Zenith El Primero Chronomaster Grande Date Rose Gold & Steel
Here’s a lovely piece from Zenith, I’m almost ashamed of myself because I don’t talk about them as much as I perhaps should. Zenith is one of the largest watchmakers which undertakes all manufacturing processes under one roof, a very big roof it might be, but that still counts. The El Primero’s signature feature is the exposed balance wheel on the dial which they can upgrade to a tourbillon for more mechanical prowess. This watch also features an automatic movement with a big date indicator, 30-minute chronograph and a sun/moon indicator, all packed into a lovely 45mm case. zenith-watches.com
1. Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona Yellow Gold & Steel
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona, simply known to any watch enthusiast as the Daytona, is a sporting icon with a strong racing heritage. Paul Newman owned a Daytona and subsequently the same looking watches as he wore became immensely popular. The current lineup of Daytona’s uses an in-house made Rolex movement when this design was first launched it used a movement from a Zenith El-Primero. I feel that my preferred version of this two-toned sporting icon would be the version with the white dial and yellow gold centre links, however, there’s an array of dials featuring black backgrounds, gem setting and so on available as well as a two-tone steel and rose gold version as well. The Daytona looks the best in two-tone and that’s just one of many reasons it tops our list. rolex.com
Got any ideas for countdowns that you’d like us to cover? Leave us a comment in the Disqus thread below and maybe your suggestion will become a WristReview Top 5!
HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN – CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
A keen bass guitar player, Harlan enjoys all the perks modern watchmaking technologies the industry has to offer. Although you might catch him sampling Omegas or the odd Rolex, Harlan loves all things Haute Horology, with his three favourite brands being Breguet, A.Lange & Söhne and Vacheron Constantin. He hopes to study timekeeping more in depth someday and will never be able to thank his father enough for introducing him to the industry. You can follow him on Instagram Read his articles here
