Best Mechanical Watch

Mechanical watches are not just a luxury item, but also a showcase of appreciation for genuine, honest craftsmanship. What makes these watches special is that they aren't powered by batteries. They run using arm movements—while the watch is on your wrist, of course—or by winding the crown.

Due to their technical properties, mechanical watches are capable of keeping time with the utmost precision for many weeks. This might suggest that mechanical watches are only available at a very high price – but that's not the case. In fact, there are attractive offers from popular watch brands for watch lovers in every price segment.

After enthusiasm for mechanical watches declined somewhat in the 1970s, these special timepieces for men and women experienced a renaissance starting in the 1980s, making them among the most coveted luxury watches on the market. Special editions and vintage models from successful brands such as Patek Philippe, Sinn, Citizen Watch, Laco, Tag Heuer, Seiko, Marcello C, Nomos Glashütte, and Rolex have already experienced some significant increases in value, reflecting this development.

In addition to the advantages of mechanical wristwatches, this article focuses on a few particularly popular models – in a sort of top 10 list, from entry-level watches to high-end timepieces. We provide an overview that can help you find mechanical models that best suit your needs – including insider tips.

Best Mechanical Watches - Entry-Level Models

The following models prove that mechanical timepieces don't necessarily have to be prohibitively expensive. Each watch in the entry-level model category is priced around €500, yet still meets the key criteria that characterize a high-quality automatic watch.

Seiko Prospex “Samurai”

This Japanese watch brand has become known for producing very high-quality watches with good value for money. Seiko 's various diving watch models have achieved particular popularity, with fans of the brand giving them nicknames like Tuna, Sumo, Turtle, or Samurai. These watches impress not only with their distinctive design but also with professional, well-thought-out features such as increased water resistance up to 1,000 meters, as well as practical complications.

Seiko has equipped its Samurai with its in-house 4R35 automatic movement and a unidirectional rotating bezel with excellent legibility. Visually, the Seiko watch impresses with its blue leather strap and stainless steel case, while the price for the automatic watch is under 500 euros.

Hamilton Khaki Mechanical

Elvis Presley wore watches from the iconic American brand Hamilton. The Hamilton Khaki is equipped with a Swiss automatic movement from ETA and therefore runs reliably to the second.

The stainless steel case has a diameter of 38 mm and fits perfectly into the military design of this automatic watch. The sporty look of the watch is further emphasized by its black dial and brown leather strap, while the silver hands for the hour, minute, and second perfectly complement the overall design. Since the watch with an automatic movement is available starting at just €500, this is also a very attractive price-performance ratio.

Tissot Automatics III Day Date

Watches of the highest quality standards are also available from the traditional Swiss brand Tissot . This model features an automatic movement with the ETA 2836-2 caliber, which provides a 42-hour power reserve. The Tissot watch measures 39.7 mm in diameter and boasts a special feature: It features a date display with the day of the week. This is stylishly positioned at the 3 o'clock position and enhances the Tissot brand watch both visually and functionally.

The Tissot Day Date watches, which cost around 500 euros depending on the exact version, are available with leather and multicolored stainless steel straps.

Best Mechanical Luxury Watches

For many watch enthusiasts, mechanical automatic watches represent one thing above all: pure luxury. So let's move away from the entry-level models and focus on the top models from the most renowned manufacturers and well-known watch brands, whose price logically exceeds the 500 euro mark.

A. Lange & Söhne Datograph

This iconic wristwatch's name alludes to the outsize date, a hallmark of watchmaker A. Lange & Söhne . The watch pays homage to the five-minute clock of Dresden's Semper Opera House, with its digital display that's easily visible even from afar. One of the highlights of this timepiece from the Saxonia series is its flyback mechanism, which makes timekeeping child's play.

The watch's design offers a variety of options: It comes in platinum or 18-karat gold and features a gray, silver, or black dial. The diameter is also available in a choice of 39 to 43.2 mm. The Datograph automatic watch has a power reserve of an impressive 60 hours, and some versions feature very special complications, such as a perpetual calendar.

Rolex GMT-Master II

The Rolex GMT-Master II hardly needs any introduction to dedicated watch enthusiasts. Nevertheless, we believe it cannot be left out of this list: It is undoubtedly one of the most attractive automatic GMT watches, available in various references in white gold, Everose, Rolesor, or stainless steel.

Their color combinations are also famous: the red-blue “Pepsi” version, the red-black Rolex “Coke” or the blue-black Rolex “Batman,” whose bezels have been made of Cerachrom – a scratch-resistant ceramic mixture specially developed by Rolex – since 2007, are familiar to every watch fan.

Only in 2022 did the brand unveil a left-handed version of the GMT-Master II Automatic at the Watches & Wonders trade fair. An elegant green and black bezel adorns this automatic timepiece, with the crown and date display relocated to the left side of the case. One of the reasons for purchasing this Rolex is likely its excellent in-house caliber: a movement that prides itself on limitless precision and boasts a 70-hour power reserve.

Patek Philippe Chronograph

Patek Philippe is a pioneer among watch brands for a reason. The Geneva-based manufacturer has probably every conceivable chronograph variant in its range and is now known worldwide for its outstanding (automatic) movements and timeless designs. The Complications collection alone includes automatic watches with flyback or simple stopwatch functions; complications such as annual calendars, dial-mounted pulsometers, multi-scale displays, and world time displays.

Although the brand boasts many years of experience in the watchmaking industry, it only introduced in-house calibers—movements made in-house—in the early 2000s. Previously, ebauches from Lemania were sometimes used, but these were significantly modified and refined. In addition to a precise movement, a more than satisfactory power reserve, and interesting complications, a Patek Philippe watch naturally also impresses with its looks and comfort.

Best mechanical hand-wound watches

Mechanical clockworks are multi-stage gears that draw their energy from an energy storage device. Unlike grandfather clocks, which require regularly pulling weights upwards, wristwatches and pocket watches can be wound using mainsprings via dedicated crowns or keys.

Louis Audemars was one of the first companies to produce crown-wound pocket watches. Today, brands such as Nomos, Junghans, Tag Heuer, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Patek Philipp still produce mechanical watches with hand-wound calibers that enjoy great popularity.

Best mechanical watches with automatic hand winding

When automatic winding was invented, it revolutionized the way mechanical watches functioned. They could now wind themselves while being worn, making the daily winding of wristwatches obsolete.

The function of an automatic watch is made possible by the oscillating weight inside the case. This rotates inside the case of the watch with an automatic movement, winding the mainspring in the barrel.

One of the clear advantages of mechanical watches with automatic calibers is that they don't need to be constantly wound and don't require batteries. This makes them more environmentally friendly than, for example, quartz watches. They are even more accurate than hand-wound calibers because the mainspring is constantly rewound by the rotor, ensuring that the automatic watch never reaches the "limit" of its power reserve. This constant torque has a positive effect on the amplitude—the oscillation range of the balance—of automatic watches.

When it comes to the quality of the movements, the in-house movements of the Rolex watch brand are among the best the market has to offer – which should come as no surprise.

Special features of a mechanical watch

Because the mechanics that keep watches with automatic movements or hand-wound movements running are so complex, you should consider before buying such a watch that strong shocks (such as during sports) can impair its function.

Even though batteries aren't required, watches still require regular checkups, especially when the accuracy of the time display noticeably decreases. Regular winding usually prevents the lubricant from clumping and thus ensures the watch's long-term accuracy.

The accuracy of a watch movement ultimately depends on various factors. Time is gained or lost when the watch remains in a single position due to gravity. To compensate for time losses in the different positions, a high-quality model adjusts the balance wheel.

A (vintage) watch that's properly adjusted and features a high-quality movement should function flawlessly within its specifications, even with daily wear. If you take your watch off at night, you can test different placements and observe how this affects the time loss. Placing the watch flat with the dial facing up has proven successful for automatic watches from many manufacturers and well-known watch brands.

It's also important to consider that temperature also plays an important role. Modern watches in the "mechanical automatic watch" category are often designed to compensate for minor temperature fluctuations independently. Extreme weather conditions and changes, however, are excluded from this. The good news: Even in the case of extreme weather, simple adjustments are often sufficient to compensate for an automatic watch.

Conclusion on the best mechanical watch

Mechanical watches may be absolute masterpieces of craftsmanship, but they do need some extra work when it comes to precision. A deviation of a few seconds per day is perfectly acceptable, although the target range for COSC-certified chronometers is -4 to +6 seconds per day. Manufacturers such as Omega, Tudor, and Rolex set their own standards for accuracy. Accordingly, their mechanical automatic watch models often run even more precisely than the market average.

Automatic watches from renowned watch brands remain very popular. Their appeal lies in their high accuracy, long power reserves, and the fact that they operate without batteries. And, of course, in the fact that they seemingly effortlessly transport the stylish design and elegance of a traditional craft into the present.

One thing is certain: Whether iconic classics or lesser-known models, mechanical watches have their own unique charm. This doesn't necessarily have to translate into an insanely high price tag – as evidenced by numerous top 5, top 10, or top 20 rankings by watch connoisseurs. There are certainly watch brands – for example, Laco, Citizen, Certina, Tissot, or Seiko – where a solid mechanical automatic watch can be had for around €500. However, if you specifically look for products from a high-end watch brand, you'll discover the expensive side of the watch world, which boasts mechanical watches that will truly amaze you.