March 29, 2024

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak - goldYou may have noticed that our “Fratello” articles focus mainly on watches with stainless steel or titanium cases – and a select few with more exotic case materials such as forged carbon and bronze — and that we rarely cover gold watches. Not only can gold watches come off as too “flashy” for some, but they are also, of course, relatively expensive compared to their stainless-steel cousins. 

From where I’m writing this, in the Netherlands, a gold watch might look odd on a wrist of a young or “young-ish” person. We get a lot of cloudy days here, resulting in a relatively pale skin tone throughout the year, and we all know that pale skin and gold watches are not a good combination. All that said, I do have a list of favorite gold watches, for when I am finally ready for one — meaning the right age or the right amount of tan.

1. Omega Speedmaster Professional in Gold

I’d love to own one of these vintage gold Omega Speedmaster Pro commemorative Apollo XI models with the hand-wound, Lemania-based Caliber 861 movement. Only 1,014 have been made and the first 40 pieces went to NASA astronauts and members of the White House. More information can be found here.

Omega Speedmaster Professional - gold - on wrist

2. Rolex Day-Date

Perhaps the most famous gold watch ever? The Rolex Day-Date might be just that. It was quite surprising when Rolex introduced a couple of new 36-mm Day-Date models with straps last year at Baselworld (click here), but I would opt for one with the famous “President” bracelet.

 

Rolex Day-Date - gold

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