The 13 Best Watches at Pitti Uomo, From Big Rolexes to a Dainty Piaget
At Pitti Uomo, wrists came dripping in mostly Rolex. It’s no surprise really. The crown is the crown because of its endless appeal across all personalities and for an event where men come to parade in their refined finest, a Rollie is the most versatile choice for all occasions. Submariners seemed to reign supreme, closely followed, naturally, by Daytonas for those that can afford their astronomical modern-day prices. It’s proof that whether or not you are a finance bro keen on flexing the most obvious choice in the boardroom or a stylish gent preening for the cameras at the world’s most fashionable menswear event, Rolex remains, undeniably, the trophy watch for them all.
But there were a handful that chose to venture beyond the obvious. A TAG Heuer was worn with a camel colored double breasted suit topped off with a fringe-adorned matching puffer, a quietly unassuming square-faced Patek Philippe Ref. 3555 popped out beneath the cuff of a soft military green trench, and a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso accented an all-white suit that was so perfectly paired it looked as though they had been meant to go together since inception. One particularly creative gentleman in shirt and tie befitting of Dwight Schrute of The Office with an ultra-cool cherry red Barbour-style jacket thrown over and pinstripe pants was keen on being so far off the “norm” grid, he chose a vintage Nivada watch a Tiger’s Eye dial.
While there’s no denying that Rolex will always be stylish—it has remained as synonymous with watchmaking as Kleenex is with tissue for a reason—one wishes that a little more fun could be had pushing the style boundaries on the wrist. Those that did certainly stood out from then endless parade of sports models. A dainty Piaget Protocole dress watch, for example, looked entirely unexpected and charmingly hip in the sea of overtly masculine tool watches.
Regardless, each timekeeper matched its wearer so exactly one couldn’t help thinking how these tiny mechanical marvels can transform so radically from wrist to wrist. Here are 13 that ticked all our boxes.
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