Watch collectors pay big money for rare bracelets and bracelets

For Tommy Cabrerizo, for a Miami-based collector, landing one of his dream watches at Richard Mille was just the start of the party. Soon after, Cabrerizo found himself deep in the wormhole of authorized dealers and secondary market sellers to find the perfect complement to his new watch. Because when it comes to a watch, the bracelets and bangles can be just as important, historic and beautifully designed as the head. “It’s part of the chase,” Cabrerizo says. “In the same way that I was excited to receive the RM 67-02, there is the same build-up that led to getting the straps, at the same level.”

Cabrerizo is already planning a trip to Geneva, planning how he will return home with a few more groups. To get one of RM’s coveted straps, available in fabric and rubber in every color from a Crayola factory and retailing for $500 to $1,300, Cabrerizo will have to bring his watch with him to the store, or else he will be turned away. . If he’s looking for something a little rarer, he’ll pay extra. The most sought-after RM bracelets, made for its sapphire blue tourbillon, sell for $5,000 on the secondary market.

This year, one of Patek Philippe’s most talked-about releases is an iteration of its highly sought-after Nautilus. But it’s not the white gold case or the chronograph function that has collectors buzzing. Instead, it’s the watch’s Canadian tuxedo effect, with a denim-colored dial and matching blue jean-inspired strap, that makes it one of the biggest new releases of 2024. Only the most beautiful and most desirable are marked with a nickname, and the one given to this piece is unforgettable: the Jautilus. Patek Philippe is no stranger to groups that create a difference. In the mid-2010s, Patek Philippe had to restrict access to green straps for its sporty Aquanaut. This sparked such fervor that at one point the rubber bracelet alone reached $10,000.

Vintage metal bracelets are also popular on the secondary market. Manufacturers like JB Champion, who made the bracelets that astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong wore on the moon, and Jean-Pierre Ecoffey will be familiar to the most studied watch enthusiast. But the most revered name in vintage bracelets is Gay Frères, says Eric Wind, owner of the Wind Vintage watch boutique. Gay Frères is behind the watch world’s most recognizable bracelets: the company’s work can be seen on almost all of Rolex’s sports models, Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak and Patek Philippe’s Nautilus. A true sign of its expertise: Rolex acquired it in 1998. Today, Wind sells vintage Gay Frères bracelets for up to $12,000.

Today, manufacturers are beginning to fish out legendary bracelet designs from archives, the same way they do with beloved vintage designs. In 2023, Zenith released a watch using a 1969 Gay Frères bracelet model from its catalog. The “ladder” style bracelet with alternating openings in the links is now an integral part of the brand’s Revival line, which resurrects and modernizes watch and bracelet models from its history. In August, Zenith remade the bracelet in matte titanium for the first time. “Our archives are full of treasures and there are iconic creations, like the Gay Frères bracelets, which stand the test of time,” declares Benoit de Clerck, CEO of Zenith. “They remain pioneers in the industry and continue to inspire our own designs and approach to watchmaking.”

Watch collecting as a hobby is as much about the Holy Grail hunt and one-upmanship as it is about the watches themselves. For those involved in the game, like Cabrerizo, bracelets are an important ingredient of charm. “That’s part of what makes watch collecting fun,” he says. “It’s like, not only do you have this watch, but also this bracelet?” » He recently purchased a highly sought-after bracelet for one of his FP Journe watches. “The Élégante is really cool,” he says. “The Elegant on a pink bracelet is Really fucking cool.

Cam Wolf is GQ’s watch editor.

A version of this story originally appeared in the October 2024 issue of GQ under the headline “A Watch Is More Than Just a Pretty Face.”