2022 watch-buying advice from timepiece experts

Le Bernardin Chef/Co-owner Eric Ripert and Heritage Auctions Consignment Director Michael Schmidt talk timepieces.

My first watch: A Cartier Santos (above) from my mother when I was 14 or 15. The dial window is sapphire, with a stainless-steel and gold bracelet. Very simple, but a beautiful watch for a young kid. I still have it, but I think my wrist has grown a lot since!

Why wearing a great watch matters: A watch is supposed to give one precise timing, therefore it is a priority. They’re also accessories and should make one feel happy to have it on his or her wrist.

Advice for first-time buyers: If you buy a watch, you must be very excited about wearing that piece. The watch does not have to be expensive, but the brand must have the reputation of being reliable.

Celebrity watch icon: The Daytona Rolex of Paul Newman (above). 

Best watch screen cameo: The Rolex Submariner Ref. 6538 on Sean Connery (above) in the early James Bond movies.

Watch you’re coveting: Either a Vacheron Constantin or a Patek Philippe, I am not sure on the exact model yet.

Favorite watch book: “A Man & His Watch: Iconic Watches and Stories From the Men Who Wore Them” by Matt Hranek.

My first watch: A Hanna-Barbera Yogi Bear (above) given to me on my fifth birthday.

Why wearing a great watch matters: A watch can serve as a reflection of your personality or current mood. Choose wisely. 

Advice for first-time buyers: Buy a watch that’s in proportion to your wrist. Do not feel like you need to compete by buying bigger. Don’t let the watch wear you.

Celebrity watch icon: Uma Thurman (above). Women watch collectors and enthusiasts rarely receive any attention in this male-dominated world of watches. Her knowledge and taste in watches, both vintage and modern, is truly impressive. 

Best watch screen cameo: Robert De Niro’s character (above) in “The Irishman,” before being gifted a flashy gold and diamond “mob watch” is wearing a 1940s rose-gold Bulova rectangular watch. Most people cannot wrap their heads around the fact that ex-GIs wore these petite pink watches. But they did. Kudos to the prop person.

Watch you’re coveting: The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master [Ultra] Thin Moon phase in rose gold. Incredibly elegant watch with perfect proportion. 

Favorite watch book: “Wrist-watches: History of a Century’s Development” by Helmut Kahlert, Richard Muhe and Gisbert Brunner.

Photos by Nigel Parry. Marlena Schmidt. Getty Images. Bettman Archive. Everett Collection. Courtesy of Eric Ripert. Michael Schmidt. Patek Philippe. Jaeger LeCoultre. 

A British influencer (with 1.7 million followers), Bhatt is renowned for his love of all things fast and luxe, from cars to high-end watches.

Personal style: I live in Cyprus, so it’s mostly shorts, swim shorts and beachwear. I have a penchant for Hermès espadrilles and caps, and I love watch-themed swimwear from Leopine and Watch the F*.

First watch: When I was about 5 years old, in the 1980s, I would watch TV at my grandma’s house in India, and I saw a Timex Indiglo. I begged for this watch, and the day we left to go back to Europe, she bought it for me.

Watch count: Around 80 to 85 watches. The majority is vintage Rolex and the rest is everything from Swiss household names like Patek and Vacheron Constantin, all the way down to some Swatches.

Favorite complication: I like the visually interesting ones: HYT using liquid, and the MB&F HM series is crazy innovative. The Richard Mille RM 69 Erotic Tourbillon, too.

Recent purchase: A Rolex Daytona in yellow gold with an Oysterflex bracelet and a meteorite dial. I bought it from a boutique on my birthday.

Celeb watch icon: Eric Clapton, who’s a huge vintage Rolex and Patek Philippe collector. Many, many pieces he has commissioned are outstanding in their execution and really super, super collectible still to this day.

Photos by Wireimage. Courtesy of Anish Sapan. Rolex. 

This New York-based attorney turned his passion for timepieces into a sizable social media footprint (with nearly 324,000 followers) and popular website.

Personal style: Pretty casual. I like to wear a T-shirt and jeans and sneakers by Common Projects. I do love leather jackets, whether my Belstaff shearling or Ajmone in dark blue.

First watch: I received a stainless-steel 36 mm Rolex Datejust with a white dial as a bar mitzvah gift from my parents back in 1998. They both thought that watch was huge on my wrist and that I would never grow into it.

Watch count: More than I could count. My favorites include my steel Rolex Daytona 116520, my steel Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15400, my gold IWC pilot’s watch 371713, and my Rolex GMT-Master II “Pepsi.”

Favorite complication: The perpetual calendar. I like the idea of a watch outlasting the owner and being able to accurately keep the correct time over the course of generations — it creates a link between them.

Recent purchase: An Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch — Mission to Mars. I wanted to review it, and I trekked to different Swatch stores seven or eight times with no luck. I finally broke down and paid a premium for the watch on the secondary market.

Celeb watch icon: While John Mayer, Mark Wahlberg and Kevin Hart have great collections, Ed Sheeran [above] has probably my favorite collection right now. He has a wide range of Patek Philippe’s (including complications beyond just the Nautilus), a large collection of Rolexes, plus some very nice Richard Milles. He’s willing to wear more affordable pieces as well — he’s been seen wearing a MoonSwatch (which I also own). I would say his collection is something I would like to model mine after.

Favorite travel watch: I generally bring my Rolex GMT-Master II “Pepsi” — it allows me to track my home time and the time of the current location.

Photos by FilmMagic. Courtesy of Craig Karger. Rolex.