At Horological gunpoint, which modern watches from the “Holy Trinity” brands remain unscathed?

In the dazzling world of haute horology, numerous brands vie for the crown of the pinnacle of watchmaking prowess. This is a world where the most recognizable brand in the world, being Rolex, does not often tread. The watch media and enthusiasts have coined the term “Holy Trinity” to represent three brands that arguably are in the closest contention for this title. Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet, and Patek Philippe round out this trio. Now, most enthusiasts will only dream of owning a timepiece from one of these titans, and that is precisely what we will do in this article, dream. By examining their latest collections on offer, we will attempt to build the perfect collection by choosing one watch from each. Buckle up, it’s going to be a trip paved with gold.


Vacheron Constantin

Let’s begin this horological thought experiment by focusing on the center of any collector’s curated collection, the steel sports watch. Now, it is well understood that to actually be able to have the luxury of purchasing a steel sports watch from one of these three brands, you would need to do unspeakable things. Let’s put this aside for now. Out of these three brands, the most hyper-inflation sensitive steel models would be the Patek Phillippe Nautilus and the Royal Oak, and thus not the route we will take. Vacheron makes a lovely steel sports watch with design cues in harmony with the latter mentioned models, the Overseas.

Image Credit: “Vacheron Constantin”

Out of all three brands, we would hands down land on the Overseas as the steel model winner here. That maltese cross style bracelet is absolutely stellar and the stand out element of the watch from a design standpoint. If you can look up some wrist-roll videos of this watch, do it just for the moment when the light plays off the bracelet. We’d choose the silver dial variant out of the available options to really play up the steel aesthetic.


Audemars Piguet

Audemars Piguet is most well known for essentially one line of watches, the Royal Oak. Now, this line is very diverse, with Jumbo models, Offshore chronographs, Concept watches and more. As we mentioned above, the classic steel three-hand Royal Oak model is a tad unoriginal, therefore we would put our money on the deliciously ostentatious chronograph in 18-carat pink gold.

Image Credit: “Audemars Piguet”

This watch just oozes wealth, and offers a stunning display of craftsmanship in dial, case and bracelet design. The pink gold metal from this maison is probably the best we’ve seen from any other brand on the market.

Patek Phillippe

Last, but certainly not least, we present our third option from a brand which we here at Mister Wrist(er) regard as the upper echelon of this trio, Patek Phillippe. If you have ever been intimidated by callouts to reference numbers by watch media and enthusiasts, it hits a fever pitch when discussing this brand. With such a large and venerated back catalog of models, it can be a dark rabbit hole to enter in this regard. To offer you some light in this proverbial darkness, enter the 5327G-001 Perpetual Calendar in white gold.

Image Credit: “Patek Phillippe”

This watch is one of the most beautiful watches ever to be made, period. The way this specific shade of blue dances with the white gold case, breguet style numerals and triple subdial with moon phase is a myriad of perfection.

Three Watches, Three Crowns

We think the above three selections presents a complete collection from these revered watch brands. A robust and off-the beaten path steel powerhouse, a heart-stopping pink gold chronograph for those moments where one needs to shine brightest, and a dress watch fit for an evening of understated elegance. Whichever crown you choose to don from these “Holy Trinity” selections, you will be in great company.


-Mister Wrist(er)