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Excluding the up and comers, let me present you the “other” Holy Trinity:In my opinion there are three brands which are overlooked and deserve to be up there. Some even say Audemars Piguet shouldn’t be in there as they have ridden the Royal Oak wave for too long. I disagree, but I think if you’d extend the Holy trinity you’d extend them with:A. Lange & SöhneJaeger-LeCoultreBreguetLet’s have a look as of why:A. Lange & SöhneAsk any watch collector what their ideal grail watch is, and chances are they will say it’s a “Lange”. The company based in Glashütte ceased operation in 1948 after the occupation through the Soviet Union but got revived in 1990 by the great-grandson of the Adolph Lange, the original founder.While some say the Holy Trinity members should have an unbroken time of production, I disagree. I think the amount of innovation combined with beautiful design and commercial appeal do play a role here.Look at some of the Lange movements:It’s not only beautiful to look at, it’s also excellently engineered. They easily play in the same league as the other Holy Trinity members!Jaeger-LeCoultreJLC has been around for quite some time and what a lot of people don’t know, have been producing movements for both Patek and Audemars Piguet as well!So technically they were already part of the Holy Trinity without anyone adding them into there.Look at this caliber:This is the JLC Caliber 920, which was the base for both the Royal Oak from Audemars Piguet (arguably the most important watch in the newer watch history). Variations of it have been used by Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin.They are the kings of ultra-thin movements. How are they not in the Holy Trinity?And last but not least:BreguetWhile Breguet has invented the Tourbillon:A lot of people don’t know that Breguet actually holds several records in terms of innovation (and keeps innovating), such as the first wristwatch, ever:And the first perpetual calendar on a wristwatch:In my book that would easily qualify them to partake in the new Holy Trinity, or rather if we’d extend the Holy Trinity, they would be part of it!I run Watch Newsletter where I source and curate interesting luxury watch deals around the web, sign up if you’re interested in getting good deals on excellent watches.

Have you heard of the Holy Trinity? Let’s dive into it.In order to rank watch companies, you have to define the ranking in terms of points given.Let’s do two categories: Value and haute horology.Haute horology1. Patek PhilippeThe undisputed king. You could also call them the king of complications. Patek Philippe, one of the oldest luxury watch brands is known for packing in a lot of complications in a beautiful package. Just look at these things:Over 20 complications!2. Audemars PiguetThe rebel. While some might say Audemars Piguet is a one-hit wonder, people tend to forget that during the Quartz crisis in the 70s, AP doubled down on their haute horology tradition and brought the thinnest perpetual calendar wristwatch in the form of the Quantieme Perpetuel:Besides being beautiful, it even beat Patek’s perpetual calendar by a whopping 4mm in thickness, an amazing feat!3a. Vacheron ConstantinThe overlooked one. Vacheron Constantin has just as much history in terms of watchmaking as the other two brands, but isn’t as sought after as the first two. Nobody really knows why, but the fact remains that they can make beautiful and complicated watches:Just look at the ornaments!3b. A Lange & SöhneThe people’s champ. They are fighting with the fact that they are not from Switzerland, but they shouldn’t hide at all. A Lange & Söhne makes beautifully designed watches that house strong complications:A beautiful Grand Complication from A Lange & Söhne.4. Jaeger-LeCoultreThe underdog. Not a lot of people know this but JLC has been manufacturing movements for the big brands for a while now. Audemars Piguet has taken a lot of knowledge from JLC by using their movements in their famous watches. They have a strong history and an excellent brand:This is it from the haute horology.So let’s look at a more practical listing - the best bang for buck/value watches.1. OmegaOmega’s most famous one is clearly the Moonwatch, aka the Speedmaster:Some say, it’s the perfect one-watch collection. It’s dressy and sporty and has an amazing history behind with the first watch on the moon.2. RolexYou can say what you want about Rolex, but they still make tough watches, that are hard to beat IF you can get them for the retail price (I look for them on Watch Newsletter if you’re interested). The Submariner is easily the most iconic watch design of the last 100 years (which at the same time is incredibly tough):3. TudorThe younger brother of Rolex, Tudor was created as a secondary brand with similar parts to Rolex but different movements. So the toughness of Rolex, with the value of a cheaper watch. That history did change though: Tudor today is one of the finest brands that money can buy, as it honours history, brings reliability and combines it with beautiful designs:The Black Bay is a great buy for beginners and experts.I run Watch Newsletter where I source and curate interesting luxury watch deals around the web, sign up if you’re interested in getting good deals on excellent watches.

That depends very heavily on what you value!Let’s dive into the different brands first.Jaeger-LeCoultreThe supplier. JLC has been known to supply many watch brands over the years, even some from the holy trinity, making JLC de facto part of the holy trinity without giving them the credit. Not a lot of people know this, but the calibre of the original Royal Oak was designed by JLC:Their 2121 was derived from the JLC caliber 920, making it a possibility to design the royal oak as thin as possible.Patek PhilippeThe undisputed. The king of watch makers, Patek has it all: Beautiful movements, a strong heritage and the independence that a lot of watch buyers seek.Their movements require experienced craftsmanship, hence why Patek is educating their watchmakers in-house. This means that they need to spend a lot of money on education so that they can keep innovating and making excellent and beautiful watches.Vacheron ConstantinThe overlooked. While they are part of the holy trinity, a lot of people dismiss Vacheron Constantin, but it is very clear that they deliver extremely intricate and beautiful movements:They essentially play in the same league as Patek Philippe, but their secondary market value isn’t represented like this and nobody really knows why. There are different theories, one of them being that they are not independent anymore, compared to Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe.A. Lange & SöhneThe challenger. A. Lange & Söhne is an excellent watch maker from Germany, which is both an advantage and disadvantage at the same time, because most people associate the watch market automatically with Switzerland.That being said, their movements are both beautiful and extremely well designedOne of their main differentiators are their use of blued screws, that have been heated up and shine through compared to the ruby-red jewels as well as the gold plated movements.ZenithThe forgotten. Zenith has been providing movements for a lot of companies in the industry, although they are most known for their El Primero Chronograph:Even next to Omega, the Zenith has been the world’s first high frequency automatic calendar equipped chronograph making them a serious contender in the chronograph game.That being said, they also supplied brands like Rolex with their movements, making them a more overlooked brand.RolexThe workhorse. Ask anyone about their Submariner or Datejust and they will refer to it as their workhorse. Rolex creates movements that just work and keep on working. Arguably their most famous movement is the 3135, which they just recently updated to the 3230 on their new Submariners (September 2020).The movement is not well-designed or well-finished in any way, but it just works.You can compare it to the other movements pretty easily: Less parts, less jewels, less that can go wrong is the motto.SummarySo ultimately it comes down to what you value the most, when we’re looking at just the movement suppliers of the industry I think JLC takes the crown, when it comes to movements that are low maintenance and just work, it’s definitely Rolex, but here Zenith definitely has had some influence.If it’s about beauty of movement I think Patek Philippe, A. Lange & Söhne as well as Vacheron Constantin have beautiful examples.I run Watch Newsletter where I source and curate interesting luxury watch deals around the web, sign up if you’re interested in getting good deals on excellent watches.