Recent years have tilted heavily in favor of steel sports watches. And it is nearly impossible to purchase many stainless steel Rolex, Patek Philippe, or Audemars Piguet models by just walking into a retail store (for more thoughts on this check out GaryG’s False Scarcity And Steel Sports Watches: A Collector’s View).
And if no other event has proved the popularity of steel sports watches, just look at the sale of Paul Newman’s own Paul Newman Rolex Daytona, which fetched a cool $17,752,500 at Phillips’ October 2017 New York auction.
This unique high-profile steel sports watch aside, I find it equally worthy to discuss some of today’s most expensive pilot’s watches – which, if you have the cash, you might have a much easier time obtaining.
These are stock watches from luxury brands, available in luxurious metals and ranging in price between $25,000 and $1.2 million in price. Whether you are a desk pilot who enjoys aviation-themed watches or a jetsetter who flies the friendly skies in private Gulfstreams, these watches will deliver the perfect combination of sophistication with an abundance of horological clout.
Breguet Transatlantique Type XXI Flyback
Breguet had an early interest in aviation timepieces, creating examples for the U.S. Air Force as of 1918 and as of 1922 for Louis Breguet’s Société d’Aviation, a technological company founded by one of the company founder’s own descendants. The most important of Breguet’s pilot chronographs was the Type XX.
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Breguet Type XXI Flyback
Breguet and Vixa were the first companies to supply the Type XX chronographs to the French Ministry of Defense in the 1950s. Vintage Type XX civilian models – the “Type 20” designation was reserved for the military watches – are highly desirable timepieces avidly sought after by the vintage watch collecting community.
Today’s Breguet Type XX also remains popular. While most of the features remain the same between the Type XX and the later Type XXI, the Type XXI does offer an unusual setup comprising both a central minute and a central chronograph second hand. The date window at 6 o’clock also has a somewhat trapezoidal shape, giving it even more character.
This Type XXI, introduced at Baselworld 2005, has an elegant, polished 18-karat pink gold case with Breguet’s signature fluting. The dial, a lovely slate grey, is multitiered with a flat main dial, stepped-up center, and slightly recessed subdials.
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Breguet Type XXI Flyback
A 24-hour subdial located at the 3 o’clock position provides the would-be pilot with information as to whether it is currently AM or PM – something very necessary if you fly through the world’s time zones for a living.
The flyback feature allows for instant resetting of the chronograph with a single push of the button instead of needing to stop, reset, and then restart the chronograph.
For more information, please visit www.breguet.com/en/timepieces/type-xx-xxi-xxii.
Quick Facts Breguet Transatlantique Type XXI Flyback
Case: 42 x 15.2 mm, pink gold
Movement: automatic Caliber 584 Q/2, 48-hour power reserve, silicon balance spring, inverted straight-line lever escapement with silicon pallets, 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency
Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds; date, day-night/24-hour indicator, flyback chronograph
Price: $25,600
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