It is normally Quill & Pad’s policy to focus on the upper end of watchmaking, a market segment often referred to as haute horlogerie (high watchmaking).

Fine watchmaking by definition is expensive – just like every luxury item, for that matter. This in turn means that most of the time what you read about here at Quill & Pad is beyond the average wallet of the average watch consumer.

I’m the first one to defend this thematic concentration as I always say that passion should be about the greatest of the great and not the “best you can afford.”

Watchmaking is an impressive art, and that art costs money.

However, as the old saying goes, every rule has its exceptions: as I already mentioned in The Times, They Are A Changin’ At SIHH And Why That Matters: Observations From A Third-Timer, one of this year’s SIHH highlights for me (and many other people) were the so-called affordable-luxury pieces that show more respect for a customer who wants to buy a quality entry-level watch with a price tag that may be with VAT, but without BS.

As you’ll see below, these new timepieces stand out in both great design codes and excellent quality of execution as well as something that I call the fun factor. The latter is of course not a dictionary term, and I define it as the pure pleasure of wearing a watch that makes you smile every time you glance at your wrist. This is a watch whose perceived value is way above what the price tag actually says about it.

In other words, more bang for your buck – or simply just a lot of watch for a relatively low cost.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso with blue dial

Quill & Pad’s resident collector GaryG seems to agree, telling me that he “always believed that there are great timepieces out there at all price points. In fact, one of my top favorites at SIHH this year [as published in SIHH 2018 Round Table: What We Liked, What We Didn’t Like, And What We Would Buy For Ourselves] was the blue-dialed Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso, a watch that is in reach for a great many potential purchasers and collectors.

“And this past Christmas I asked for and received a Timex Marlin as a gift, a watch costing $199 that is the first Timex with a manual movement in several decades, and a near exact replica of the first watch I ever owned. I’m always on the lookout for more affordable cool watches and have plenty of JLC pieces and others like relatively inexpensive Omegas as well.”

So without further ado, here are my top five timepieces from SIHH 2018 for those with shallower horological wallets.

The fun part of them is that all together, they all add up to only €20,000 retail cost. And that’s for five (!) brand new timepieces.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Date

Jaeger-LeCoultre’s 2018 SIHH was all about the new Polaris collection and . . . Benedict Cumberbatch.

The latter, a new brand ambassador, appeared in Geneva with no less fanfare than the new, re-imagined Polaris collection of watches inspired by a legendary edition of the brand’s classic Memovox.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Chronograph

The full line consists of no less than six new models, from a basic automatic across a chronograph, a chronograph with world time, and two pieces directly evoking the vintage alarm watch of the 1960s.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Date

Of these two my attention was caught by the Polaris Date: simply speaking, this is a Memovox without the alarm function but with all the aesthetics intact. A well-proportioned 42 mm stainless steel case houses an automatic manufacture movement and a matte black dial with greenish Super-LumiNova and the line’s typical inner rotating bezel.

You can comfortably dive with the watch easy thanks to its 20o-meter water resistance and an integrated, cool-looking rubber strap.

For more information, please visit www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/us/en/watches/jaeger-lecoultre-plrs.

You might also enjoy 6 New Watches In Jaeger-LeCoultre 2018 Polaris Collection Including A New Memovox Model.

Quick Facts Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Date
Case: 42 mm, stainless steel
Movement: automatic Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber 899/1, power reserve 38 hours
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds; date
Price: €6,420/$7,750

Cartier Drive de Cartier Extra Flat steel

Cartier’s style is Cartier’s style, and it is a love-it-or-hate-it affair in my opinion. I happily belong to the first camp and especially like the brand’s restrained-yet-characteristic design codes.

The Drive de Cartier Extra Flat exudes an attractive simplicity in a beautiful, slim, cushion-shaped case that slips under your shirt cuff like a charm.

Cartier Drive de Cartier Extra Flat steel

The first edition was unfortunately only offered in gold, which made the price a bit on the high side. Many wished for a steel case, and our prayers came through at SIHH 2018.

The steel Drive de Cartier Extra Flat has the same simple, silver-colored dial with two hands and black Roman numerals.

Powered by the same manually wound 430MC caliber, the steel model exudes a similar charm as the gold edition for much less money.

Quick Facts Cartier Drive de Cartier Extra Flat steel
Case: 38 x 39 mm, stainless steel
Movement: manually wound Cartier Caliber 430MC, 36-hour power reserve
Functions: hours, minutes
Price: €4,500

Panerai Luminor Base Logo

Die-hard Panerai fans (usually big guys with wrists the size of an average tree trunk) would tell you that the new Base is what a proper Officine Panerai watch is: a simple, understated, clean, tool watch that happens to have been designed for Italian frogmen during World War II.

Panerai Luminor Base Logo

Among many new watches for the brand in 2018 there came a resurrection of the legendary Luminor Base. This watch has a rough, edgy, polished Luminor case with the brand-characteristic big crown guard, closed case back, and black dial with logo with or without small seconds at 9 o’clock.

The big news is a new manually wound, three-day, in-house caliber inside that replaces the good old Unitas movement originally used in this model.

Without a subdial for seconds – much cleaner that way – the watch will set you back €4,600.

For more information, please visit www.panerai.com/en/collections/watch-collection/luminor/luminor-base-logo-acciaio-44mm_pam01000.

You might also enjoy another well-priced new Panerai model from SIHH 2018 in Panerai Luminor Due 3 Days Automatic Acciaio: Good Things Do Come In Smaller Packages.

Quick Facts Panerai Luminor Base Logo
Case: 44 mm, stainless steel
Movement: manually wound Panerai Caliber P.6000, three-day power reserve, 21,600 vph/3 Hz frequency
Functions: hours, minutes
Price: €4,600/$4,750

Montblanc 1858 Automatic

Under the new design leadership of Davide Cerrato, Montblanc has gone a completely new way for 2018.

While not everyone was excited about this, everyone has had to admit that some of the new pieces have a lot of cool factor to them. My favorite this year has to be the simplest one from the new vintage-inspired 1858 collection: the 1858 Automatic is a two-handed watch with a lot of style, cool steel-bronze case (in a perfect 40 mm size), and matched with a cognac-brown leather strap.

Montblanc 1858 Automatic

Its military-like dial comes in either black or smoked champagne with set of stylized hands and bold Arabic numerals in Super-LumiNova. This might be the least impressive watch of the new collection in terms of mechanics, but it is highly impressive in the looks department.

Montblanc 1858 Automatic with champagne dial

For more information, please visit www.montblanc.com/en/collection/watches/montblanc-1858-collection.

You might also enjoy, Montblanc 1858 Collection: Storytelling In The Mountains.

Montblanc 1858 Automatic
Case: 40 x 11.07 mm, stainless steel with bronze bezel and crown
Movement: automatic Caliber MB 24.15 with 38-hour power reserve, 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency
Functions: hours, minutes
Price: €2,490

Baume & Mercier Clifton Baumatic

Perhaps one of the biggest watch surprises of the fair (and not only for me), this watch is a superb example of how affordable can also be cool.

Representing a first journey for Baume & Mercier into the world of silicon escapements in the form of a ValFleurier-made automatic caliber – ValFleurier being the Richemont Group’s in-house movement maker – here is the new Baumatic.

Baume & Mercier Baumatic on the wrist (photo courtesy ch24.pl)

The sexy name comes with equally impressive specs including a full five days of power reserve and optional C.O.S.C. chronometer certification. This is all packed into the classic form of the brand’s Clifton aesthetics with a 40 mm steel case, domed sapphire crystal, a lacquered white dial, and black strap.

Quick Facts Baume & Mercier Clifton Baumatic
Case: 40 mm, stainless steel
Movement: automatic Caliber Baumatic BM12-1975A, five-day power reserve
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds; date
Price: €2,125