In the last year or so, there has been a resurgence of integrated bracelet full gold sports watches released, across various brands and various price points. So, we thought we’d look into five of these pieces and see how they compare…
The full gold integrated sports watch has made a comeback of late, and whether you’re into full gold pieces or not, they are something else when you hold them and put them on your wrist. There is something about that weighty heft and luxurious finishing that when you wear a modern gold sports watch, you just get it. It may not be your style, but you get it nonetheless. Adding to this, integrated bracelets are often quite comfortable and seem to fit and wear well, which is a bonus. So with that, it got us thinking, which full gold integrated sports watch is the best? Or can you even compare them based on the brand and different price points? Maybe not, but let’s see…
Breitling Chronomat Automatic 36 Victoria Beckham
A few months ago, Breitling released their latest collaboration piece, the Chronomat Automatic 36 done in conjunction with Victoria Beckham. Amongst these are several full gold versions with gold, blue and peppermint dials. We were able to get a preview of these prior to the release, which you can read about here.
Victoria Beckham’s vision was to create an all-purpose timepiece for women, bringing the best of both worlds: fashion and function. The design of this latest Chronomat timepiece portrays exactly how Victoria Beckham says she likes to dress: a mix of masculinity and feminine features while having a minimalistic aesthetic. Essentially men can wear these as well should they choose to as they do share the same design DNA as the larger 40mm versions, albeit a little more dressy.
Having tried these all on, and even though aimed squarely at the female market, they do feel great on the wrist. Retailing for A$42,790 they represent good value for money when placed in comparison to other full gold integrated bracelet options. This and you also get some of that Victoria Beckham style with it, so this is a win – if you’re into VB that is!
Omega Constellation
Back in February, Omega launched a new collection of Constellation pieces, actually 20 in total, all with meteorite dials with 41mm, 29mm, 28mm, and 25mm pieces in the range. As part of this collection, Omega featured several models that sported integrated bracelets in both Moonshine (Yellow) or Sedna (Rose) Gold, adding to their (massive) Constellation collection.
The Sedna Gold and Moonshine Gold 41mm pieces are very reminiscent of those 70’s and early 80’s sports watches that were all the rage and showcases Omega’s ability to reach back and bring out pieces that have the vintage feel with all the trimmings of a modern watch. Of note, the full Moonshine Gold piece (featured below) is a beautiful piece that is somehow both understated when compared to the diamond set variants, and eye-catching at the same time.
Coming in at around A$70,400 for the full Moonshine and Sedna Gold 41mm versions, and the 29mm with diamonds at A$56,025, you’re not buying these as your only watch, but something to add to the collection and to add some wrist presence to your life. This, and you get the great movements that Omega are known for from a brand with serious Horological chops!
Hublot Integrated Time Only King Gold
Hublot is not a brand that immediately comes to mind when talking about integrated gold watches, but their newly released 38mm Time Only in King Gold is a piece that definitely needs a look at. At 38mm and only 9.4mm thick, it is a very wearable watch and sits in that smaller unisex sizing.
Hublot has been on a mission of late to refine and make their pieces more wearable, which is showing, and also the size options are now much more reasonable than what they were a decade ago. You can see this now with the range of women that are wearing Hublot watches and for the men, the majority of their pieces are now a more contemporary size.
Retailing at A$70,300 these pieces are on par with the full gold Omega Constellation meteorite dial in 41mm. With a more modern and bold look, each of these are very different pieces targeting a different customer altogether, which is a great thing as the watch world would be boring if we all had the same thing on our wrists!
Piaget Polo 79
Just prior to Breitling bringing out the Chronomat, one of the OG’s of full gold integrated bracelet watches, Piaget, brought out the Polo ’79 – an almost re-issue of the classic piece designed by Yves Piaget and made popular by the well-to-do back in the later ’70s and early ’80s.
The Polo ’79 was the first piece to help kick off Piaget’s 150th Birthday this year, and takes all its inspiration from the iconic piece which helped to redefine watches of the 80’s, albeit with a 2024 treatment. The new Polo ’79 maintains the case proportions of the original 34mm but has increased this model to 38mm to be in line with luxury dress watches of today. So again, can be very much a unisex piece.
It’s a beautiful piece with a lot of history attached to it, namely the fact that Yves Piaget designed and brought it out, and has been faithfully recreated but with modern engineering, not to mention the more modern sizing. However, at A$120,000, it is considerably more than the Breitling and Omega, which are no slouches when it comes to great watches. But you do get the history and Piaget’s name behind it, which if you’re more nostalgic and value the history and design, it is definitely worth something!
Vacheron Constantin 222
The Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222 was a hit when released in 2022. It’s even been seen on the wrists of celebs like Michale B Jordan and Brad Pitt, with some people saying it was the release of that year from not only the brand, but from all brands. Big call, but we can understand why.
The Historiques collection is what it says – Vacheron Constantin pulling from their historical collection and bringing them back to life – think the American 1921. Watches & Wonders 2022 saw Vacheron Constantin’s release dubbed the watch of the fair with a faithful remake of the Jumbo 222 from 1977, looking pretty much exactly like its old predecessor but again with modern fit and finishes with more refinements across the entire piece.
Retailing for A$123,000, it is a touch over the Piaget Polo ’79, but at this price point, what’s $3k between friends? Like Piaget, you’re getting a great vintage recreation of a piece that was a hit from the ’70s and set itself apart from the likes of Audemars Piguet and Gerald Genta-designed pieces. Not only that, and some street cred given the numerous celebrities that have been seen sporting the piece!
So, which piece represents great value for money? Which are worth it? This all depends on what you value more and your style and taste – not to mention your bank balance! So whilst we normally will edge one way of the other, on this occasion, we’ll let you decide this…
