The following time pieces are iconic because they are recognized as quality watches and admired by those in the know. Many introduced significant milestones that changed how watches are made. This list serves as a great reference to learn about the history and milestones of watch making.
The iconic watches are not ranked in any particular order:
- Omega Speedmaster Professional - watch that went to the moon
- Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso - first sports watch
- Zenith El Primero Chronograph - first chronograph ever
- Cartier Tank - first commercial wristwatch
- Audemars Piguet Royal Oak - original steel watch
- Piaget Altiplano Chronograph
- Harwood 1928 FIRST Automatic Winding Watch
- Rolex Datejust - first self‑winding wrist chronometer to indicate the date in a window on the dial
- Vacheron Constantin Historiques Ultra Fine
- Cartier Santos Dumas - first pilot’s watch
- Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph
- Glashutte Original Senator Navigator
- Breguet La Tradition Fusee Tourbillon
- A. Lange & Sohne Tourbograph "Pour le Mérite"
- Panerai Luminor - watch that changed fashion
- L'impermeable by the West End Watch Co. - first attested waterproof (pocket) watch developed in 1864
- Rolex Oyster + Perpetual - world's first waterproof and dustproof wristwatch (1926), world's first self-winding mechanism with a Perpetual rotor (1931)
- First State Watch Factory (Poljot) - Sturmanskie - the first watch in space worn by Yuri Gagarin
- Corum Golden Bridge - world's first baguette movement with linear gear trains mounted in a totally transparent case (1980)
- Leroy 01 - most complicated watch in the world 1901
- Patek Philippe - Henry Graves Supercomplication (1933) was the world’s most complicated mechanical timepiece for more than 50 years, with a total of 24 different functions
- Patek Philippe - Caliber 89 Grand Complication (1989) - 24 hands with 1,728 components in total, including a thermometer, and a star chart, weighs 1.1 kg
- Casio G-Shock - Early 1980's line designed to resist mechanical stress, shock and vibration primarily for sports, military and outdoors-oriented activities. G-Shock is an abbreviation for Gravitational Shock
- Seiko Quartz-Astron 35SQ - the world's first "quartz clock" wristwatch
- Vacheron Constantin Reference 57260 - the most complicated mechanical pocket watch ever created, 57 complications (2015)
- Haldimann H8 - the Tourbillon watch that doesn't tell time (2010)
- Roger Dubuis Excalibur Quatuor - 4 balance wheels (2014)
- Jaquet Droz Charming Bird - world’s first singing bird automation in a wristwatch (2015)
- A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater - world's first watch with a mechanical jumping numerals display and a decimal minute repeater (2015)
- Apple Watch - smart watch (2015)
- Zenith Defy Lab with Caliber ZO 342 - New and Disruptive monolithic silicon oscillator replacing classic swiss anchor, hairspring and balance wheel (2017)
- Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Professional - New deepest dive world record at a depth of 10,928m / 35,853ft (2019)
Either they forgot about it, or didn’t care there was another watch that went to the moon, the Bulova lunar pilot.
I would add the Hamilton Ventura, the world’s first electric watch and iconic in design. It was pre-quartz, with no transistors, and therefore in a different category than the Casio G-Shock and Seiko Quartz-Astron 35SQ selections.
No Rolex Explorer?
Zenith El Primero was not the first Chronograph but among the first Automatic Chronograph movements
As much as we love the mechanical watches, this list is completely wrong if you don’t have CASIO F-91W or G-Shock DW5600, or both!
The Casio G-Shock was added as well as the Seiko Quartz-Astron 35SQ in an attempt to cover the valid point of quartz watches. Thanks for the suggestion.