10 Patriotic Watches to Celebrate the USA on the Fourth of July
Red, white and blue may not be the obvious watch color combination on most days, but it just makes sense on the Fourth of July. While most of these watches may not have been designed in a nod to the American Flag, I take a look at my 10 favorite red, white and blue watches to celebrate America’s birthday while wearing. From Audemars Piguet to Rolex and Swatch, this list will work for anyone’s pricepoint.
Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 Pan Am
Breitling really went all out with their red, white and blue influences on the Breitling Navitimer B01 Chrono “Pan Am” edition. This piece was created as part of their Navitimer Airline Editions and paid tribute to the former American Airline Pan Am. It is nice to see Breitling keep to their pilots watch heritage and pay homage to an airline at the same time. You can pick up the Breitling Navitimer Pan Am on the secondary market for around $10,000 USD.
Richard Mille RM030
Let’s just pretend this RM030 did not say Paris on the dial. The RM030 has all the other hallmarks of a watch fit to celebrate America’s birth. The case is blue ceramic with red detailing, and the dial has red, white and blue all over it. I have even seen this watch on a nice red rubber strap. As you’d expect, the Richard Mille RM030 is not cheap and will cost you over $280,000 USD on the secondary market.
Audemars Piguet Offshore Ref. 26400SO.OO.A502CA.01
This Audemars Piguet may be called the “Russian Flag”, but to me it gives off major USA vibes. Red, white and blue (and steel) are all over the dial, bezel, crown and pushers. Even the rubber strap is half red and blue. This AP will not come cheap, it is selling for around $80,000 USD on the secondary market.
Hamilton American Classic Pan Europ Day Date Auto
Today Hamilton Watches is known as and Swiss watch brand and subsidiary of The Swatch Group. What many do not know is that the brand was founded in the United States and manufactured their watches in the USA until 1969. Hamilton continues to pay homage to their American heritage with such watches as the American Classic Pan Europ Day Date. The watch has a day date functionality with blue dial, red accenting (including the second hand, and a white outer dial. The American Classic is a lot of watch for your money. You get a fully Swiss Made automatic watch with day and date functionality for just $1,195 from Hamilton’s website.
Rolex GMT-Master II “PepSi” Watch
No Wrist Enthusiast list is complete without a Rolex on it. Collectors have been referring to the GMT-Master II Ref. 126710BLRO and its predecessors as the Pepsi (an American giant) for years. The watch features the colors of the Pepsi logo on the bezel (red and blue), but the watch also includes white numbers and indices. That gave me enough reason to add this modern classic watch to the list. The Rolex GMT-Master II “Pepsi” retails for $10,750 USD on jubilee bracelet but currently sells for around $25,000 USD on the grey market.
Jacob & Co Epic X Racing
This piece might be the biggest stretch of all on the list but it’s a cool piece with red and blue accents. Jacob & Co. released the Epic X racing model in 2013 and offered a bunch of interesting color combinations. One such combination was the titanium case with blue and red accents. You can check out our review of the Jacob & Co. Epic X for more information.
IWC Pilot’s Watch Mark XVIII Top Gun “SFTI”
In addition to Breitling, IWC is another Swiss watch brand with quite the flying heritage. While the IWC Mark CVIII Top Gun does not have as much of the red, white and blue accents of the others on this list, this watch is as American in spirit as all the others. The watch features the “Top Gun” logo on the dial, along with nods to the United States Navy on the dial and caseback. You can pick up an IWC Mark XVIII Top Gun for $5,550 USD on IWC’s website.
Farer Universal CHarlton GMT Bezel Dual Time
It is pretty bold of us to include a British watch brand on our list, but here we are. The Farer Universal Charlton GMT Bezel is just a sleek, beautiful watch that showcases a lot of red, white and blue. Farer is a lesser known brand, but makes some incredibly nice, and reasonably priced Swiss Made timepieces. You can pick up the Charlton Bezel Dual Time for $1,475 on Farer’s website.
Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean America’s Cup Limited Edition Watch
Omega did a great job with their limited edition Seamaster Planet Ocean America’s Cup. Not only does the watch include a white dial, but all of the detailing, from the bezel to the indices and numbers at 3, 6 and 9 are in either red, white or blue. This watch gives off a ton of America vibes. You can pick this limited edition piece up on the secondary market for around $8,500 USD.
Omega x Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch “Mission to Mars” Watch
I have been enjoying my Omega X Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch a lot since receiving it last week. I opted for the Mission to Mars with the whiter dial, white bezel and red case and accents (it reminds me a lot of the Omega Speedmaster Alaska Project). In order to celebrate the 4th of July with this piece, I replaced the white velcro strap it comes with with a blue rubber strap from Perpetual Straps. At $39.99, these straps are good quality and fit the watch perfectly (they also fit an Omega Speedmaster). There are other brands that offer similar in the $200 pricepoint, but I didn’t feel the need to spend almost as much on a watch strap as I did on the watch.
Be sure to check out our Best American Watch Guide here!