Audemars Piguet
The Royal Treatment
Princely State
The Prince of Wales is rarely seen without a watch. Currently, he favours a yellow-gold Parmigiani Toric Chronograph but, in earlier years, he was often spotted wearing a bi-metal Cartier Santos, a yellow-gold Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso and a Hamilton RAF Pilot’s Chronograph.
Prince Charles continues to wear his old military-issued watch to this day. It seems he now uses the Hamilton as a “beater” and is regularly photographed wearing it with combat dress while preforming forces-related duties – as well as when skiing. One of the watch’s earlier off-duty outings was captured in 1981 by photographer Tim Graham when Charles was visiting New Zealand’s Lake Manapouri. The Royal managed to beat the prevailing style choices of today’s millennial hipsters by a good few decades when he paired a navy double-breasted blazer and tie with the utilitarian Hamilton Chronograph on G10 strap.
Harry’s Styles
Charles’s youngest son, and the current fifth-in-line to the throne, Prince Harry, has also worn his military issue watch both in and out of uniform. After completing officer training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2006, Harry was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Household Cavalry, going on to reach the rank of Captain and complete two tours of duty in Afghanistan – making him the first Royal to serve in an active war zone since his uncle, Prince Andrew, in the Falklands War.
Initially seen wearing a Casio G-Shock, by the time of his first tour of duty (2007) Harry had switched to the standard MoD-issued Pulsar G10. Wearing it both on the frontline in Afghanistan and to a society wedding in Windsor.
Just William
Unlike his father and brother, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge has stuck to one watch throughout his adult years – an Omega Seamaster Quartz 300M, said to be a gift from his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
A favourite of the House of Windsor, Cartier was granted its first Royal Warrant in 1904 by King Edward VII. Loved by generations of the family, Princess Diana was a keen patron, owning not only the Tank mentioned above, but also a Tank Française and a Panthère de Cartier. Photographic evidence also shows Diana wearing a unique platinum Vacheron Constantin Lady Kalla cocktail watch. Set with 134 emerald-cut diamonds, the piece was originally presented to the Queen by the Swiss Federal Republic on occasion of her wedding in 1947. The Queen gifted the watch to Diana in celebration of her engagement to Prince Charles in 1981.
Duke it Out
The Queen’s first cousin Prince Michael of Kent, is another noteworthy royal watch lover. Educated at Eton, the Prince then embarked on a 20-year career in the Army that took him to Hong Kong, Germany and Cyprus, retiring as a Major in 1981. Alongside his royal duties, Prince Michael went on to start and run a private consultancy business as well as supporting many charities and non-profit organisations including Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and the Russian Poets Fund.
The Prince’s tasteful and well-informed watch collection includes, a bi-metal Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, a Bulgari-Bulgari, a “Pepsi” bezel Rolex GMT-Master, a Rolex 50th Anniversary LV Submariner and a Cartier Tank Americaine. However, Prince Michael is most commonly seen wearing his Royal Oak and even wore it in a picture that featured on the cover of Revolution’s sister magazine The Rake.
Crown Estates
Zara Tindall, like her cousin Prince William, has stuck with one watch brand throughout her adult life: Rolex. A professional equestrian, highlights of Tindall’s career include representing her country at 2012’s Olympic Games and being voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2006. As a part of her sporting activities, Tindall holds the coveted position of Rolex Testimonee, alongside the likes of Sir Jackie Stewart and Roger Federer, and has been formally partnered with the Swiss company for 12 years now.
From Princess Beatrice’s Rolex Air King to Prince Edward’s Graff GraffStar Grand Date and Lord Louis Mountbatten’s Rolex Bubbleback, the British Royal Family is a dynasty with impeccable horological credentials – and one that we will no doubt visit again in the pages of Revolution.