The Watchlist: over £3000

Breitling's back catalogue of seminal watch designs includes the Chronomat, which was first released in 1984. The 30th anniversary piece is the Chronomat Airborne chronograph, powered by Breitling's in-house Calibre 01 movement.

£6,000; breitling.com

The iconic Offshore has been subtly restyled this year. Still 42mm, it now has ceramic push buttons and sapphire case backs. This royal-blue version has an automatic chronograph movement.

£18,700; audemarspiguet.com

Purists go nuts for Grand Seiko, the high-end division of Japanese high-street favourite Seiko. This watch has a high-frequency dual-time movement that's accurate to +5/-3 seconds a day.

£6,500; seikowatches.com

Retro chronographs don't come much cooler than Omega's Speedmaster MkII. The 1969 original was designed for NASA astronauts; the 2014 update has a 42.4mm steel case and an automatic chronometer-certified chronograph movement.

£3,950; omegawatches.com

Bremont's latest watch tested on Martin-Baker ejector seats (see p49) is the first to carry a secondary time zone. Its stainless-steel case is hardened to 2,000 Vickers, and its auto movement is surrounded by an anti-shock movement mount.

£3,995; bremont.com

The original 1967 Sea-Dweller was the first watch with a helium escape valve and became the professional diver's go-to tool watch. The 40mm steel revamp is pumped full of Rolex's class-leading technology, and is water-resistant to 4,000ft.

£6,900; rolex.com