Team Watchonista’s Favorite Watches Of 2020

With over 500 articles and thousands of social media postings dedicated to covering the world of luxury watches and watchmaking, Watchonista's team has been hard at work, bringing you the best of the watch industry. Now, as the year comes to an end, we asked a few of our team members to select the watches they loved in 2020.

The ‘cool factor’ can’t be bought. It takes years of dedication and innovation. And while people talk about the lasting influence of Steve McQueen and Paul Newman on the watches they owned, designing a timeless watch is not a daily occurrence. For a watch lover, the DOXA SUB 300 Aqua Lung US Divers has so much to offer in the coolness department. First of all, its look with the iconic DOXA shape from the original 1967 SUB 300. Plus, with a case, bezel, and dial made of strong and textured forged carbon. The yellow and white printed numerals and indices in Super-Luminova make this a fully functional and easily readable watch, just as a good tool watch should be.
 

The well-integrated rubber strap is extremely comfortable, including the clasp, which allows for an effortless and precise size setting. The second point is Aqualung’s magical partnership with Jacques Yves Cousteau that made the DOXA SUB 300 known worldwide.

Available in a limited edition of 300 pieces with only a few remaining in DOXA e-shop. For CHF 4,795, there is no doubt this watch belongs alongside other iconic ‘cool’ watches.
 

This watch popped up in my inbox just last week and made my heart skip a beat. I have been following Omega's partnership with Orbis for several years now, and if you are not familiar with Orbis, it is a flying eye hospital. The organization refurbished a cargo plane and kitted it out with a state-of-the-art teaching facility, operating room, classroom, and recovery room. Orbis flies teams of elite eye care specialists to developing countries to treat patients and share skills and techniques with local medical teams.
 

Thanks to partners like Omega, Orbis has been able to carry out over three million eye screenings and 78,000 eye surgeries and laser treatments since it began. Each child that visits the flying eye hospital gets a teddy bear, a picture of which replaces the number eight in the date aperture of this gorgeous 40mm Trésor timepiece in 18K white gold. Proceeds from the sale of these timepieces go to Orbis, making me love it even more.