LuxuryWatchesGet Royal family style for less with these affordable watch alternativesWatch experts reveal the best watch alternatives to the royal family’s favouritesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
LuxuryWatchesGet Royal family style for less with these affordable watch alternativesWatch experts reveal the best watch alternatives to the royal family’s favouritesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Watch experts reveal the best watch alternatives to the royal family’s favourites
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Getty)
(Image credit: Getty)
The British royal family has an extensive collection of dazzling watches and jewellery, from Princess Diana’s iconic sapphire engagement ring to Prince William’s always-wornOmegaSeamaster.
As detailed in our ‘what watches do the royals wear?’ guide, the royals, including King Charles, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex love to wear a variety of watch designers while out and about on royal duties. Many of thebest watchbrands feature heavily in the royals’ collections, specifically big names like Omega, Cartier, Patek Philippe, Rolex and Breitling.
But unfortunately for many of us (myself included), the royal family’s watches of choice are out of our price range. While I’d love to treat myself to a Cartier Tank timepiece, I may have to settle for a more affordable watch that looks similar in style to the royals’ favourites but is a little kinder on my bank balance.
To find out more, I spoke to experts atWatchPilotwho revealed the royal family’s favourite watches and the affordable alternatives they’d recommend for people wanting to recreate the royal style and aesthetic.
King Charles
(Image credit: WatchPilot)
(Image credit: WatchPilot)
An affordable alternative to the rare Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Chronograph is thePolice Black Silfrawatch. The latter has similar black and gold detailing, date, hour and seconds chronographs on the face, and costs far less than the Parmigiani at £104.30.
Queen Camilla
(Image credit: WatchPilot)
(Image credit: WatchPilot)
Compared to her husband, Queen Camilla is more toned down when it comes to choosing watches. She’s been known to wear aFitbitand enjoys Panthere and Cartier timepieces. WatchPilot experts say that the Cartier Tank Française in Midsize Yellow Gold with a black strap is Queen Camilla’s favourite. One of the many Cartier appearances on this list, this watch is eye-catching yet understated and retails for £4,704.
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WatchPilot recommends theSekonda Ladies Black Watchas an alternative. Significantly cheaper than the Cartier, this ladies watch doesn’t feature yellow gold but instead is all about the contrast of the black croco grain leather strap and square silver case with a black sunray dial and Roman numerals.
William, Prince of Wales
(Image credit: WatchPilot)
(Image credit: WatchPilot)
Another laidback watch fan, Prince William tends to favour two watches, and is often seenwearing both watchesat the same time on each wrist. His watches of choice are the Omega Seamaster Professional 300M and theGarmin Forerunner 245, mixing both style and practicality.
His favourite watch, theGarminForerunner 245 features highly in ourbest running watchguide, and offers wearers many health and fitness tracking features for just £209. For those who’d prefer something cheaper, an affordable alternative is theLimit Black Sport Digital Watch, which goes back to basics and is water resistant to 100m.
Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales
(Image credit: WatchPilot)
(Image credit: WatchPilot)
Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton is a big fan of Cartier watches, and she’s often seen wearing the Cartier Ballon Bleu. Its simple yet striking design is cased in a steel fluted crown set with a cabochon-shaped spinel. The silvered guilloche dial features Roman numerals and blue hands, and has a mechanical movement with automatic winding.
If you don’t have £5,900 to spend on this Cartier watch, theRotary Windsor Silver Watchhas a number of similarities and only costs £113. The Windsor watch from Rotary is made from stainless steel and sapphire glass, has a 7-link tapered stainless steel bracelet and a white guilloche dial.
Harry, Duke of Sussex
(Image credit: WatchPilot)
(Image credit: WatchPilot)
The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry is a fan of limited edition watches, including a Rolex Explorer II and the Breitling Aerospace Avantage. Both those watches were presented to him for his service as an Apache co-pilot and gunner in the Army.
Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex
(Image credit: WatchPilot)
(Image credit: WatchPilot)
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