This is an edition of the newsletter Box + Papers, Cam Wolf’s weekly deep dive into the world of watches. It’s currently being manned by Jeremy Freed, watch writer extraordinaire, while Cam is on parental leave. Sign up here.

The world of watches is a big place, and here at B+P, we’re dedicated to celebrating as much of it as possible. That said, most of the conversations we have about watches tend to focus on a fairly limited number of brands and models, give or take the odd conceptual art piece or celebrity-endorsed microbrand. Fair enough—for myriad reasons, some watches are inherently more interesting than others. But for someone setting out to buy a new timepiece, the watches that tend to dominate the conversations among collectors aren’t always attainable—both in terms of pricing and retail availability. That’s why I’m devoting this week’s edition of Box + Papers to some of the watches that I feel don’t get as many kudos as they deserve.

To do this, I first had to establish a few parameters. Firstly, no vintage. There are so many underrated vintage watches out there that including even a fraction of them would make this list longer than anyone would want to read. Secondly, the watches in question need to be purchasable without too much hassle (our reasoning being that if a watch is hard to buy, it’s probably not overrated).

Now, some disclaimers. For one thing, this ranking is entirely subjective and unscientific. For another, “value” wasn’t our first consideration in deciding whether a watch deserves a spot on this list. A watch, after all, is an irrational purchase, and its value is relative to what you’re willing to pay for it. Despite this, I did endeavor to cover a range of price points, with an emphasis on the more affordable end of the market. So let’s get into it.

Longines Ultra-Chron Classic ($4,000)

Longines is one of the world’s most popular mid-tier watchmakers, so the brand itself is by no means underrated. They have so many interesting watches in their catalog, however, that some real gems tend to fall through the cracks, the Ultra-Chron Classic among them. Released last year, the Ultra-Chron Classic serves as an update to the brand’s first high-frequency model from 1967. It has some beautifully understated vintage looks, a choice between 37mm and 40mm cases, and—for those who appreciate the technical side of things—a high-beat movement operating at 36,000 vibrations per hour.

Raymond Weil Millesime ($2,025)

Courtesy of Raymond Weil