Great watch wearers: Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II is perhaps better known for her collection of corgis than for her horology; but under those famous sugared almond-hued cuffs, she’s worn some serious wristwear.

The Queen had at least 14 luxury wristwatches – most were never seen and remain a mystery, but it’s rumoured there was a Cartier, a Patek Philippe and a Jaeger–LeCoultre Reverso in her collection.

One could suppose that the longest-reigning British monarch, with 70 years on the throne (she overtook Queen Victoria’s 63 years and seven months in September 2015), had a knack for endurance – and so, it seems, did her watch wearing. The Queen preferred daily wear of a beloved timepiece year after year, rather than following the fickle whims of fashion.

On Coronation Day, June 2nd, 1953, the young Elizabeth wore an elegant Jaeger-LeCoultre 101, its tiniest-in-the-world movement further ‘hidden’ by suitably magisterial twin rows of diamonds.

In pictures of the time, and indeed of the following decade, the Queen is often seen wearing a silver-toned bracelet on her right wrist – a custom 101 in white gold, made for daily wear. (Unless double rows of diamonds are what a queen calls ‘discreet’.) To mark 2012, the golden jubilee year, Jaeger Le-Coultre gifted the Queen a new version of the 101.

Through the 1980s, Elizabeth II switched her style up a notch, turning to Patek Philippe for a distinctive new look. Portraits from the time show a monarch in middle age, posing formally in full ceremonial garb – plus a Patek Philippe Ellipse.

The Queen once referred to 1992 as an “annus horribilis” and maybe it was – but not for her watch collection, which got updated with the addition of a ’90s art deco-inspired Omega Ladymatic – bigger on the wrist than her previous favourites, in the portraiture of the time.

Later in the Queen’s life, the new millennium brought a new daily wearer, a Jules Audemars, from Audemars Piguet. It’s white–dialled, with roman numerals and a gold bracelet.

More recently, she wore a Patek Philippe Ref. 4975 for the opening of a new parliamentary session. A jaw-dropping jewel, the Ref. 4975’s diamond-studded tonneau case hangs in strings of pearls. It’s the ultimate royal bling, befitting the ceremonial garb of the occasion. The Queen loaned this to Patek Philippe for their Watch Art Grand Exhibition, a touring recreation of their historic HQ and workshop in Geneva.

As enduring as some of the Queen’s daily wearers is her relationship to Jaeger-LeCoultre, the Swiss watchmaker behind that first public watch,the 101. For the Queen’s 60th year, they produced a limited edition of three Atmos du Millénaire clocks. Displaying hours, months and perpetual moonphase, these “celestial-bestriding mechanisms” are all set to count the years until 3,000. And that’s rather a long time, even for this long–reigning Queen.