The end of every year is a fun time to see what brands are the best, worst, who got married, divorced, had a baby and more. So, it goes that there are polls for best luxury watch brand and on one conducted by Luxist.com, IWC came in on the top. IWC beat out other brands like Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Jaeger Le-Coultre and Patek Philippe.

IWC (International Watch Company) may not be the most trendy or popular watch line, but it is one of the most revered. Made just for men, IWC was founded by an American ex-pat in 1868 in Switzerland.  IWC watches are understated yet made with excellent craftsmanship and this combination has won them many admirers among those that can afford to own one.

IWC seeks to make watches for those that “attach value to mechanics and the highest quality.” They are sporty watches but not sporty looking; they are elegant and extremely well-made. Collection names like the Big Pilot, Ingenieur, Pilots Chronograph and the Portuguese are highly acclaimed.

The Pilot, along with the Aquatimer are diving themed watches, while the other collections tend to relate more to classic “thinking person” timepieces.

The Vintage collection offers watches with a classic cockpit look, and the Specialties collection includes the Grande Complications model, with 21 functions and displays, including a perpetual calendar for the next 500 years.

IWC does not mass produce its watches which makes them retain a sense of understated class; something that these days is not always that highly prized. Fans of IWC watches are fans because they love the way the watch is made and how it looks, not because they want to turn heads with it.