Tim Mosso's "Watches Tonight" hits the deck running with a broad sweep of the best luxury watches from the Swiss "Holy Trinity." It's Patek Philippe Nautilus versus Audemars Piguet Royal Oak versus Vacheron Constantin Overseas in a battle to select the best watch among the ultimate three luxury watch brands. All of that, and Tim is sharing his favorite viewer-submitted watch wrist shots on YouTube's ultimate live watch collector forum.

Two weeks ago, Tim explored the "most interesting" and "best overall" watches from the Swiss "big three" of Rolex, Omega, and Breitling. This week, we're doing the same for AP, Patek, and Vacheron - an haute horlogerie trio often described as the "Holy Trinity" of luxury watchmaking.

Patek Philipe is the first brand on our radar. The most interesting watch from the house of Stern undoubtedly is the 5235R-001 Regulator - Annual Calendar. Apart from the practical complication and the idiosyncratic regulator dial, it's the style and the engineering that sets the Patek 5235 apart from its stablemates. The 40.5mm rose gold case perfectly captures both the style and the spirit of the vintage Patek Philippe 3448 of the 1960s and 1970s. The elegant brushed satin dial is a greyscale feast for the eyes from its engraved Patek Philippe logo to its elegantly arrayed displays. But under the dial, Patek's caliber 31-260 REG saves the best for last with gorgeous watchmaking; bespoke bridges, a silicon escapement and hairspring, a micro-rotor automatic winding system, and world-class finish complete Patek Philippe's most interesting watch.

Patek Philippe's best overall watch is the Nautilus Travel Time Chronograph, the Patek Philippe 5990/1A-001. Launched in 2014, this stainless steel sports watch maintains the grace of Gerald Genta's 1976 original through a perfectly balanced and admirably thin 40.5mm case. A flyback chronograph, automatic winding, a dual time display, and a contemporary manufacture chronograph caliber complete the suite of virtues on the Nautilus 5990. Add abundant dial lume and 120-meter water resistance, and the royal flush is complete.

Audemars Piguet's sensational Code 1159 Perpetual Calendar is AP's most interesting watch. Its 41mm red gold case is sculpted, handsomely detailed, surprisingly thin, and effectively references the Royal Oak without basking in reflected glory. Unlike the standard 2019 Code 1159 Chronograph and Self-Winding models, the Code 11:59 Perpetual Calendar looks its price thanks to a hand-finished caliber 5134 and a scintillating aventurine glass dial. Add a photorealistic moonphase display and boutique-only exclusivity, and you have one of the most intriguing high horology watch options available at any price.

However, Audemars Piguet's best watch remains a Royal Oak: the Royal Oak Chronograph 38mm, the reference 26315. Launched in 2019, this right-sized sports watch is AP's admission that the 41mm chronograph goes too far -- and that watch collectors prefer the old 39mm Royal Oak Chrono. Nicely sized and more robust than the Royal Oak Jumbo, the 38mm chronograph is a star of the future.

Vacheron Constantin often is regarded as the "holy trinity" member most likely to be supplanted by Germany's A. Lange & Sohne, but this is unfair. At best, Vacheron might share space with the German upstart, and tonight's selections prove that the oldest continuously operating Swiss watchmaker still packs a punch.

The Vacheron Constantin Harmony Split Seconds Chronograph Ultra Thin is a 42mm platinum statement of the watch brand's capabilities. A cushion-case watch designed to evoke the first quarter of the 20th century, the Harmony Split houses a fearsomely complex caliber 3500 underneath a dial that shares design language with the Vacheron 1921 American. That caliber 3500/260 is a peripheral-rotor automatic bearing the Geneva hallmark, freehand engraving, and a blinding array of finely finished brass bridges and steel chronograph components.

But the Vacheron Constantin Overseas Self-Winding remains Vacheron's best overall watch. At 41mm and 11mm thick, the perfectly proportioned sports watch is at its best in stainless steel with a black, blue, or (discontinued) brown dial. The bracelet is world-class, and each steel Overseas automatic includes both a leather and a rubber accessory strap. A manufacture caliber 5100 automatic movement, antimagnetic shield, 150-meter water resistance, and world-class exterior finish place the Vacheron Overseas on a pedestal above both Vacheron's other watches as well as the Overseas' rivals from Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet.