7 sports watches for a summer by the sea Omega celebrates the Seamasters 75th, while Tag Heue
Read on for our list of favourite new releases for the summer.
1. Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 70th anniversary Series 1
No summer watch list can start nor end without Blancpain, who are celebrating the 70th anniversary of what some consider the first modern dive watch. The Fifty Fathoms, released in 1953, was one of the first pieces to introduce modern dive watch features such as the purpose-built bezel, and was worn by famous diver Jacques Cousteau in the underwater film Le Monde Du Silence. The film took home the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1956.
Half of all counterfeit watches are ‘Rolex’– and spotting a fake is getting harder
Blancpain will release other versions – it already launched the Act 2 Tech Gombessa earlier in the year – but our favourite is the Series 1 at 42.3mm. The signature vintage dive bezel and off-white indicators blatantly evoke the watch’s celebrated heritage. The Nato strap is made using recycled fishing nets and comes with 300m of water resistance, making it a suitably robust gem to collect.
6 celebrity kids with extravagant luxury watches, from Rolex to Richard Mille
2. Omega Seamaster Ploprof 75h Anniversary
This year, Omega went all out to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Seamaster, releasing “summer blue” renditions of all pieces in the collection. The traditional Seamaster in the colour is stunning and the Aqua Terra Worldtimer in titanium is a light and durable pick for all occasions. But we truly love the robust silhouette and construction of the Seamaster Ploprof 75th Anniversary Edition.
It boasts a hardness that is almost 1.5 times the hardness of traditional steel and a whopping 1,200 metres of water resistance, making this watch a reliable partner for almost any summer activity involving water. To prove the point, this edition of the Ploprof followed divers on the Janus II expedition, where it spent four days diving with them at 255 metres for four hours a day.
3. Tudor Pelagos FXD Chrono
Tudor’s biggest release this year was new editions of all of its storied collections – Black Bay, Pelagos, Royal – to celebrate the launch of its new manufacture in La Locle. We are more enamoured though with the brand’s recent partnership with Alinghi Red Bull Racing in the form of the Pelagos FXD, which comes in pure three-hand and chronograph editions.
While the Black Bay dive watches get most of the attention, the Pelagos FXD models are built in carbon composite with a titanium timing bezel. The light but durable construction, with 200 metres of water resistance, makes it the perfect partner for a day’s sailing in the summer sun – or even just lounging close to the sea while suggesting your familiarity with its challenges and depths! If you do intend its active use, the bicompax chronograph measures time in 15 minute increments up to 45 minutes, making it ideal for a day’s racing.
4. Tag Heuer Carrera Skipper
Approaching yacht racing from a less expected direction – from the land, no less – Tag Heuer has followed up on its seminal 60th anniversary release of the Carrera glassbox design racing watch with a smaller, sailing-oriented version in the Skipper. This bicompax Carrera chronograph is a re-edition of the 1968 reference 7754, affectionately dubbed the “Skipperrera”.
Watches and Wonders returns to Shanghai for its third edition in September
Both versions feature subdials painted to commemorate the Intrepid, a yacht that won the 1967 America’s Cup race, a year before the original Skipper went into production. So, whether your summer pastimes include a day on the track or soaking up the sun on a racing yacht, the Skipper might just be your weapon of choice.
5. Mido Ocean Star Decompression Worldtimer
If your travel plans involve finding those vaunted greener pastures or bluer waters, you might look to the Mido Ocean Star Decompression Worldtimer. This dual-purpose worldtime and dive watch helps you keep track across the time zones as you make for your dream destination.
The absurdly wearable 40.5mm case with screw-down crown protects a dial with four concentric coloured decompression scales to time your safe ascent from a dive to avoid decompression sickness. The watch’s 200 metres of water resistance can more than handle any recreational diving you have planned, but it will also look good gracing your wrist while you snorkel, sail or simply – as befits its name – decompress.
Half of all counterfeit watches are ‘Rolex’– and spotting a fake is getting harder
6. Lorier Hydra Series III
What if you’ve travelled and sailed plenty, and seen every dive or sailing watch under the sun? What if you’re looking for a piece that punches above its price point, with a good-looking quality build that you’ll be totally at ease putting in harm’s way?
American microbrand Lorier have had success launching a range of modern function watches in limited runs (such as the diver Neptune, GMT Hyperion, everyday Falcon and dressy Zephyr) and its recently released Hydra Series III combines diving and GMT functionality with marine-grade steel construction and a Miyota 9-series movement that makes this an incredible travel pick at just US$599.
7. Tissot Sideral
Shop and cruise? Inside Rolex’s first boutique at sea with Explora Journeys
For those looking for a whimsical but functional and durable summer watch, the Tissot Sideral comes in yellow, red and grey and blue colourways. A throwback to its equally fun predecessor released in 1969, this supremely lightweight design has been updated with a forged carbon construction and 200 metres of water resistance, and comes in a cushion-esque case in equally vibrant colours. All-in-all, the ideal companion for a day out on, in or under the waves.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tK%2FMqWWcp51kuqKzwLOgp52jZMC1xcueZqWtqKq%2FunvAq6uim5yafHR%2BkXFrbW5fbHq0vM6rq6xlp5bBpLTErGSsrZ2isrN50p6YZqedmrSiecKeo56aopbBpr%2BMrJyapZGowaa%2B0mZubqyYYsSptcueZK2Zl2K1psHEq2StrZSkv26tzZ1km6SRo7Cxrcin