The demand for sports watches is booming. Whatever the discipline, whatever your preference, more than likely a watch has been specifically designed for it. But all these complicated timepieces that indicate speeds, lap and countdown times, one’s global position, how much longer you can stay underwater with your aqualung or how far it is to the nearest tobacconist, are not used uniquely by the specialists. Today, consumers from seventeen to seventy are looking for something different, something eye-catching and something that at least has a complicated appearance. In short, a watch that sits comfortably on a wrist, feels good, looks good and is perhaps a conversation piece.



Easy Diver by Roger Dubuis from the SAW Collection


Timing eggs and Ferraris
The most obvious watch in the sports category, and by far the most popular, is the chronograph. Depending on the model and whether it is quartz or mechanical, it offers the wearer the possibility of timing anything from a 1000th of a second (if it has a quartz movement) to 24 hours, or to put it more unpretentiously, from a boiled egg to a Ferrari’s lap time. Stainless steel continues to be the metal of predilection and looks like maintaining its popularity. It is robust, earthy and not in the least bit ostentatious. However, not too far behind, if the number of models is anything to go by, for those looking for added value, chronographs in yellow or rose gold or bi-colour are also fashionable. For the person who wants ‘precious’ and wishes it to be his or her little secret, there are watches with that steely look from a few brands offering platinum or white gold chronographs – they’re not cheap, but they come at a price that won’t leave you thinking you are now the part owner of the brand.
In the chronograph category, the ‘in thing’ at the moment is diamonds - a diamond-set bezel, or even a pavé dial . The moment diamonds are added to steel however, as is the current trend, the watch takes on an ennobled appearance and, despite the various useful functions that it performs – many are almost unreadable because of the sparkle of the stones. The watch also leaps from one category to another, from the active sports segment into the luxury division. Personally, I find that this somehow negates the original concept of having a chronograph since the chances are that the wearer is far too conscious of the value of the timepiece to go deep-sea diving or abseil down a vertical cliff wearing it. But in the end, it really doesn’t matter too much since they certainly look great on the wrist – and that is basically the aim of the manufacturer.

Flying
This year air, water and tarmac were the dominating elements, which breaks down into a selection of watches for flying, sailing and motoring.
For pilots and flying enthusiasts, Breitling ‘revisited’ its classic Chronomat Evolution. Launched twenty years ago as the renaissance of the mechanical chronograph, the watch is equipped with a self-winding Calibre 13 movement (COSC chronometer) with a 1/4 of a second chronograph. 30-minute and 12-hour totalizers and a calendar. It has screw-down pushpieces and crown, a cambered, glareproof sapphire crystal, a unidirectional ratcheted rotating bezel and the watch is water-resistant to 300 metres.
Airman 9, Gylcine’s latest offering, is a 44 mm watch that combines a chronograph and three time zones – two on the dial with the third on the rotating bezel. Each Airman 9 is numbered, is equipped with an ETA 7754 automatic movement, has a star engined aircraft engraved on the oscillating weight and is water-resistant to 200 metres.
Limes brought out a new version of its Principio Flieger model. In stainless steel, it is equipped with either an ETA 2824 or a Valjoux 7750 automatic movement that is decorated and adjusted to five positions. It has sapphire crystals front and back, a screw-down caseback, a double O-ring crown, a black or silver dial with luminescent hands, screwed lug pins and is water-resistant to 100 metres.
Sinn, a company that specializes in complex watches had a Pilot’s Chronograph 856 Black. Equipped with an ETA 2893-2 automatic mechanical movement, it has a magnetic field protection and second time zone and date. The case is in stainless steel with a hard black coating. There are hours, minutes, seconds and stop seconds functions and a central 24-hour second time zone. The chronograph has an anti-reflective sapphire crystal, a screw-down crown with double O-ring gasket, screw-down caseback and is water-resistant to 200 metres.
Last, but not least in the flying division, comes Certina’s DS Pilot. This stylish stainless steel watch has an ETA quartz chronograph movement with add and split functions, a 30-minute timer at 9 o’clock and a central 60-second hand. There is a date aperture at 3 o’clock and a crown pushbutton at 2 o’clock with a function pushbutton at 4 o’clock. Water-resistant to 100 metres, this elegant chronograph will win many friends.




Chronomat Evolution by Breitling and DS Pilot by Certina


Airman 9 by Glycine and Pilot’s Chronograph 856 Black by Sinn


Watches for water
Playing around in water remains a favourite pastime with watchmakers. In addition to TNG the specialist par excellence (see Tack and Gybe with TNG watches in this issue) Corum has returned to one of its favourite themes with an Admiral’s Cup Trophy 41. This twelve-sided stainless steel watch has an ETA 2892.A2 automatic movement giving hours, minutes, seconds and date. There is a blue or silver guilloché dial with nautical pennants as hour indicators, a domed sapphire crystal and the watch is water-resistant to 100 metres.
The Mariner Barrel by Atlantic is a handsome stainless steel watch that is offered with either an ETA 955 quartz movement or an ETA 2824-2 automatic movement. Water-resistant to 100 metres (quartz) and 50 metres (automatic), the Mariner has a screw-in crown with a double O-ring protection and a sapphire crystal caseback on the automatic version. Atlantic also has an attractive barrel-shaped Marine Ladies model in stainless steel with a diamond-set bezel and a diamond-set letter A were the bracelet meets the watch. It has a quartz movement, various coloured dials including mother-of-pearl and is water-resistant to 30 metres.
Laco brought out not one but six different marine watches, one of which was the Marine Watch Special in stainless steel with an ETA 9040/2892-A2 automatic movement with Côtes de Genève decoration and power reserve. The dial is completely luminous, there is a sapphire crystal and a mineral glass caseback, a unidirectional bezel and the watch is water-resistant to 20 metres.
Another fine chronograph from a prestigious brand is the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Chronograph. Powered by a Calibre 3301 self-winding chronograph movement (certified COSC chronometer) it has a column-wheel mechanism. This stainless steel watch has the classic chronograph look with small seconds, 30-minute and 12-hour counters and date at 6 o’clock. But it captures one’s attention with an opaline silver dial, blue facetted triangular hour markers and Dauphine hands. Omega has also introduced a Seamaster Aqua Terra Ladies’ Auto-matic model in 18 carat yellow gold and a diamond-set bezel. Water-resistant to 150 metres, with a white mother-of-pearl dial and diamond indices, the timepiece won’t look out of place on Anna Kournikova or Cindy Crawford at a gala dinner, but on a boat, despite its robustness, it could be slightly over the top.
A brand new signature in sports watches is SAW. The Sports Activity Watch (SAW) was introduced at the SIHH by Roger Dubuis and initially has three lines – EasyDiver, AcquaMare and SeaMore.(See ill. p.23) Each are specially designed to withstand pressure (water-resistance 300 metres) and are a new concept in the Roger Dubuis stable. The EasyDiver model (46 and 48 mm) is available in stainless steel, gold and stainless steel with gold. The watch has hours, minutes, seconds and chronograph functions and uses either an automatic or mechanical movement depending on the model. The steel version is in a Limited Edition of 888 pieces and the gold versions in either 28 pieces or 280 pieces. For the really ambitious, there is also a tourbillon version. This new concept from Roger Dubuis is a welcome addition to the brand’s more luxurious collections, nevertheless, it is a superb timepiece that is as elegant as it is sporty.
To conclude with the water watch section, it is important to mention the new ISA 8270 Yachting Movement. Combining design and technology, this movement is a racing timer that displays countdown time during regattas with audible signals, followed by cumulated time during races. This analogue quartz movement displays the hours, minutes, seconds (small jumping seconds counter at 2 o’clock) and a date window at 6 o’clock. The movement provides the traditional countdown at 10, 6 and 5 minutes, but also can be set to countdowns at any minute from 10 to 1 and can be re-calibrated at every minute up to the last minute. Audible signals are emitted every 60 seconds and every second over the last 10 seconds. Immediately after the start, the countdown automatically shifts to the racing timer mode to measure the race for a maximum of 96 hours. The alarm start/stop pusher is at 8 o’clock.



Marine Watch Special by Laco and Seamaster Aqua Terra Chronograph by Omega


Mariner Barrel by Atlantic and Admiral’s Cup Trophy by Corum


ISA 8270 Yachting Movement, GT 325 by Formex and Automatic Chronograph Large Date by Jaguar


Vroom vroom
At BaselWorld, at least 8 brands that I know about were attracting attention because of their association with automobiles – either Formula 1 or luxury cars.
The Audi Square Chronograph is the first watch to be produced from the collaboration between Audi and Sinn. This high quality stainless steel chronograph has a Valjoux 7750 movement and uses the patented Tegiment technology that makes the housing more resistant to scratches. There is also a special strap adjustment feature that permits the strap to be lengthened up to 30.8 mm each side of the watch.
Breitling introduced two new models in their Breitling for Bentley series, the 6.75 and the GT. Both are available in stainless steel or all the different coloured golds and have rotating pinion bezels with variable tachometers (circular slide rules), cambered sapphire crystals and are water-resistant to 100 metres. The 6.75 (48.70 mm) has a Calibre 44B self-winding movement with 1/4 of a second chronograph and 30-minute and 12-hour counters. The GT (44.80 mm) has the same chronograph features but is equipped with a Calibre 13B self-winding movement. Both models are COSC certified.
For the retro-aficionados, Tissot has re-introduced a revamped edition of its classic PRS516 model. The quartz chronograph version has a three-hand day/date version and a tonneau case in stainless steel with 30-minute and 1/10th of a second counters, small seconds at 6 o’clock, add and split functions and is fitted with an ETA movement. The automatic model offers hours and minutes with a central seconds hand and is equipped with an ETA automatic movement with a power reserve of 42 hours. Both models have the classical bracelet or strap with the punched holes.
Known for their dynamic sports watches, Formex introduced its GT 325 models. The watches in stainless steel (41.5 mm) have the patented suspension system and the bracelets in titanium have individual links that can be adjusted using an Allen key (a leather strap and a silicon strap are also supplied). The mechanical version uses the new ETA 2094 Calibre and the quartz version is equipped with an ETA quartz movement. There are va-rious coloured dials and the watches, which are in Limited Editions, are water-resistant to 200 metres.
Jaguar, which was acquired by the Festina Lotus Group in 1989, brought out a couple of sturdy and smart chronographs, the Automatic Chronograph and the Automatic Chrono-graph Large Date. Both in stainless steel with steel bracelets, the Automatic Chronograph is equipped with an ETA 7750 movement and the Large Date version with the excellent Dubois Dépraz 4500 automatic.
The sports car watches making the most noise however, were TAG Heuer’s SLR Chrono-graph which is offered as a numbered option to the numbered Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, car = 375,000 euros, watch = 10,000 euros (see Cover Story in this issue), and the Porsche Design Indicator which will retail at around 100,000 Swiss francs. Considered by the manufacturer (Eterna) to be the ‘ultimate chronograph with combined mechanical-digital chronometer display’, a claim that is justified by the more than three years of development and the dozen or so engineers that participated in its creaton. The Indicator is the first mechanical chronograph to have a digital display for its stopwatch functions. The dial and hands, partly skeleton and partly luminous, are designed to offer a ‘clear, unambiguous readability’ and the vulcanized rubber strap corresponds to the profile of the tyre Carrera GT. The base movement is a Valjoux 7750 and the chrono function and the basic movement is shown by a power reserve indicator with the digital display chrono function at 3 o’clock for 9 hours and 59 minutes. The case (49.00 x 17.80 mm) is either in titanium or PVD-coated titanium and the watch is water-resistant to 50 metres.
Despite the extraordinary creations by TAG Heuer and Porsche, the most vroom vroom racket was made by Ralf Schumacher who, under the auspices of Oris, drove a BMW Williams Formula 1 car at high speed around the unoccupied upper floor of Hall 3. Reaching ear-splitting decibels , Oris clearly won the sound stakes. Their Williams Formula 1 Chronograph makes less noise, but is nonetheless worth a mention.



PRS516 by Tissot and Audi Square Chronograph


The Porsche Design Indicator and Avalanche Chronograph by Alpina


Basic Chronographs
There were literally thousands of chronographs on display making it therefore impossible to mention them all. However, here is an extremely brief summary of what caught our attention. Alpina, one of the new kids on the block, introduced a new mechanical Avalanche Chronograph that, as the name suggests, will be in heavy demand. Anonimo, an Italian-based company using ETA complication movements launched an eye-catching Militare Chrono that with modified automatic Dubois Dépraz 2035 chronograph module is sure to appeal to chronograph users.
Delma introduced its Klondike Chrono for the active watch wearer. Using an ETA Valjoux 7750.1 self-winding movement and offering the standard chronograph functions, this good-looking watch should find its niche in the market. Luminox offered a vast range of rugged timepieces in its Navy Seal Dive and Ultimate Field Chronograph series, and Longines’ LungoMare Chronograph shows what can be achieved in terms of allure. Nautica who produce ‘Architecture for the wrist’ offered a particularly aesthetic model ingeniously entitled the N Tech-083. Beautifully designed and equipped with a tachometer on the bezel, this chronograph is in a Limited Edition of just 500 numbered pieces. Amongst several exquisitely made watches, Paul Picot offered a tonneau-shaped Majestic Rattrapante Pavée that is equipped with a self-winding chronograph movement with a split-second hand function and small seconds at 9 o’clock. The case is in 18 carat white gold and set with no less than 447 diamonds. The watch is water-resistant to 50 metres – if you dare to immerse it in water.
Timex has introduced a new chronograph into its Ironman series. Called the Ironman Chronograph Alarm it also has the renowned Indiglo® night light and is so elegant, it is more of a dress watch than an all-terrain timepiece. Wenger introduced an interesting model called the Com-mando Chrono Black Eagle that was developed in cooperation with some of the Special Forces from around the world. The dial is completely luminous and to avoid reflections, the case and strap have undergone PVD treatment. The watch has a quartz chronograph movement and is water-resistant to 100 metres.
Victorinox/Swiss Army introduced its new SporTech 1500 Chrono-Split quartz chronograph with 30-minute and 12-hour counters as well as split-time functions. The tachometer scale measures speed times in both miles and kilometres per hour. This sporty stainless steel watch also includes a date aperture at 4 o’clock and has luminous hand and indices. This joins the SporTech 4000 Chrono-Alti of late last year which sported an altimeter, barometer, chronograph, sport counter, run counter, thermometer, alarm, as well as having both analogue and digital displays.
So, it was clearly a fruitful year in the sports world. There are quite a few watches that I would like to have included in this article but couldn’t because of the lack of space, but never fear, they will appear in the next issue of Europa Star in the Special Mechanical Watches edition. With the Olympic Games slowly appearing on the horizon, you had better get out there and make your purchase, otherwise you’ll have to rely on the Official Timekeepers to confirm all those anticipated world records.



Militare Chrono by Anonimo and Klondike by Delma


Ironman Chronograph Alarm by Timex, LungoMare Chronograph by Longines and Majestic Rattrapante Pavée by Paul Picot


SporTech 1500 Chrono-Split, SporTech 4000 Chrono-Alti by Victorinox and Commando Chrono Black Eagle by Wenger