ELITE SPORTS WATCHES WITH THE RIGHT MIX OF TECHNOLOGY, MATERIALS AND AESTHETICS
Scaling mountains, diving the oceans, racing cars and competing on the polo field. The human quest for adventure seems boundless, and those who engage in it — along with those who watch it all from the sidelines — see their timepieces as valuable and useful instruments.
Luxury timepieces have long evolved beyond the simple function of telling time to include chronographs, depth measurement, speed recording and more. What better way to express that you are an active, engaged and competitive person than with a sporty, yet Haute Horlogerie, masterpiece? We take a look at eight of them, combining function with the best materials and a timeless, elegant appeal.
The quintessential sports watch is back with a new 44-mm, 18-carat pink gold case — oversized and octagonal — with a black, grooved rubber strap. Chronograph functions include a central sweep seconds hand, a 30-minute counter and 12-hour counter. The flange features a tachometric scale for measuring speed. Seen through a sapphire crystal caseback is the self-winding, 7.16-mm thick Calibre 3126/3840, featuring an instant-jump and fast-adjust date mechanism, 60-hour power reserve and a stop seconds device activated when setting the time.
Originally launched in red gold in 2007, the Marine Tourbillon 5837 was the first watch to have a calibre with a silicon escapement (balance spring, escape wheel and lever), together with a titanium tourbillon carriage. This made for a lightweight, shock-resistant and non-magnetic tourbillon that was easier to regulate as it did not require lubrication. Now introduced in a 42-mm 950 platinum case with rubber strap, the watch is equipped with the hand-wound Calibre 554.4 with 50-hour power reserve. The solid-gold dial, finished in silvered platinum, displays 12-hour and 30-minute chronograph counters and small seconds on the tourbillon carriage.
This timepiece, which is Bulgari's first fully integrated chronograph, is distinguished by the self-winding Calibre BVL 303 with 40-hour power reserve. The vertically-coupled column-wheel chronograph movement powers 12-hour, 30-minute and small seconds counters, a chronograph sweep seconds hand and a date display at 4.30. The movement is designed to prevent the chronograph seconds hand from jerking during start, stop and reset operations. The sportier version comes in a steel case with a steel bracelet.
Powered by the self-winding 9900 CC GP movement with 48-hour power reserve, this timepiece features the brand's iconic Cintrée Curvex body and a case that combines titanium and Ergal, a high-tech, ultra-light and extremely robust alloy, which is treated by anodisation to improve its resistance to corrosion and abrasion, adopted from the F1 and aerospace industries. Functions include small seconds, a 30-minute counter and date display. The strap's interior lining is made of Alcantara, a composite material with a tactile feel similar to suede.
Shaped like an aerodynamic wing, Parmigiani's new 30-piece limited edition watch comes with an 18-carat gold case and a dial made from carbon fibre in honour of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport. It was created by flipping the mechanical components of the manual-winding Bugatti PF 372 calibre onto a vertical plane, resulting in a watch with two display panes perpendicular to each other. One is a lateral open-worked dial that mimics the display position of car panels and shows hours and minutes; the second shows a power-reserve indicator and the balance and escape wheel bridges. Power reserve is 10 days, while the watch is water resistant to 10 metres and comes with an Hermès alligator strap.
The Aquanaut collection, originally launched in 1997 and known for its gently rounded octagonal shape, comes in a new Travel Time model displaying two hour hands, one for local time and the other for home time. Equipped with the new self-winding 45-hour power reserve 324 S C FUS calibre visible through a sapphire crystal caseback, the timepiece features a 40.8-mm stainless steel case with a black embossed dial sporting two day/ night indicators and local date displayed by hand. A 'Tropical' textured high-tech composite strap echoes the exquisitely-finished dial and Aquanaut fold-over clasp.
Forty-five represents the watch's case diameter in millimetres and the average length of a polo match in minutes, particularly appropriate for a brand that has always drawn inspiration from this sport. The titanium case is water resistant up to 100 metres and houses the Piaget-made ultrathin 5.6-mm self-winding Calibre 880 featuring twin barrels, a large balance and 50-hour power reserve. Alongside the flyback chronograph function (30-minute counter) sit small seconds and date indications, as well as a 24-hour subdial for a second time zone. Hour markers are made in 18-carat pink gold, while the rubber strap comes with 18-carat pink gold inserts.
Blancpain's latest flagship diving watch shares some of the characteristics of its iconic 1953 ancestor, and adds a mechanical depth gauge capable of measuring up to 90 metres, with maximum depth reached memory. It contains a separate indication on the 0-15 metre scale with an exceptional +/- 30 cm precision, and also features a retrograde five-minute counter for decompression stops. Featuring a helium decompression valve for saturation diving and unidirectional rotating bezel, the timepiece is powered by the self-winding 9918B movement equipped with an anti-magnetic silicon balance spring and three barrels ensuring a five-day power reserve. Its 55.65-mm titanium case is water-resistant to 300 metres and comes with three-colour luminescence for the dial and hands.
