A Time and a Place Rare but Very Well Done Chain Reaction
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WATCH REPORT 2018 EDITED BY SIMON DE BURTON The perfectA time watches and fora place all occasions TheRare allure but of ultra-limited very well timepieces done Pocket Chainwatches forreaction the 21st century MARITIME Corum Admiral’s Cup, Rolex Yacht-Master Breitling Exospace B55 IWC Portugieser Yacht Club, from £6,900 Rolesium, £8,500 Yachting, £5,810 £7,000-£14,800 track of tide times (although it did produce a small run of a Earlier this year, Breitling unveiled similar model called the Mareographe as far back as 1950). its first “connected” sailing The Corum Admiral’s Cup – originally just a square-cased chronograph, the Exospace B55 watch with an image of a boat engraved on the back – was Yachting. It combines the brand’s ultra- introduced in 1960. The model has since evolved into a accurate Superquartz movement with a comprehensive range of tough and imposing sports watches low-energy Bluetooth system that can designed for sailing, both in looks and performance. With enable data transfer to a smartphone. their distinctive 12-sided cases, they have nautical pennants Water resistant to 100 metres and with bordering their dials which, on some models, are veneered a corrosion-proof, 46mm titanium case, with tiny teak planks. it can be worn on a choice of two blue Rolex, of course, is famous among the sailing fraternity rubber straps or a titanium bracelet. as the sponsor of some of the world’s most high-profile races, For those who prefer their sailing on from the Fastnet to the Sydney Hobart. But it wasn’t until terra firma with a G&T in hand, IWC continues to offer its Portugieser Yacht Club models that were de rigueur for The Panerai’s central hand can be moved TACK TOCK with the yachting world offering luxury brands the playboys of the Bardot era. The current opportunity to tap into a rich seam of buyers. backwards in one-minute intervals to coincide line includes a standard chronograph Robust sailing watches are tricky to But it’s not so easy to make a watch that really cuts the with the countdown before a competition and a world time model that can create, says Simon de Burton, but mustard on deck – after all, it needs to be shock resistant, 1992 that it introduced the Yacht-Master as a seafarer’s display the hour in 13 time zones they have never been more popular waterproof and as capable of surviving being baked in the alternative to the Submariner dive watch. Originally made in marked around the edge of the dial. sun as frozen in a gale. It also needs to laugh in the face yellow gold, the Yacht-Master was then released in a The device that demonstrates just of salt and be easy to read “bi-metal” gold and steel version and subsequently the how much you love boats, however, is ailing and timekeeping have on a rolling sea. Rolesium model, with a case made from steel and a surely the Marine Grand Deck been inextricably linked since It needs to be shock A decent sailing watch platinum bezel and dial. The latest steel and platinum Tourbillon from Ulysse Nardin. Its dial S the early 17th century, when resistant, waterproof demonstrates that a brand versions have deep blue dials, and are complemented by is designed to look like the planking of Galileo discovered that the orbits of and as capable of can create a timepiece a 40mm rose gold model in fade-free Everose that’s a sailing boat and the flyback minute Jupiter’s moons could be used as an surviving being baked capable of withstanding the supplied on a rubber Oysterflex bracelet. In 2007, Rolex display takes the form of a boom that is astral clock to enable the calculation of in the sun as frozen in rigours of being at sea and introduced the Yacht-Master II featuring a patented regatta pulled from one minute to the next by a longitude. The 18th-century horologist a gale. It also needs to will be worn by rugged, start countdown mechanism. network of nanowires and revolving John Harrison first succeeded in adventurous people. The Such mechanical timers are available from other brands, capstans based on a ship’s rigging. The laugh in the face of salt making a marine chronometer that was green aspect of sailing also too, including Omega, Panerai and Louis Vuitton, all of lines are made from the same type of accurate enough to use at sea, a demonstrates a concern for the environment in a way that which have created dedicated regatta wristwatches polyethylene used on modern racing breakthrough that turned navigation sponsoring a Formula One car or a powerboat team may not. with apertures cut into the dial. Typically, a multi-coloured, yachts and, although thinner than a from a hit-and-miss affair into a science. The high-tech materials used in modern yacht design revolving disc behind the apertures gradually changes human hair, can carry a strain of more Harrison may have spent more than can also be adopted for watch manufacture, as shown by colour as the minutes before the off tick away, finally than 1.36 kilograms without stretching. Richard Mille RM 60-01 Flyback 40 years perfecting his seagoing Richard Mille. It uses the same sort of titanium, Kevlar and turning to green when it is time to go, a system intended Launched in 2016 and produced in Chronograph Regatta, £135,000. Top: Luminor 1950 Regatta 3 timekeepers but, thanks to the pinpoint carbon fibre that goes into the latest hulls, masts and fittings to prevent penalty-incurring false starts. limited numbers, there are now just Ulysse Nardin Marine Grand Deck Days, £11,500 accuracy of GPS, if you find a clockwork as the basis for high-end, sailing-inspired timepieces such Panerai’s Luminor 1950 Regatta 3 Days in blackened two examples of the watch left, one in Tourbillon in red gold, £231,000 ship’s chronometer on board nowadays, as the RM 60-01 Flyback Chronograph Regatta. steel is designed specifically for racing and features a red gold, the other in platinum. So if you it’s more likely there for decoration than Although professional dive watches have been around flyback chronograph incorporating a countdown device want one, best go full speed ahead. B navigation. In contrast, mechanical since the mid-1950s, sailing-specific designs didn’t properly whereby the central hand can be moved backwards in richardmille.com; corum-watches.com; wristwatches designed with sailing in take-off for another few years when Heuer produced its now one-minute intervals to coincide with the countdown rolex.com; panerai.com; breitling.com; mind have never been more popular, highly collectable Skipper, which made it possible to keep before the start of a competition. iwc.com; ulysse-nardin.com MARITIME gets a makeover in new large and medium versions in steel, gold, or steel and gold cases. Quick-change strap variations are also offered, along with Cartier’s “Smartlink” easily adjustable bracelet. Another welcome revival came in the form of a new, steel-cased version of the Rolex GMT-Master II. The original GMT- TOP Master was developed in 1954 for Pan Am pilots flying the first long-haul routes and its red and blue bezel – nicknamed the TIMEPIECES “Pepsi” by Rolex buffs – remained synonymous with the model until 2005 Simon de Burton picks his seven when a new, scratch-resistant OFhorological 2018 highlights of the year “Cerachrom” bezel was introduced that could not be produced in two colours. That changed in 2014 when Rolex revealed While 2018 may not have been a vintage year for new watch bi-colour Cerachrom bezels, but said it models, there were enough interesting launches to encourage would produce Pepsi GMT-Masters only <#a#> incurable horophiles to reach for their credit cards – and we were in white gold. This year, however, steel still in January when I found myself coveting a couple of notable versions have returned to the catalogue “reveals” at Geneva’s SIHH watch show. at less than a quarter of the price of the The first came from the ever-brilliant A Lange & Söhne. gold alternative. Regarded by many as Germany’s answer to Patek Philippe, the And for those who want the famous Glashütte-based maker demonstrated its mastery of micro look in a watch that they don’t need to feel mechanics with the Triple Split, which can measure split times for too precious about, Rolex’a stablemate seconds, minutes and hours. The complex mechanism that makes Tudor has pulled the wraps off a new GMT it all possible contains 567 components, and only 100 examples of version of its smash-hit Black Bay, the watch will be made. complete with Pepsi bezel, in-house Audemars Piguet, meanwhile, chose this year’s 25th automatic movement – and a tempting anniversary of its Royal Oak Offshore (the larger-cased take on price tag of less than £3,000. B the standard Royal Oak) to revisit the 42mm steel chronograph alange-soehne.com; audemarspiguet.com; version of 1993 with a “tribute” piece that looks every bit as good carl-f-bucherer.com; patek.com; while benefiting from technical advances to offer a far higher cartier.co.uk; rolex.com; tudorwatch.com level of fit, finish, strength and reliability. There were more tempting chronographs on display at the Baselworld show a couple of months later when Carl F Bucherer pulled the wraps off its gorgeous Manero Flyback in a new 43mm rose gold case with contrasting “champagne” dial, while Patek Philippe wowed the crowds with a new Aquanaut sports watch featuring a perfectly balanced black dial highlighted with orange detailing.