This year’s Swiss watch fairs gave new meaning to the term “good sports” as brands fielded stylish watches, some for specific sports and others just sporty.
TIME TO DIVE IN
Citizen’s Aqualand Eco-Drive is the first light-powered diver watch with a depth meter, plus a four-motor, four-hand independent movement. It also eliminates divers’ adjustable rotating bezel. Instead, in diving mode, the minute hand resets to zero and measures dive time. The hand that would show power reserve indicates maximum depth. Water resistance (WR) is 200 meters.
Omega’s Planet Ocean is the first in its Seamaster diver series to use Omega’s exclusive coaxial escapement movement (certified chronometer, 48-hour power reserve). WR is 600 meters.
Glycine’s Lagunare chronometer, with double caseback, is the first chronometer manufactured by Glycine since the 1950s. WR is 300 meters.
The Swiss Military Watch by Montres Charmex SA is the first chronograph water resistant to 4,000 meters.
Eterna’s 46 mm KonTiki Diver is the first diver watch without a screw-in crown. It’s also rewindable underwater. Functions are adjustable only when the casing (detachable from a wrist “bridge”) is flipped upward. In lock-down position, it’s impossible to jolt the bidirectional rotating bezel or crown (at 12 o’clock). WR is 1,000 meters.
Ebel’s Sportwave automatic diver watch comes with a unidirectional grooved rotating bezel with dive-time graduated scale and a bright SuperLuminova reference marker. Large hour markers are in SuperLuminova for readability. WR is 200 meters.
Guess Collection has two fashionable Swiss-made chronos with diver bezels—Diver Chic for women (day/date, enameled bracelet) and Diver Class for men (41 mm, screw-down crown; luminous hands; counters at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock). WR is 30 meters.
BOOK A TEE TIME
TAG Heuer’s new Golf Watch, the first for serious golfers, is endorsed by golf champion Tiger Woods, who helped eliminate factors that affect a golfer’s swing. The titanium and stainless-steel automatic has antishock construction; a left-side crown; and a silicon rubber strap that expands with the wrist, won’t slide, and has no buckle.
ETA IS NOW FOR FLYING
Breitling’s ana-digi Aerospace Advantage has a system of backlit displays, with all functions controlled by the crown. The COSC (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres)–certified chronometer uses Breitling’s SuperQuartz thermocompensated movement.
Flight Watch, created by U.S. pilot John Reisman, features his patented “Global Time Management,” an easy touch system a pilot can use in-flight or on the ground anywhere in the world. The 50 mm digital watch’s features include all 37 world time zones, 76 airports, seven flight timers, three alarms, audio beep, and even adjustments for variables in time zones. The prototype was shown at BaselWorld 2005. First models should go on sale by 2006.
Nautica’s 46 mm steel BFC chronograph has a slide-rule bezel for calculations and conversions; an 11.5 mm crown; and a 30-minute, 12-hour, and seconds counters.
Wenger’s Commando Special Mission has a crown at 3 o’clock to set time and date, another at 9 o’clock to adjust an inner unidirectional rotating bezel, a black zone for time elapsed, and a white one for time remaining.
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Swiss Army’s 42 mm titanium ana-digi ST 5000 uses an exclusive lighting system designed for directional compass application. It includes a digital compass with desired heading memory, actual heading-degree indicator, rotating compass, five-point LED color light system showing heading accuracy, and eight-point LED magnetic-north indicator system.
Timex’s Expedition E-Tide & Temp watch has a high-precision electronic sensor, linked to a fourth hand, to indicate temperature in Fahrenheit or Celsius. When not in that mode, the hand tracks the rise and fall of the tides.
Nautica’s 62 mm N-MX 62 combines a chronograph timepiece with date and second time zone, a unidirectional 60-minute rotating bezel, and an analog compass, all in one case. WR is 100 meters. Its watch packaging, inspired by vintage military field boxes, includes a pair of binoculars and a torch pen.
SPORTS AND SPORTY
Tissot, official timekeeper of the MotoGP (Grand Prix motorcycle racing), unveiled its Official MotoGP watches with a design inspired by motorcycle parts (i.e., sprocket counters, tire-tread strap, brake disk around the crown). Its T-Race Ice-T is a designer sports watch for ice-hockey fans. (Tissot also times ice-hockey world companionships.)