ARGUABLY THE HOTTEST SECTOR OF THE MARKET RIGHT NOW, WE ARE CALLING THIS CATEGORY BEACH TO BOARDROOM BECAUSE THE WATCHES ARE EQUALLY AT HOME IN BOTH WHILE ALWAYS SENDING THE MESSAGE THAT THEIR OWNERS ARE TAKING THEIR HEALTH MORE SERIOUSLY AND SAYS THEY ARE WINNERS WHILE AT WORK OR PLAY.

WATCHES OF THE YEAR WINNER

Oris
Aquis Date Calibre 400
£2,700

The big news from Oris this year was the launch of its new Calibre 400, and in house developed movement with 5-day power reserve that is accurate enough to pass COSC certification and sufficiently reliable to be given a 10-year warranty.

It is first being used in a 43.5mm steel Aquis Date with an ocean blue sunray dial and a sapphire case back giving a view of the movement.
Oris has maintained important attributes for dive watches including a uni-directional bezel, 300 metre water resistance and legible SuperLumiNova-filled hands and indices. There is a version on a rubber strap or a steel bracelet that can be quickly swapped without tools.

G-SHOCK
GWF-A1000 Frogman
£699

GWF-A1000 Frogman is G-SHOCK’s first entirely analogue diver’s watch. Old fashioned hands might seem like a step towards the past, but the watch is very much a leap into the future thanks to its on board connectivity to a smartphone app where the precise time is constantly updated and where functions like managing world times and tracking diving data from the watch are performed.

On the materials front, it is the first time a carbon monocoque case has been used that contributes to its 200 meter water resistance. The strap also advances G-SHOCK’s expertise with materials, being made from fluoroelastomer, a soft feel rubber designed for comfort and fit on the wrist that is also highly resistant to marking or corrosion.

Breitling
Superocean Heritage ’57
£3,990

Breitling promised $500,000 to support front line healthcare workers around the world from sales of a special blue-dialled version of its new Superocean Heritage ’57 Limited Edition, nick-named the Rainbow, after a version with a black dial was released as part of a capsule collection back in April. Only 250 of the original were made, but it became one of the fastest selling models unveiled at a Breitling Summit during the covid quarter.

Blue was chosen for the fundraising watch because of its association with healthcare organisations, particularly the UK’s National Health Service. It comes in a 42mm steel case housing a Breitling Caliber 10 automatic three hander movement with its blue dial decorated with a rainbow of coloured hour markers. Its limited production run of 1,000 pieces was an instant sell out.

Seiko
Prospex LX Skyline
£4,760

In 2019, Seiko’s Prospex LX beat every Swiss watchmaker to win the GPHG prize for best diver’s watch. Bolstered by that success, the Japanese watchmaker has unveiled the Prospex LX Skyline, a limited edition that is one of the most expensive Seiko — not Grand Seiko — watches ever produced.

The price tag is not without controversy, but the quality of this watch stacks up against any Swiss competitor thanks to its highly respected and in-house manufactured Caliber 5R66 Spring Drive GMT movement, which is accurate to +/- 15 seconds per month and has 72 hours of power reserve. It also has style with a striking graduated dial that fades from black to blue in the way the earth appears when seen from the blackness of outer space. The 44.8mm titanium watch is made in a production run of 400.

Ball Watch Company
Engineer Hydrocarbon
£2,580

It is 15 years since Ball Watch Company first introduced its Engineer Hydrocarbon Original, a dive watch designed for tackling the most inhospitable underwater sites in the world, and this year it has been reissued as a strikingly stylish 40mm steel piece that looks just as good on dry land.

Diver’s will appreciate the watch’s water resistance to 200m and the luminous micro tubes of H3 gas inside the sapphire bezel and hands that give unrivalled luminosity in the dark. Ball Watch says they give off 100 times more light than Super LumiNova paint usually used in the watchmaking industry. Inside, it uses a COSC-certified BALL RR1102-CSL automatic movement powering hours, minutes, central seconds, day and date functions.