While it’s far from being as populous as the Prospex or Presage ranges, Seiko’s King Seiko line is now pretty substantial. With the addition of this latest trio there are now more than 20 references in the collection, a far cry from the single re-issue that started this landslide in 2020. The new releases are an expansion of the KSK 6L slimline series with fresh dials inspired by traditional Japanese Ukiyo-e designs.

Ukiyo-e is a form of woodblock print art, the most famous example of which is probably The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai. Each of the three watches has a unique print pattern across its dial. The first of them is the Garyu-Bai Red edition, which has a rich red colour and a five-petal flower motif. Second is Tenjin-Fuji Violet, a pale purple version with a vine pattern. Last is Kameido Blue, which has a tessellating hexagon pattern inspired by the shell of a tortoise.

All three versions have gentle fumé gradients with the colours starting light in the centre and getting darker around the periphery with a slight smoky effect. It helps to emphasise the Ukiyo-e patterns and also highlights the sharp facets of the baton hour markers and dauphine hands. All of which are held beneath a box sapphire glass that provides a retro slant to the design.

The case measures 38.6mm in diameter with a thickness of 10.7mm. That makes the watches pretty svelte and slender despite the relatively broad design of the facetted lugs. In terms of finishing, there’s the usual mix of brushed and polished surfaces, which is particularly noticeable around the thin bezel.

What enables the KSK 6L Ukiyo-e series to have such dimensions is the 6L35 movement housed inside. It’s a super slim calibre with a 3.7mm thickness, operating at 28,800vph with an accuracy of +15/-10 seconds per day and a 45-hour power reserve. It’s one of Seiko’s top-grade movements, which does contribute to a fairly high price for the watches compared to the rest of Seiko’s offerings.

Specifically, the three watches are all priced at £2,930. That’s very close to the £3,000 Kiku limited edition, which makes sense because that is also a 6L edition with a textured dial. Of the three KSK 6L Ukiyo-e watches, the Kameido Blue is my initial stand out favourite, although the more I look at the Tenjin-Fuji Violet, the more it grows on me – like the vines on its dial.

More details at Seiko Boutique.

Grand Seiko continue to find new aspects of nature to inspire their textured dials. Although I imagine there is plenty to be inspired by when Japanese culture respects 72 micro seasons each year, fleeting moments of time such as the “hiding of the cherry blossom”. While it’s not linked to a specific micro season, the latest Grand Seiko is still connected to an ephemeral phenomenon in nature, the icefall. As such, the new watch is called the ‘Icefall’ Hi-Beat.

Despite the name, an icefall is not a waterfall that has become frozen during the winter months, although you could probably still use that term if you wanted. The geological definition of an icefall is a rapidly moving portion of a glacier that creates a high quantity of crevasses in its surface. This is a fairly standard occurrence on the flanks of Mount Iwate near Grand Seiko’s Shizukuishi studio.

It finds itself expressed on the dial of the Grand Seiko ‘Icefall’ Hi-Beat via a vertical striation pattern that echoes the crevassed surface of the glacier as it moves in a linear direction down the valley. Naturally it’s presented in ice blue because, well, that’s the colour of ice. Personally, I think the texture is a little bit too regular for a glacier’s surface and it is actually a better representation of a frozen waterfall. But as I mentioned, it kind of represents both of these adjacent concepts in a colloquial way, so ultimately it works really well.

The dial is held in a 37mm steel case with a thickness of 13.3mm, which is totally in keeping with the prevailing interest in vintage proportions. It also features Grand Seiko’s classic array of finishing including Zaratsu polishing and brushing. The shape is based on the heritage collection with sweeping lines from lug to lug and gentler facets than some of the more extreme GS designs.

Powering the Grand Seiko ‘Icefall’ Hi-Beat is, as you may have been able to predict, a hi-beat movement. Specifically, it’s the 9S85, which has a power reserve of 55-hours and an accuracy of +5/-3 seconds per day. It operates at a bph of 36,000, which is equivalent to 5 Hz. It’s visible though the sapphire exhibition caseback.

It’s priced at £5,950, which is a pretty standard price for Grand Seiko these days. It goes without saying that the dial is lovely and the movement has impressive specs. Are Grand Seiko one of the best value for money luxury watch brands?

More details at Grand Seiko Boutique.

Hublot loves football and, if they had their way, would be the first and last name in the sport. Sure, the pond might be big, but so, very literally is a Big Bang. No matter what they try however, they haven’t stopped other watchmakers encroaching on their territory, especially outside of the Premier League and World Cup. Case in point, Oris, who after cracking cricket have partnered with the Ligue de Football Professionnel (I shouldn’t need to tell you that is France’s professional football league) to create the Oris Divers Sixty-Five LFP Limited Edition.

If you were expecting a relatively standard palette-swapped Divers Sixty-Five using the LFP’s navy blue livery then you’d be… mostly right. Let’s not beat too much around the bush, that’s precisely what Oris has done here. And sure, it’s a handsome enough dial – I’d actually really like it on a standard, non-limited Divers Sixty-Five, but this is a limited edition. If all they’d changed was the dial colour I probably wouldn’t bother talking about it.

But, you see, this isn’t just a sports partnership; it’s also a charity one. The LFP has their own charity partner, the National Convention of Child Protection Associations, or CNAPE using the French acronym. Again, I don’t think I really need to explain what they are or what they do, but suffice it to say that it’s supremely valuable work. And it’s from them that we get the elements that really set this funky little Oris apart.

First, look at that logo. If the opening chords of ‘I’ll Be There for You’ didn’t start ringing through your head, you’re a better person than I. It’s meant to, in the words of Oris, ‘capture the innocence of a child’s handwriting’, but with the rainbow lettering underneath it’s just too ‘Friends’ to ignore. Plus, I know the filth that I was writing when I was younger was anything but innocent.

Still, if you can look past the Central Perk-ness of it all, it’s actually a fun little twist on Oris branding that I genuinely do like. The typography and colour combined turn what is otherwise a very standard Divers 65 dial – hell, more pared-back than some – into a fun, funky face. And who knows? Perhaps I’m the only one seeing the Friends connection. I doubt it, but maybe. Oh and the same script is used on all lettering on the dial, it’s just much harder to tell at the smaller scale on the lower half of the dial.

The thematic dial of course means an equally thematic caseback. In this case (back), that takes the form of script saying ‘Les Defenseurs de l’Enfance’, or Children’s Advocates in proper language. It’s a not-so-subtle allusion to what CNAPE do – act on behalf of and in defence of children.

In short, this watch combines two often very different types of partnerships into one watch and I’m here for it. It feels like much more of a CNAPE watch than an LFP edition, and as I care more about charity than sport, that’s fine by me.

As for the watch itself, if you’ve ever tried on a Divers Sixty-Five – and by now you most certainly should have – you’ll know what to expect. The smaller-than-usual 38mm sizing is perfectly retro, something that Oris were into before it was cool, and the tone-on-tone bezel is lovely, taken straight from the recent calibre 400 Divers Sixty-Five models.  Here they’ve kept that bezel as streamlined as possible in the same steel as the case and bracelet, with the diving scale in relief. It’s not as practically readable as other, more serious diving bezels, but on a watch with 100m water resistance – i.e. one more akin to a desk diver than a professional instrument – that’s to be expected.

On the wrist it’s, for me, perfect. The bracelet’s pretty basic but well-made and the 38mm sizing sits comfortably on my wrists. The bezel is satisfying to use and the crown’s simple enough to wind and set with. Like I said, it’s a Divers Sixty-Five; it’s ground that’s been covered before, all to the positive.

The movement’s pretty old hat too. Despite sharing a bezel with the Calibre 400 models, the LFP edition instead houses the calibre 733 with a 41-hour power reserve. I really wish Oris would put their superb calibre 400 into everything they can, but as numbers for that movement are still relatively limited, sometimes we just need to make do with what we can. It’s a shame, but it does mean that the 1,000-piece limited edition is more accessible than it would be with the newer movement inside.

That price, as we’re on it, is £2,150, which is around £50 more than other steel Divers Sixty-Five models on a bracelet. I’d most definitely pay that extra for this kind of fun dial. It’s unclear whether proceeds from the watch sales itself will actually go to CNAPE – which with 1,000 of them is quite a lot of potential cash – but they are at least raffling off 10 of them to raise money, so keep an eye out for those if you fancy trying to get your hands on an (almost) free watch. Either way, great limited edition for an even better cause.

More details at Oris.

While Carl Suchy & Söhne are an Austrian brand who typically find inspiration in Vienna, their latest releases are named after two of the most popular wine regions in France. They’re the Carl Suchy & Söhne Belvedere Champagne and Bordeaux. Technically they’re named after the colours which just happen to be named after the wine regions, but it’s an interesting coincidence, nonetheless.

The Belvedere collection was released in 2023 as a sporty alternative to the brand’s typical refinement and elegance. Although, despite that sporty character, it retains the characteristic alternating stripe motif that’s something of a signature. For the 2024 additions, the core structure of the Belvedere has been retained with a 40.8mm diameter in steel, broad, flat bezel and integrated strap.

As I hinted to in the introduction, it’s the colours of the dials and straps that make these watches stand out from the original editions. The first is champagne, which is a lovely off-white, cream tone that really suits the intricate design of the dial. It’s much warmer than the stark white edition which almost seems sterile in comparison.

Second is the Bordeaux, which is a rich wine-red tone. As a completely unrelated side note, this is the colour I imagine when Homer notes the ‘wine dark sea’ in the Odyssey, although I understand that that description comes more from the artefacts of translation and also archaic languages and cultures not having comparable terminology to contemporary English than it does the actual colour of the sea. Bringing us back to the watch world, the tone is reminiscent of the Fears x Christopher Ward Alliance 01 watch, which also looks great.

Powering both the Carl Suchy & Söhne Belvedere Champagne and Belvedere Bordeaux is the CSS201, an automatic movement based on a Dubois Dépraz calibre. It has a 42-hour power reserve which is the new baseline these days now that sub-40 reserves are starting to go the way of the dodo. It’s the same movement as used in the originals, which is also why the new duo have the same price at €7,900 (approx. £6,660).

More details at Carl Suchy & Söhne.

Following the conclusion of the Paris Olympics, which saw more than a few athletes wearing Omega watches, Omega’s sport timing duties are called upon again immediately. This time though it’s not for athletics but the prestigious America’s Cup, the oldest international sailing competition in the world. Now in its 37^th edition, Omega are celebrating the race with the launch of a new Omega Seamaster Diver 300M America’s Cup edition.

Measuring 42mm in diameter with a steel construction and 300m water resistance, it’s robust and rugged enough to withstand the rigours of life aboard a racing boat. It also features a regatta timer scale on its unidirectional rotating bezel, providing a 10-minute countdown to the start of race. If you’re unfamiliar with how sailing races work, the combination of waves and wind makes a static start virtually impossible. As such, boats will move around behind the starting line ahead of an agreed start time, aiming to cross the line exactly as the race officially starts for the biggest advantage.

In terms of colour, the Omega Seamaster Diver 300M America’s Cup is presented with a white, laser-engraved ceramic wave dial with blue accents and a blue-red gradient minute hand. These are the signature colours of the event, making them thematically appropriate while also creating a hyper legible display for sailors who need to read the time with a split-second glance. A further thematic detail on the dial is the trophy-shaped counterweight on the seconds hand.

Powering this watch is a 145m² sail. Wait, no, that’s what powers the boats in the race. Actually powering the watch is the master chronometer movement Omega 8806, a co-axial calibre with 55-hour power reserve. You can view it through the sapphire exhibition caseback, which is itself finished with the America’s Cup logo.

Priced at £5,800 on rubber strap or £6,100 on steel bracelet, it’s among the more accessible Seamaster Diver 300Ms in the range. Which makes sense because it’s effectively a special edition of the standard steel Diver 300M. It definitely has a nautical flair to it that makes me want to head to the nearest harbour and get out on the waves.

More details at Omega.

Image credit: @rafaelnadal

The Paris Olympics, which came to a close last night, has been a fantastic festival of sporting achievement and amazing storylines that have seen the world glued to their screens or attending the stadiums in person. As always, while we were rapt as the likes of Noah Lyles and Keely Hodgkinson proved their supremacy, we also had one eye on the wrists of the great and good in attendance to spot their wristwatches. So here are the epic wristwatch moments from the Paris Olympics 2024.

Athletics

Noah Lyles – Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon

Image credit: @nojo18

In one of the fastest and closest 100m races in recent history, Noah Lyles proved himself the fastest. During the race he wore the Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon featuring Apollo 8, making us wonder if he has rockets in his heels as well as on his wrist.

Keely Hodgkinson – Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra “Ultra Light”

Image credit: @britishathletics

One of the biggest success stories of the Athletics for team GB, Keely Hodgkinson ran to gold in the 800m. On her wrist was the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra “Ultra Light”, weighing just 55g.

Yaroslava Mahuchikh – Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra “Ultra Light”

Image credit: @europeanathletics

If Omega’s dominance at the athletics were ever in doubt, Yaroslava Mahuchikh the high jump world record holder was also wearing the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra “Ultra Light”, evidently a popular timepiece among Omega’s sporting ambassadors.

Armand Duplantis – Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra “Ultra Light” Special Edition

Image credit: @omegawatches

While Omega debuted an Armand Duplantis special edition ahead of the games, he showed up to the Pole Vault final with a completely different watch. Winning the gold and a world record wearing a Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra “Ultra Light” Special Edition in Swedish colours.

Tennis 

Novak Djokovic – Hublot Big Bang Meca-10 Ceramic

Image credit: @djokernole

After a few years searching for a watch partnership, Novak Djokovic eventually found one in Hublot. He was wearing the Hublot Big Bang Meca-10 Ceramic as he celebrated his gold medal, the final major trophy that had so far eluded him in his career.

Rafael Nadal – Richard Mille RM27-05 Flying Tourbillon

Image credit: @rafaelnadal

While Rafa’s performance on the courts of Roland Garros didn’t quite go to plan, he was resplendent in his role in the opening ceremony. As one of the most famous Richard Mille ambassadors, he wore the RM27-05 Flying Tourbillon throughout the event,

Carlos Alcaraz Garcia – Rolex Day-Date 40

Image credit: @carlitosalcarazz

The most recent Wimbledon Champion could only achieve silver at Paris 2024, but still celebrated the achievement with a Rolex Day-Date 40 in yellow gold on the podium – he probably wishes his medal was the same colour.

Skateboarding

Sky Brown – Tag Heuer Aquaracer Professional 200 Solargraph

Image credit: @skybrown

As a Tag Heuer ambassador, Sky Brown, the 16-year-old skater for Team GB, has worn her Tag Heuer Aquaracer Professional 200 Solargraph on several occasions now. And now it has accompanied her on her journey to back-to-back Olympic bronze medals.

Andy MacDonald –A Stealthy Street Cool Sports Watch

Image credit: @skateboardgb

At 51, Andy MacDonald was the oldest competitor in the skating representing GB, a true legend of skating. Hel us identify his watch by leave a comment at the bottom of this article. It’s a street cool timepiece with a black case and white Arabic numerals in the style of a pilot’s watch. It reminds me of the Seiko 5 Sports Stealth, IWC Pilot’s Watch Top Gun or Zenith Pilot but unfortunately the colours and logos don’t match.

Tony Hawk – Waldhoff Capital Carbon Silver

Image credit: @tonyhawk

Tony Hawk is well known for wearing the Waldhoff Capital Carbon Silver. He was attending the skating as a spectator to see his long time friend Andy MacDonald compete, as well as filming the introduction to the sport short video for the Paris games.

Fencing

Miles Chamley-Watson – Richard Mille RM 65-01 Automatic Split-Seconds Chronograph

Image credit: @fencer

While the name of American fencer Miles Chamley-Watson might not be well known in the UK, the fact that he wore a Richard Mille RM 65-01 Automatic Split-Seconds Chronograph worth approximately £300,000 while swinging a sword is frankly insane.

Golf

Tommy Fleetwood – Tag Heuer Connected

Image credit: @officialtommyfleetwood

Our friend here at OT magazine stuck to his preferred timepiece, the TAG Heuer Connected Golf Edition. Its additional digital features provide useful information for his games.

Spectating

Daniel Craig – Unreleased Seamaster 300m with No-Date

Image credit: Omega Watches

Daniel Craig was seen in attendance of several events wearing an unreleased Omega Seamaster Dive 300m with a dateless design. Rumours online suggest it may have a ceramic bezel but Omega have announced detail will be released in due course.

If you’ve been watching the Olympics and in particular the athletics, then you’ve probably seen a higher density of Omega wristwatches than are normally found even on the red carpet. Athletes from all across the world have been wearing watches from the Games’ official timekeeper while competing – of note for us Brits, Keely Hodgkinson wore the Seamaster Aqua Terra “Ultra Light” while winning her 800m gold. However, one Swedish athlete took things further as Omega debuted a new watch on his wrist, the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra “Ultra Light” 150m for Armand Duplantis. Which is the second Duplantis Aqua Terra this year!

Duplantis is the greatest pole vaulter in the world, cruising to victory in the finals on Monday evening before pushing further to set a new Olympic and world record in the sport. However, for the watch world, the more interesting part of his jumps was the mystery watch on his wrist. Now revealed to be a 41mm, sand-blasted Gamma Titanium take on the Aqua Terra “Ultra Light” 150m in the colours of Sweden.

It features a blue dial with the signature teak pattern engraving accented by a bright yellow seconds hand. The seconds hand is completely cylindrical with a white tip as an homage to the poles used by Duplantis. A fun and thematic element to the design, which something Omega have been doing more often lately such as with the rocket-shaped hand of the Speedmaster Apollo 8.

Completing the Swedish look of the piece, it’s presented on an integrated rubber strap in the signature colours of the country’s flag. Its definitely the aspect most likely to divide potential buyers but you have to admit that paired with Duplantis’ athletic gear, it looks great. Speaking of things that look great, the exhibition caseback reveals the OMEGA 8928 Ti calibre with manual winding and 72-hour power reserve. Considering it withstood the forces that rocketed Duplantis up to 6.25m and back down again, it’s very robust.

Priced at £48,700 this high performance watch is a touch less than its standard Seamaster Aqua Terra “Ultra Light” counterpart, due mostly to the different strap options they are presented on. I wonder how many famous sporting Swedes we’ll see touting this watch in the future. Check out Omega’s other Olympic watches here.

More details at Omega.

The Royal Oak and the Royal Oak Offshore are such iconic watches that finding new ways to explore their designs is something of a challenge for Audemars Piguet – mostly because they’ve already tried everything. What that means is that when they release new watches, it sometimes requires careful examination to determine what is actually new. Such is the case with the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding 43mm and Chronograph 43mm.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding 43mm

When first looking at the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding 43mm it looks more or less exactly like you’d expect from a time and date Offshore. Although that may actually be down to a kind of Mandela effect because, in reality, time and date models of the Offshore are few and far between as the collection is mostly reserved for chronographs and other specialised tool watches.

However, the mere existence of a modern time and date model isn’t the most remarkable thing about this design. That accolade has to go to the iconic octagonal bezel, which is presented with a blue rubber coating that matches the colour of the blue fumé Méga Tapisserie dial. It’s worth noting that AP have explored rubber bezels previously with a 42mm chronograph version, but this is the first time on the 43mm selfwinding and the first time in blue. Worth noting that there is also a 37mm women’s version in gold and ivory.

Rubber bezels are not very common in the watch industry at large but they do have their root in genuine horological innovation. The example that comes to mind is the Mühle-Glashütte S.A.R Rescue Timer designed to be worn by life boat operators and which has a rubber bezel in order to protect the watch, the wearer, the people being rescued and the boat when choppy waves inevitably cause you to smack your wrist into something. It therefore matches the sporty, more tool watch oriented design of the Royal Oak Offshore.

Beneath the surface of the dial is the calibre 4302, an automatic movement with a 70-hour power reserve. It’s a really solid movement with time and date functions and operating at 4 Hz. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding 43mm is priced at £23,800.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph 43mm

Second up at 43mm is the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph in brown. Beyond the colour of the dial, which is new, the main update to the case is tricky to spot. That’s because the new feature is the fact that the steel bezel is matched to the steel case. Every other Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph 43mm is either bi-metal, ceramic or titanium, meaning a standard steel on steel model didn’t actually exist.

Focussing in on the new colour, it’s a rich chocolaty shade with a slight fumé gradient around the peripheral edges. That’s paired with black chronograph subdials that display the running seconds, 30-minute timer and 12-hour timer. Matching the black accents of the dial are the black ceramic pushers and crown that operate the complications.

Powering the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph 43mm is the calibre 4401, an automatic movement with flyback chronograph. Like the 4302 it has a 70-hour power reserve and a 4 Hz frequency. The additional complications of the chrono edition means it has a substantially higher price than the time and date model at £36,100.

More details at Audemars Piguet.

Seiko are on a roll of reimagining their Prospex Speedtimer Solar Chronograph in interesting styles. The tail end of 2023 saw the European Exclusive edition and then in the spring of this year they released a racing themed trio. Now though, the collection is heading to space with the new Seiko Prospex Speedtimer ‘Pogue’ Solar Chronograph.

For those unfamiliar with the name Pogue, it refers to the Seiko chronograph ref. 6139 6002 from the 1970s and that was worn by Colonel William Pogue in 1973 on his trip to the Skylab Space Station. This means that it is widely credited with being the first automatic chronograph in space. You can read more about this feat in our article on history’s toughest exploration watches. You’ll also see in that article our editor begging Seiko for a reissue and now his prayers are answered. Kind of.

A Seiko “Pogue” attached to a modern bracelet.

The new Seiko Prospex Speedtimer ‘Pogue’ Solar Chronograph features a bright yellow dial with black subdials and a bezel split between blue and red. The combination of yellow, black, blue and red was prominent on the original Pogue, making the new edition a fitting tribute. Although there are some notable differences. The case shape is completely different as the Speedtimer uses the 1969 style whereas the original Pogue features a ‘turtle’ case. Plus, the display is tricompax on the modern version instead of having a single subdial at 6 o’clock.

On top of that there’s the fact that the new interpretation of the design is powered by the V192 Solar Chronograph movement, which means that it’s quartz with a power supply charged by light passing through the dial. I do find it fairly odd to create a tribute to a watch that was famously automatic and not make the tribute automatic as well, especially when there are some really nice automatic Speedtimers in the range like the 1972.

Although there is a justification that can be made for this decision. Of all the many and varied Speedtimers Seiko could have used as the basis for this tribute, zero of the automatic models have an external tachymeter bezel. Which means that there would be a huge aesthetic disconnect between the original Pogue, which did have a tachymeter bezel, and any of the automatic models in Seiko’s modern range. Therefore, the Solar Chronograph was the only real choice for this tribute – that is, if you don’t want to add a new bezel to those other models, which Seiko could easily have done.

The Seiko Prospex Speedtimer ‘Pogue’ Solar Chronograph ref. SSC947P1 is priced at £600, which is in line with the existing Solar Chronograph range. The only question is whether you save up an extra £400 or so in order to buy a vintage Pogue instead, as pre-owned models sit at around the £1,000 mark. If you’re buying this watch because you love the Pogue, I would strongly recommend getting an actual Pogue instead. If you want a Speedtimer Solar Chronograph and happen to like this colourway, it’s fine.

More details at Seiko Boutique.

It’s difficult to know where Gucci stand on the world watchmaking stage these days. On the one hand they produce some really cool mechanical watch including a minute repeater and on the other hand, they still produce fashion watches that are intentionally focussed on style over substance. However, I think what proves to me that Gucci are genuinely invested in increasing their horological prowess is their recent focus on mid-range watches. By which I mean practical tool watches like the Gucci Dive and now the new Gucci Interlocking sports collection.

There are seven watches in the Interlocking collection, two ladies’ watches in quartz, three quartz chronographs and two men’s watches with automatic movements. Of all these watches, the automatics are the most prestigious in a watch collecting sense and so we shall narrow in on those models specifically. They are refs YA142330 and YA142331.

Both measure 41mm in diameter and are made from steel with PVD coatings in either black or blue. Structurally, the cases are cushion shaped with broad, flat surfaces atop which sits a circular bezel with brushed finishing. The compressed cushion shape and the wide bezel call to mind the influences of 1970s integrated bracelet sports watch design. Although it’s perhaps not as explicit as many other watches that pay tribute to this period of design and importantly the Gucci Interlocking does not have an integrated bracelet.

The name Interlocking comes from the watch’s dial. At 6 o’clock is a small seconds subdial but rather than the normal seconds hand, the entire disk rotates and is emblazoned with the Gucci interlocking double G logo. In fact it makes me want to call the collection the Gucci Interlocking G as personally I feel that “Interlocking” on its own doesn’t really convey what this watch is about. An arrow at the bottom of the Gs serves as the seconds indicator. Beyond that it’s a very clean, sporty dial.

The central portion has circular brushing in either black or blue depend on which model you have – the blue edition is further embellished by red accents. Then surrounding that is a sector hour scale with bar indexes at the cardinal points and Arabic numerals depicting the minutes in between.

Powering the Gucci Interlocking automatic is the Sellita SW360, a perfectly reasonable work horse movement with a 56-hour power reserve. It’s visible through the exhibition caseback and is protected by the case’s 100m water resistance rating. It’s not as crazy or exciting as the 25H collection by a long shot but it’s solidly respectable in watch collecting circles. And that’s what Gucci needs in order to grow.

They want to be in the conversation alongside brands like Oris, high-end Seiko, Farer and so on to build a reputation as a brand for dedicated watch collectors. Creating practical watches that are actually attainable is the right way to do that. At a price of £2,200 it’s certainly not a watch you can buy without thinking but that’s also the right value range for what’s on offer. Style-wise I also think this is one of the most restrained pieces Gucci have produced, following in the footsteps of highly regarded wristwatch design from the late 20th century.

More details at Gucci.

It’s a well-established fact that fashion trends are cyclical; it’s why parts of your wardrobe that were out of date 20 years back are suddenly in vogue. And while the watch industry moves much, much slower than the catwalk, it’s not immune to the vagaries of time. Trends may change at a glacial pace, but they’re still there and as the old guard of 60s divers followed by 70s sports watches give way it’s time to head back to the 90s. I’m so very sorry.

Unlike other era-specific watch trends, I was actually alive during the 90s. Only just, but I’ll take it. I remember listening to Nirvana on my way to see The Matrix smashing a packet of Nerds – which is odd as I’m pretty sure I was on my way to Space Jam and listening to the Spice Girls. I still to this day wake up at night haunted by the imagined theme tune to Pinky and the Brain.

Bulgari Roma quartz (1975)

However, while pop culture may have hit a low point, watchmaking was in its ascendency. Whereas the much-documented quartz crisis of the 70s forced terrifying numbers of watchmakers to shutter their manufactures, the 90s was when the industry started to heal the damage. Swatch Group was buying up prestige brands, Patek was releasing insanely complicated calibres and there was an optimism to watches in general.

It was the kind of optimism I think we need a little more of these days. This was the era that Swatch really hit its stride with their funky, semi-disposable pieces. G-SHOCK were colourfully killing it with the Baby-G and Ikepod were building UFO-shaped watches aplenty. Sure, there were serious brands making serious things – A. Lange & Sohne comes to mind – but there was a sense of fun in unexpected combinations of colours and shapes. There was a willingness to try new, outlandish things, like an insanely high-end luxury jeweller leveraging aluminium and rubber to build an iconic watch.

Bulgari Diagono (circa 1988), image credit: Catawiki

I am of course talking about the Bulgari Aluminium, but before we get there it’s worth knowing that the Aluminium didn’t come out of nowhere. In 1988, the Italian-Swiss brand introduced the Diagono, their first foray into sports watches. They’d been releasing timepieces since the 1920s, including the Serpenti of the 1940s and the first Bulgari Roma of 1975, with its now famous brand-printed bezel. But these were meant to compliment their jewellery rather than appeal to a completely new audiences, so when the Diagono appeared with its integrated strap and quartz chronograph movement, it was a dramatic shift to the prestige level Bulgari had been working at. It was, dare I say, accessible.

Bulgari Diagono Professional Scuba SD 42 (circa 2000s)

In 1994 they launched the Diagono Scuba which, as the name suggests, was a diving variant of the watch that came with a COSC-certified movement this time and 200m water resistance. More importantly for our little biography, it came with a unique rubber strap that used big, bracelet-like links to join case and strap. These allowed the watch to lie flat against the wrist and avoid the springiness of the usual diving-appropriate rubber numbers.

Original Bulgari Aluminium Advert (1998)

Finally in 1998, Bulgari released their sports watch in its final form: the Bulgari Aluminium. The Bulgari name punched into the rubber bezel was taken directly from the original Diagono (and therefore the Roma of the 70s); the odd, rubber-coated trapezoidal links either side of the strap were taken from the Diagono Scuba and in its own twist, it introduced lightweight aluminium to the mix.

Style wise, it wasn’t just a throwback to Bulgari’s own watchmaking heritage, but the sports watches of two decades prior. The integrated strap, the industrial look, the whole thing felt like an accessible homage to the Genta era. In the 2020s, I’ve read similar sentiments in too many press releases from terrible Kickstarter brands to not roll my eyes, but back then it was just cool.

Bulgari Aluminium advertised on a Alitalia Boeing 747 (1998)

It’s hard to overstate how left-field the Aluminium was. It made sense from a product point of view of course. Aluminium is super lightweight and much more accessible than titanium. But at a time when the watch industry had only just started to be seen as a luxury purchase, Bulgari heading the other way was audacious at best, a gamble at worst.

We’re still talking about it, so it’s obviously a gamble that paid off. Sure, it helped that Bulgari plastered it across the side of 747 planes (back when Boeing were less terrifying) under the tagline, ‘Bulgari Aluminium Flies with Alitalia, but even under its own merits the Aluminium became an instant jet-set icon. Perhaps it was the innate fun of the watch. Perhaps it was the sleek, high-contrast aesthetics. It might even be that in the 90s we all loved a bit of branded – and the bezel, links and dial of the Aluminium were all VERY branded.

Bulgari Aluminium (2020)

It was successful enough that, after ending the Aluminium run back in …, Bulgari brought the collection back in 2020, with new automatic movements rather than the accessible quartz of the original generation. Again, it was a surprise given that at the same time the brand was showcasing their thinline watchmaking through the record-breaking Finissimo line. And yet once again it was the perfect time to bring it back, a time where collectors were looking for value and cool factor as much as classical prestige. It’s no coincidence that with the accessible microbrands, Bulgari’s uber-accessible slice of fun made a comeback – and it did so with a GPHG win right out of the gate.

That comeback was faithful to the original aesthetically, superior mechanically and has since spawned an ever-growing collection of fun pieces across time-only watches, chronographs and GMTs. Case in point, the trio of new releases for 2024.

Bulgari Aluminium GMT

The first is the most straightforward. The Aluminium Black GMT is pretty much a retread of the debut design codes of 1998, with black, white and red. With a crisp white dial and black bezel and strap, it’s high contrast and jet-set enough that you could easily see it on the side of an aircraft. An Airbus, maybe. The 24-hour ring is mildly coke flavoured with it’s split between black for the night hours, red for the day. It’s similar to the previous blue version, but much more eye-catching. It’s also the same price at the older model at £3,540.

Second, we have the time only version which takes a clean, minimalist approach. The whole watch, Bulgari-stamped bezel included, is white, with just hints of red either end of the second hand. It looks and feels light and while it certainly veers more feminine, it’s nonetheless a seriously cool watch if you can get away with it, limited to 1,000 pieces and priced to move at £2,980.

Bulgari Aluminium Smeraldo

Finally, we have the highlight of the new drop – and in my opinion, the modern Aluminium collection as a whole – the Smeraldo. It’s not hard to guess why I like this one. The gorgeous mediterranean green of the dial goes from emerald at the bottom to white at the top, a fun take on a fume gradient. The chronograph subdials, rubber bezel and strap are in a darker, forest green which tones down the brighter dial colour nicely and marks it out from the rest of the Aluminium collection.

At £4,750, the Smeraldo is perhaps not as accessible as you might want from the collection as a whole, and it’s still a limited edition at 1,000 pieces, but it’s still a perfect summer watch. And there’s no denying it’s a fresh new look for the Aluminium, a watch that itself still feels as fresh and new as back in those halcyon days of 1998. At the very least, it’s aged a hell of a lot better than me.

More details at Bulgari.

Rado position themselves as the master of materials, which is very bold claim in an industry full of innovators. But it’s a claim they can back up with their exceptional ceramic timepieces like the Captain Cook Skeleton. However, being a true master of a discipline means being adept at all its facets and intricacies and specialising in one material doesn’t make you a master of all. Which is why it’s nice to see Rado remember the basics with the new Rado Captain Cook summer blue gradient in stainless steel.

Starting with an overview, the Captain Cook is one of the most quintessential sports watches on the market. It has the toughness and durability of a diver, featuring a diameter of 42mm and a water resistance of 300m, so it’s suitable for virtually any occasion. Indeed, the watch’s heritage is closely associated with the water, after all it’s named after one of the most famous sailors in history.

The reason I say sports watch rather than diver is more to do with how Rado position themselves in the market these days. Their ambassadors have historically been people like Cameron Norrie, the UK’s current No.2 men’s tennis player and Ash Barty, former women’s world No.1 tennis player. Recently they’ve also been getting into the sphere of cricket with Cameron Green (they really seem to like people called Cameron) as well as a collaboration watch with England Cricket.

For this summer edition, the Rado Captain Cook has been dressed with a colourful dial featuring a gradient from white in the centre to blue around the periphery. Which is then matched by a blue timer bezel. It reminds me of an indoor tennis court (you may be able to tell that tennis is my favourite sport and I am happily bias towards it) although typically indoor courts are more in use in the winter as summer is the season of grass courts – Wimbledon is just around the corner.

Powering the watch is the Rado calibre R763, which is a very solid movement. It has automatic winding and an 80-hour power reserve, meaning if you do put it down for the weekend it will still be ticking on Monday when you strap it back on. As for the strap, it comes with three. There’s a steel bracelet with titanium clasp, a blue leather strap and a white and blue NATO strap, which I think is my favourite of the trio.

Priced at £2,500 it’s competitively priced alongside other high performance sports and tool watches. Watches like the Oris Divers Sixty-Five and honestly in terms of value I think the Rado Captain Cook blue gradient claims the victory – although it would come down to a fifth set tiebreaker.

More details at Rado.

In the world of haute horology, the split-seconds chronograph holds a special place. It features not one but two central chronograph seconds hands that can be started simultaneously and stopped individually in order to time two separate events within the same sequence – such as laps during a race or two individual competitors crossing the line. Compared to a standard chronograph this extra utility and mechanical complexity makes the split-seconds chrono one of the most prestigious sports complications around. And now Richard Mille have released their latest take on it with the RM 65-01 Split-Seconds Chronograph in pastel blue and dark yellow Quartz TPT.

Off the bat, these might be my favourite watches from Richard Mille so far this year. Which makes sense because they are simply colourful versions of the grey Quartz TPT edition that was my favourite from last year. With their 44.5m x 49.94mm x 16.1mm Quartz TPT cases now rendered in pastel blue and vibrant yellow.

The light tone of the RM 65-01 pastel blue edition is very attractive, like the sky. Plus, paired with the dark blue crown protector and dial accents as well as the orange pushers and chronograph hands, there is a strong resemblance to a certain iconic motor racing livery that rose to prominence in the 60s and 70s. In contrast, the dark yellow edition is a dark shade of canary with light blue accents. It has less of a connection to sport but feels bright and ready for summer. As to the importance of them being made from Quartz TPT, you can read all about the material here.

That brings us to the mechanics of the watch, which are the same as the existing RM 65-01 Split-Seconds Chronographs. It houses the RMAC4 automatic movement, which sports a 60-hour power reserve and is equipped with a split-seconds chronograph, 30-minute timer, 12-hour timer, small seconds, date and function selector – all of which can be viewed through the partially skeletonised display.

While these new editions of the RM 65-01 Split-Seconds Chronograph in pastel blue and dark yellow ultimately boil down to being new colourways in a well established collection, I think the combination of sporty designs and bright colours is the perfect example of what RM does well. Summer and sport are both playful concepts so it feels appropriate for a sports watch as insane as this one to lean into that. While at time of writing we don’t know the exact price, based on previous models it’s safe to assume at least six figures in the region of £300,000.

More details at Richard Mille.

Omega have gotten into the habit recently of not just announcing a new watch, but tying it to one of their ambassadors. Just take a look at the new bi-colour Moonwatches launched on the wrist of actor Barry Keoghan. This time though they’re leaning on their sporting links with World Record breaking pole-vaulter Armand “Mondo” Duplantis and their newest Seamaster Aqua Terra.

The inciting event for the Armand “Mondo” Duplantis Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra was “Mondo” record-breaking pole-vaulting height of 6.24m, which is pretty insane. But it’s nothing new for the athlete, who has done the same eight times now – which fits really, as the new watch isn’t exactly revolutionary. Instead it’s a nice, subtle twist on the already established Aqua Terra style. In short, it’s the same watch as the previous version (the 220.12.41.21.03.007 if you want to be really specific), but with a yellow second hand inspired by a vaulting pole in shape and with Super-LumiNova on the ‘grip’.

It’s joined on the dial by yellow Seamaster lettering and quarter hour numbers stitching of the textured rubber strap. The shift in colourway is reference to Duplantis’ Swedish livery, though with much more of the blue than the signature yellow.

Otherwise, the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Armand “Mondo” Duplantis edition is completely business as usual. That means a 41mm stainless steel case, 150m water resistance and the Co-Axial Master Chronometer calibre 8900 with 60-hour power reserve.

If you’re not already considering an Aqua Terra, this minute change in palette isn’t going to push you over the edge. But that doesn’t stop the flashes of yellow working very, very well. I’ve always felt that the collection in general could be more colourful (even the Shades pieces only use one main dial colour) and the mix of blue and yellow is a no-brainer. Let’s hope this is a sign of things to come. Because it’s definitely not a tentpole release.

More details at Omega.

When it comes to sports, I must profess that I do not care for football at all, and you’ll only ever catch me watching rugby during the World Cup or Six Nations. However, come Wimbledon or the Tour de France, I can be glued to the television for hours on end. I think what I like is the intense internal battle you can witness in the players and riders. In the Tour especially, the grit, determination, and resilience of a lone rider striking out from the front of the peloton and the subsequent chase.

The Tour is on my mind because on my wrist is the new Tissot PR 100 Tour De France. Tissot has been the official timing partner of the Tour since 2016, although their connection is much older, having also been partners from 1988 to 1992. In recent years they’ve made a special edition watch for every edition of the race, and the one I have here is the latest iteration. Interestingly, it’s the most refined and elegant of the lot.

Specifically, this edition has a bright steel case with a smooth polished bezel, as opposed to the versions from 2022 and 2023, which were blacked out with PVD coating to give them a sportier appearance. At the same time, the new model doesn’t feature a tachymeter, which means the dial is less cramped, giving the baton hour markers room to breathe, enhancing the legibility and elegance of the piece.

It is a slight shame that you don’t have the practical applications of a tachymeter. But let’s be real, unless you’re planning to work out the average speed of a cyclist across a specific leg of the Tour, there aren’t many situations where you’ll really miss a tachymeter in the day-to-day. Plus, its absence allows for that cleaner dial, which in turn means the dial requires less space and the entire watch can be slimmer, with a diameter of 40mm instead of the mammoth 45mm of the 2022 one.

Zooming in on the details of the dial, it has a black display with a grained texture and three subdials featuring snailing. Those subdials are 30-minute timer, 1/10th second timer, and small seconds. The elephant in the room is of course the central chronograph seconds hand, which is bright, bright yellow (for the yellow jersey) with a bicycle counterweight. It’s a bike-themed watch and they had to get the bike theme in somewhere, although it’s perhaps a bit more on the nose than the cycling-themed Adley FIXI-T1.

I should also address what’s one of the coolest elements, the hybrid strap. It has a yellow rubber base which comes up around the edges of the black leather top, giving it the appearance of racing stripes. The perforated texture enhances the sporty vibe as well, matching the texture of the dial nicely.

The movement inside is a Swiss quartz number, which you may have been able to gather from the positioning of the chronograph counters. The cluster around the centre is common to quartz chronographs, instead of having the top counters in line with the central hands, as seen in mechanical movements.

These days I’m not so sure what to make of quartz movements, the quartz crisis is a long way behind us and it’s clear that there’s space for both electronic and mechanical watches in the industry. Yes, it’s not going to be pride of place in your collection but as a fun, accessible timepiece that you can strap on while you stand on the side of a French road to watch the race pass, or even hop on a bike yourself, why not?

In terms of value, it’s £415, which is about what you’d expect from a quartz model. Ultimately, I’d be happy to don the Tissot PR 100 Tour De France, jump on my bike and head straight to the Champs-Élysées. Although most of the Tour riders could probably start and finish the entire tour start to finish before I could even cross Paris.

More details at Tissot.

The connection between is a strong one, bolstered by many collaborative wristwatches like last year’s Carrera Chronosprint x Porsche. Plus there’s the fact that both brands use the name “Carrera” in their products, a happy coincidence created by a joint interest in the Carrera Panamericana motor race. Their latest collaboration is the new Tag Heuer Carrera Chronograph x Porsche 963.

If you can’t conjure an image of the Porsche 963 to mind alongside the catalogue of 911 references you’ve memorised, that’s probably because it’s their cutting edge hybrid race car. It’s a vehicle designed to compete at Le Mans, another race that has an important place in the heritage of both Porsche and Tag Heuer.

In keeping with the high tech design of the car, the Tag Heuer Carrera Chronograph x Porsche 963 leans towards being a hyper modern design rather than something vintage like the Glassbox.

It measures 44mm in diameter and is made from steel with black DLC coated pushers and crown. The tachymeter bezel is made from carbon fibre, a material commonly used in high performance sports cars. The flanks of the case bear the inscription “Porsche” picked out against a black PVD surface. We’ve got all the different surface treatments going on with this watch.

The dial is a skeletonised, tricompax chronograph display with a 12-hour timer, 30-minute timer and small seconds in addition to central hours, minutes and chronograph seconds. The format of the subdials are designed to look like the instruments in a racer and the skeletonisation is evocative of the 963’s roll cage and internal structure. It feels dynamic, modern and sporty.

Glimpsed through the dial and visible though the exhibition caseback is the calibre TH20-00. An automatic column wheel chronograph movement with an 80-hour power reserve, which is enough to see it through the 24-hours of Le Mans almost three and a half times. For the Carrera Chronograph x Porsche 963 special edition it also has a custom red column wheel.

I must say I prefer my Carrera Chronographs on the retro side, but if sporty, modern aesthetics are more your speed, then the Tag Heuer Carrera Chronograph x Porsche 963 is ideal. It’s priced at £8,050, which makes sense for the advanced materials and skeletonised design. As well as the fact it’s a limited edition of 963 pieces.

More details at Tag Heuer.

Omega love a cheeky celebrity plug for their watches. When they released the Speedmaster with white lacquer dial it transpired that Danial Craig had been seen wearing the watch weeks earlier. For the new Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Bi-Colour the celebrity connection is a bit more straightforward because they have used this release as an occasion to also announce that Barry Keoghan, of Saltburn, Banshees on Inisherin, Eternals and more, has become an official Omega ambassador.

While Keoghan drips with that non-classical heartthrob energy that Hollywood is obsessed with at the moment, our focus is on the pair of bi-colour Omegas. The first, which he is pictured wearing, is the ref. 310.20.42.50.02.001. It’s the steel and moonshine gold edition with a silver dial, black bezel, steel case and gold accents across the subdials, bezel, pushers, crown and bracelet. Of the two, this is definitely my preferred colourway.

The second edition is ref. 310.20.42.50.99.001, which is produced in steel and Sedna (rose by any other name) gold. The portions of the case and bracelet that are gold and steel are the same as the moonshine version but the dial is dramatically different. Here, the main dial is itself gold while the subdials are black, giving it a much darker tone overall. Combined with the redder tones of the gold, it feels retro but not in a good way, like a brown living room that nobody wants any more – at least in comparison to the bright and fresh feel of the moonshine.

Really, I think what holds both models back is their unwillingness to deviate from the black tachymeter bezel. If it was a matching gold colour or even silver, the colour palette would feel more cohesive. However, I do understand the logic as both watches are the halfway, bi-colour hybrids of existing models, so are likely to draw interest from collectors.

Beneath the gold and steel surfaces, the two watches house the same movement, the Omega 3861. It’s a modern staple of the Speedmaster Moonwatch and features manual-winding with a 50-hour power reserve. It has a Co-Axial escapement and METAS master chronometer certification.

Completing the list of similarities, both versions of the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Bi-Colour are priced at £17,100. Just as bi-colour is halfway between steel and gold, so too is that price roughly halfway between Omega’s full steel and gold offerings. And Barry’s here too. Good for Barry.

More details at Omega.

Richard Mille and Rafael Nadal have had a long-standing partnership since 2010 and over the years they’ve produced many timepieces together. They range from the bright, colourful and sporty RM 035-03 to their latest collaboration, which is the incredibly serious and haute horology focussed RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal.

Having lost their crown in the battle for the thinnest watch to Bulgari, RM have taken a different tack. This is a watch with a single-minded pursuit of one thing, being the most lightweight manual tourbillon watch ever produced.

In that endeavour, Richard Mille have succeeded. The RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal weighs just 11.5g excluding the strap, earning it the world record for being the lightest manual tourbillon watch. At the same time, it breaks a second record as it can also withstand a g-force of up to 14,000, which is important for surviving the acceleration of Nadal’s wrist during his tennis swing.

In order to achieve this, every possible weight-saving measure has been taken. They’ve even removed the screws that secure the movement to the case, instead sandwiching it in place between the monobloc caseback/caseband and the flange/bezel.

At the same time, they’ve used the most high tech materials possible to shave off as much weight as possible. The titanium movement is skeletonised as efficiently as possible, including areas that can’t be seen and the case itself is made from a brand new composite material.

That material is Carbon TPT B.4, the newest iteration of Richard Mille’s signature Carbon TPT. It took five years to develop this new composite and it is 4% denser with fibre that is 15% stiffer and resin that is 30% stronger. To learn more about TPT read our guide to important watchmaking materials, although note that while in the guide we discuss quartz TPT, the same techniques apply to carbon TPT. What the improvements listed above mean is that the strength to weight ratio has been improved. In turn that means you require less of the material to achieve the same results.

Aesthetically, it gives the Richard Mille RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal a dark, serious appearance. The bare Carbon TPT B.4 retains the customary striations of the material with its intricate layers. It’s also comparatively svelte with dimensions of 37.25mm x 47.25mm x 7.2mm in a tonneau shape. Compact and strong, like Nadal himself who has always won through his athleticism rather than being a giant and blasting people off the court with his serves like the 6’10” Isner or 6’11” Karlović.

Looking to the dial, that too features the bare minimum embellishment in order to save weight. The central hour and minute hands are partially skeletonised as is the barrel located at 11 o’clock and the flying tourbillon at 5. The only concession to style is the addition of lines on two prominent bridges that match the V shape of the tourbillon.

Interestingly, the watch has a solid caseback because the TPT is lighter than the glass that would typically feature in an exhibition caseback. In fact, the glass above the dial is a lightweight PMMA polymer glass with scratch-resistant coating rather than the more traditional and heavier sapphire crystal for the same reason.

The Richard Mille RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal is priced at CHF 980,000 (approx. £842,700, excl. taxes) and limited to 80 pieces, and is the last word in lightweight manual tourbillons, adding another accolade to Richard Mille’s already extensive trophy cabinet. Although they did recently lose the world record for thinnest watch to Bulgari. So perhaps another brand will take up the lightweight tourbillon challenge while RM themselves seek to take back the Iron Throne of Horology.

More details at Richard Mille.