There are specialized watches for many kinds of sport, including diving, flying and yachting. These sports watches probably have one thing in common their size. Sports watches tend to be slightly larger and heavier that watches for day-to-day wear because of the higher degree of water and shock resistancy that is often required by the sportsperson. Extra space is often needed to incorporate the extra movements demanded from a sports watch.
Many sports watches have a ratchet bezel, which enables the specific timing of, for example, a dive or a run. On all good watches, this bezel is unidirectional so that in the case of a blow to the watch in which the bezel is moved, diving or flying time, say, is shortened not prolonged. If you purchase an old sport watch to use for a potentially dangerous sport, it is essential to check the overall condition of the piece, making sure that the stated water resistance is still maintained and that the ratchet bezel is intact.
Water-resistant watches should have their seals checked regularly, especially if they are used in salt water, which corrodes the inner sealing ring. There are many water-resistant chronograph movements, but the chronograph cannot be activated or de-activated under water
Baume & Mercier
As many watch companies have proved sports watches do not all have to be ugly and awkward. There is often no distinction between the functional and the beautiful. Sports watches can have surprising good looks but maintain the ability to withstand the normal sports wear. These are available today, both as current lines and as past successes.
Baume et Mercier is one such firm. Its Transpacific and Riviera ranges, both available in steel, mixed metal and 18-carat gold, are fully water-resistant to at least 30m (100ft) and they are equipped with sapphire glass. The Reviera range has a chronograph among its many models and the Transpacific is a chronograph range which, unusually, contains a lady s model
Continuing the Baume et Mercier history of chronograph ranges, many of the company s 1950s models are still to be found today and these also show the elegant looks
Breitling
Breitling is well known for its specialist sports watches. Many older models are still in existence, some of which have links with important aviation events and air forces all over the world. Breitling is no stranger to the chronograph movement, and perhaps its most famous in recent years, the Chronomat, is available in many guises. This automatic chronograph has a diving bezel and is water-resistant. Breitling also produces the Cosmonaute, a watch for the pilot, which has a slide rule bezel and a 24-hour movement.
The company supplies many aviation organizations, and its flagship chronograph, the Navitimer, is still produced by the factory in Grenchen, Switzerland.
Their precision and the ease with which crucial information is made legible are probably the main reasons why Breitling timing instruments have claimed a very important position on the instrument panel of many a legendary aircraft, such as the Boeing Clipper and the DC3. You can often see retired employee wearing their official-issue Breitling
The yachtsman is also catered for with the Breitling Yachtmaster, which has an automatic chronograph movement and five-and ten-minutes warning zones
Cartier
In view of the growing interest in sports watches, it is not surprising that such a great name as Cartier should unveil its pasha range in 1985, named after El Glaoui, Pasha of Marrakesh, who in 1930s requested a watch that he could wear in swimming pool. The Pasha is one of Cartier s most distinctive ranges, vailable in either steel or 18-carat gold. The Cartier has also fitted a revolutionary movement to one of the Pasha series, the Chrono Reflex. This is not just a chronograph, but also a calendar watch, and its case seems amazingly small when the number of functions is taken into consideration. The Chrono Reflex has an ingenious system for indicating the number of years to go until a leap year, as well as the date. The month and the hour according to the 24-hour clock
Girard-Perregaux
Girard-Perregaux has applied its many years of experience to the production of both classic and sports chronographs and also offers a range of diving watches, called Sea Hawk, which would satisfy the most exacting collector. The classic good looks of its GP 4900, one of few watches available in pink gold, are reminiscent of an earlier age, while the company s commitment to be the future is demonstrated in the clean, sober lines of its GP7000 series. In production since 1990, again using both yellow and pink gold, GP7000 is a range of true sports watches with sapphire glass and automatic movements
Longines
Since 1867, when Ernest Francillon opened the Longines factory, the company s name has been linked to major sporting events, with the commitment to precision timing that this entails. It manufactures marine chronometers needing to withstand the rigours of journeys to the Arctic and the Antarctic (not the least famous of these expeditions was led by Captain Bernier, when he navigated from the United States to the North Pole on his ship, The Arctic). As well as producing watches for sports from motor racing to cycling, Longines has been directly involved in great sporting events throughout the twentieth century
Omega
Omega s Speedmaster chronographs also have a long history. A hand-wound version was taken to the moon in 1969 you can t have an automatic movement in the absence of gravity. With an auspicious start, it is not surprising that Omega has kept up the Speedmaster range, retaining the basic idea, but constantly improving and updating the design. Introducing the titanium and rose gold Seamaster has been Omega s latest venture into chronographs with a water-resistancy of 300m (1,000ft) and a ratchet diving bezel. It is worth knowing that Omega first went underwater in 1934, so it is not surprising that the company has solved the problem of helium gas release in a novel way. Instead of having an open valve, it has perfected a screw-down crown at ten o clock, which can be opened if needed, letting out any helium, while preventing water from seeping in
Omega in space
When the Omega Speedmaster went to the moon, it was the beginning of a great tradition with sports timing for the company. Omega has produced a limited-edition Speedmaster chronograph with a run of just 999 pieces and availalable only in 18-carat gold. The survivor of a very impressive array of tests organized by NASA in Houston, Omega beat its competitors and, after that first moon mission, accompanied by the US astronauts on several more sorties. An agreement between the Russians and Omega followed.
Commemorating twenty years of excellence
To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of that important date of 20 July, 1969, Omega also produced an edition of 2,500 stainless-steel Speedmaster professional chronographs, each inscribed, as is the more recent 18-carat gold version, with the word s Apollo XI 1969 on the edge and bearing on the back The first watch worn on the moon and Flight qualified by NASA for all manned space missions
It is worth remembering that the precision of these chronographs was so good that it enabled the crew of one space mission to make crucial calculations to establish their position when contact with Earth was broken
Rolex
One of the most famous diving watches of all time must surely be the Rolex Submariner, with an automatic movement, chronometer certificate and water resistance to 300m (1,000ft). It is beaten only by another Rolex product, the Sea Dweller. It is capable of submerging to a depth of 1,220m (4,000ft). This is the only Rolex with a date that does not have a magnifying bubble. The Sea Dweller has been produced solely in steel, whereas the Submariner has been produced in steel, yellow metal and steel, and 18-carat gold.
Tag Heuer
It would be impossible to collect sports watches and ignore Tag-Heuer. Tracing its history back to 1860 and official timekeeper at the 1920 Olympics, Tag Heuer has made a remarkable comeback since the early 1980s. in 1985, the link between the watch Heuer and the group TAG (Techniques d Avant Garde) was made. Any piece with only the Heuer name pre-dates 1985
Most of the Tag-Heuers of today have a quartz mechanism, ensuring precision. Edward Heuer s interest in technological achievement led to many patents, the first, early in the company s history, being for a new system of water-sealing cases. In 1942, it launched the Solunar, which showed the ebb and flow of the tides and indicated the times when fishing would be good! The company s expertise has also been used to make car dashboard timers.
Today the Tag-Heuer factory is still is a position to service most wrist watches bearing the old Heuer brand name, be they mechanical or quartz. Automatic Tag-Heuers are rare and much sought after
Zenith
It would be difficult to discuss automatic chronograph movements without mentioning the El Primero movement by Zenith, used by other watch companies for their chronograph ranges. The El Primero is a classic, constantly revised and updated. It was first produced in 1969 and has been making a considerable comeback to be the epitome of chronograph movements, having, as it does, many unique features. Zenith has recently produced a new range of El Primero chronographs, entitled The Rainbow
The Most Famous Sports Watches
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