Summer watches: Sport chic style – Part 1

Two more years have passed since the second article on summer watches . Also, it was planned to make a third article about divers with a new selection of watches, never 2 without 3 you might say.

But as you well know, I like to take the opposite view and not do what is generally expected. Also, for this year, the summer selection will not deal with divers but with another style of watches that deserves to make its entry into the great watch articles at BonneGueule: Sport Chic.

SPORT CHIC: A CASUAL CHIC STYLE FOR WATCHES?

In the clothing industry, you have obviously already heard of casual chic, whether in magazines, advertising campaigns or on social networks. Casual chic has invaded men's and women's wardrobes for many years now. I must admit that I was not a big fan of this style which is at the crossroads between two radically opposed styles : formal and casual.

It must be recognized, however, that the formal style has been shaken up by certain changes in society. Lockdowns and the rise of teleworking in recent years have also had their effects and it must be admitted that many have started to abandon the suit in favor of the casual style. However, any notion of chic has not been completely abandoned and in my opinion this can give very good looks in certain cases.

In watches, there is also a style that is at the crossroads. Historically, there were two main categories of wristwatches: dress watches that we have covered in dedicated articles and professional watches that themselves include two styles: sports models, including professional diving watches but we can also include watches for airplane or rally pilots, and military watches whose history we have presented as rich as it is moving .

To sum up, on formal occasions, a formal style was required and this included classic style watches i.e. a dress style watch. And in the professional setting, at least for those who worked in the sports world such as motorsport or diving, a professional watch was then used.

It was the norm, we were in a society that had its well-established codes. Then one day, a certain actor named Sean Connery wore a diving watch with his tuxedo on screen: a Rolex Submariner. There had been no agreement with the brand, the story goes that the watch belonged to the production manager of the first James Bond film and that he had given it to Sean Connery for certain scenes.

What is interesting about this first James Bond is that the main character also wears a classic watch, a Gruen Precision, in gold on a formal occasion. However, it is the Rolex Submariner that remains in the memory, at the time worn in a transgressive way with an evening suit.

So why a selection of Sport Chic watches for the summer instead of diving watches?

Although divers were initially intended for humid environments or even war zones due to their robust design, it should not be forgotten that a good number of today's diving watches have become office divers: some of them have even become luxury items by adopting, among other things, polished steel to the detriment of brushed steel, not to mention the prices that have exploded for certain brands.

Everyone is free to use their diver for all occasions of course and even for a white-collar job. However… I can't help but think that there is another category of watches that would be much more interesting to wear for all these occasions and it also seems to me to be more in line with current trends that have clearly moved towards a casual style as well as its variant, casual chic.

Fancy sports watches are usually water resistant to 100 or 150 meters and some to 200 meters. They are not afraid of water while having a style and features that distance them from professional watches .

They have a style that comes directly from the 70s, which is visually different from the classic watch or even the so-called minimalist watches that had been proliferating for a while.

Sport chic watches are the embodiment of the hybrid style that has developed massively in recent years. In my opinion, this style deserves to be explored and at the same time rediscovered a very rich period that had its place in the great history of watchmaking and men's fashion.

To return to divers, the Rolex Submariner of the time was not a so-called Sport Chic watch. It was a professional model intended for diving that gradually made its way into other contexts. In the history of watchmaking, there was in fact a style in its own right that was created to truly become hybrid watches.

The true founder of this style in watches was a designer who left a lasting legacy in watchmaking.

THE 70S AND GERALD GENTA

If the 50s and 60s represent the quintessence of classic style in wristwatches, the 70s represent a double rupture while being part, at least for the very beginning of the decade, of the golden age of watchmaking. The 70s mark a break with the style of classic watches because these years massively popularize other shapes in watches.

There is indeed a certain form of revolution in design that is taking place – in fact, connoisseurs can already detect the beginnings of this major stylistic evolution in the late 1960s – and it is one man who will notably take it to its peak, his name is Gérald Genta.

Few designer names have achieved such fame in the watch industry. Gérald Genta was a designer who remains at the source of a whole generation of watches, many of which would become not only references in the brands' collections but also bestsellers that are still highly sought after.

Before the 1970s, Gérald Genta created the design for the Universal Genève Polerouter, a watch that was developed for flight personnel for SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) in the 1960s.

Gérald Genta later contributed to a very big brand: Omega with the renewal of the Constellation collection. The designer's first weapons were real flashes of brilliance but history was not finished with him, the 70s would burst all his creativity by agreeing perfectly with his time.

Royal Oak and Nautilus . These two references are among the best known in luxury watchmaking. These models are among the most sought-after and also among the most expensive for watches that were originally made of… steel. Gérald Genta's stroke of genius was not only to make a big splash in design by offering watches with a radically different style compared to what was being done at the time.

Certainly, watch design began its evolution at the end of the 60s, we already see it emerging at that time, particularly in the adoption of new case shapes. However, the full maturity of this style broke through with the design proposed by Gérald Genta to Audermars Piguet and then to Patek Philippe .

For the Royal Oak, Gérald Genta was inspired by an old diving helmet that was attached to the suit with bolts. It was from this inspiration that the designer came up with the idea of ​​a watch with an octagonal bezel that is recognizable among all with its screws and its steel bracelet integrated into the watch.

This model inaugurates what would later be called luxury steel sports watches. This is a break because in the 50s and 60s, luxury watches were made of gold . The models of all brands were generally available in steel, gold-plated and gold versions, so the customer had the choice according to their means to afford a basic steel version or a luxury gold version of their favorite model.

The Royal Oak came in steel but was sold at the price of gold, which was a small revolution – more in the marketing area this time – at the time.

For the Nautilus, Gérald Genta was inspired by the shape of portholes in the nautical world. Released a few years after the Royal Oak, the Nautilus is however larger, it is 42mm and for the 70s, this was not at all the norm although the diameters were already a little larger compared to the previous decade.

It was a diameter that we could almost call avant-garde for the time but which easily adapted to the wrist because – as I must repeat regularly – the characteristics of this watch with its short lugs, its integrated bracelet, the very shape of the case make it easily wearable.

Gérald Genta created no less than 100,000 watch designs during his lifetime for major brands as well as for his own brand that was later launched. Although he sadly passed away in 2011, Gérald Genta left us not only some of the most famous watchmaking references of our time, but he also created a whole style of watches in its own right: a hybrid style , based on luxury sports watches but which ultimately developed to cover all price ranges in watches.

HOW TO WEAR A SPORT CHIC STYLE WATCH TODAY?

The easy option would be to conform to the cliché of the businessman on his yacht, but let's leave aside this overly bling bling style like that provided by Leonardo di Caprio in The Wolf of Wall Street on his boat and swinging wads of cash. Bling bling has nothing to do with chic.

Chic can come from luxury – and in my opinion, not all current luxury brands are necessarily chic – but not only that. Let's imagine a young sports coach who is certainly used to technical clothing in his work but who, for the duration of an appointment or simply in his free time, wants to walk along the seaside or take his girlfriend to an exhibition, he has the option of resorting to a style that mixes casual and more formal elements.

Here are some possible looks:

We could have taken a Harrington-type jacket but for my part I like to wear this very light wool jacket with this light blue tending towards gray , all with a classic white shirt and very light beige chinos from the Scandinavian brand These Glory Days and Randolph Engineering for sunglasses.

As always, I play with the straps for the watch and I adopt a camel-colored perlon to slightly contrast with the jacket.

Here we keep the chinos that I like for their immense versatility but we opt for a velvet jacket from the brand These Glory Days. We could have used the overshirt also in a wide variety of materials depending on the evolution of the temperature.

Worn here with a Tissot watch directly inspired by the 70s and special edition Persols.

If you want to reinforce the chic side a little, the tie with a particular pattern, like the club tie, will be a sure ally. To counterbalance, I wear a tobacco-colored cap. Here I wore a diver's watch but in hindsight I would have preferred to opt for a chic sports watch especially with this look.

Cinabre brand cap and tie, vintage Omega Seamaster Professional watch

A more preppy style would tend more towards the cricket sweater and/or the polo shirt, for my part I preferred a more monochrome look on which I add an element of color: a chic sports watch that will stand out in the look by the touch of color of its dial and its bracelet . Converse of a neo-vintage edition, These Glory Days honeycomb knit sweater, MAT Watches watch.

Obviously all these looks are just examples among many possible combinations. My personal preference is for a neo-retro style but it is up to you to choose whether to steer the look towards (even) more casual or (even) more chic. I think that the success of a sporty chic look comes more from the ability to twist pieces and marry them with the trend that suits you best. A sporty chic watch has the advantage that it can very easily adapt to all the looks that play between these two polarities.

AND FOR THE LADIES?

Here we have a feminine look mixing t-shirt and double-breasted jacket as well as pants displaying a very beautiful petrol blue. Different shades of blue and in the center a watch with a green strap and with a combo by adding a strap next to that of the watch.

Women have the huge advantage of being able to pick out some feminine pieces from the period but also some masculine pieces to match them with their looks. Vintage men's watches lend themselves well to this because of their contained diameter. It should also be noted that many watch brands have adapted their current offering and now offer many pieces in contained diameters.

This is the case of March Lab for example, which uses 36mm for some models, but we can also think of Omega, which offers 38mm for some of its reference models. Rather than opting for yet another "minimalist" watch - these have been proliferating for years, particularly in the entry-level range of women's watches with brands like Cluse or Daniel Wellington - I cannot recommend enough looking instead at 70s-inspired watches that bring more twist to outfits.

TOWARDS A NEW SELECTION

As you know, my selection method is based on a very clear pillar: to write a review on a watch, I NEVER rely on press releases . I do not copy ready-made texts, I wear the watches with a test protocol that is based on loan models provided for a minimum period of 10 days with daily wear. In short, I want to live with these watches for a period that is representative enough to provide real content, critical thinking and perspective.

For this selection, I decided to offer you different models ranging from 375 euros to 6000 euros in order to present the widest possible range. As always, I do not practice selection by price but by style which is much more interesting than presenting just watches of the same price segment which not only reduces the perspectives but also only treats the subject by this aspect while the world of watches is vast and deserves to be discovered and for all budgets.

We will begin this selection in the next article with a new watch that arrived recently but which has stood out for its style and technical characteristics.