Summer watches: Sport chic style – Part 1

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

But as you 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 watch which deserves to make its entry into the major watch items at BonneGueule: Sport Chic.

SPORT CHIC: A CASUAL CHIC STYLE FOR WATCHES?

In the clothing sector, 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 nevertheless be recognized that the formal style has been shaken up by certain developments in society. Confinements and the rise of teleworking in recent years have also had their effects and it must be admitted that many have started to abandon suits in favor of casual style. However, all 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 finds itself at a crossroads. Historically, there were two main categories of wristwatches: dress watches which we have covered in dedicated articles and professional watches which themselves bring together two styles: sports models, including professional diving but we can also include airplane or rally pilots' watches, and military watches whose history we have presented as rich as it is moving .

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

It was the norm, we were in a society which had its well-established codes. Then one day, a certain actor named Sean Connery wore a dive watch on screen with his tuxedo: a Rolex Submariner. There had been no agreement with the brand, the story says that the watch would have belonged to the production director of the first James Bond brought to the screen and that he had entrusted 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 memories, at the time worn in a transgressive manner with evening wear.

So, why a selection of Sport Chic watches for summer instead of divers?

If, initially, divers were intended for humid environments or even war zones due to their robust design, we must not forget that a good part of current diving watches have become office divers: some of them they have even become luxury objects by adopting, among other things, polished steel to the detriment brushed steel not to mention the prices which have exploded for certain brands.

Everyone is free to use their dishwasher for all occasions of course and even for white-collar work. However... I can't help but think that there is another category of watches which 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 which are clearly oriented towards a style casual as well as its variant casual chic.

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

They have a style which comes directly from the 70s which is visually different from the classic watch or even the so-called minimalist watches which had begun to swarm for a time.

Chic sports watches are the embodiment of the hybrid style which has developed massively in recent years. In my opinion, this style deserves to linger there and at the same time rediscover a very rich period which had its place completely in the great history of watchmaking and men's fashion.

To come back to divers, the Rolex Submariner of the time was not a so-called Sport Chic watch. It was a professional model intended for diving which gradually made its way into other contexts. In the history of watchmaking, there was actually a style of its own 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 marked a break with the style of classic watches because these years massively popularized other shapes in watches.

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

Few designer names have achieved so much fame in the watch sector. Gérald Genta was a designer who remains at the source of an entire generation of watches, many of which would become not only references in the brands' collections but also bestsellers which are still much sought after.

Before the 1970s, Gérald Genta created the design of the Polerouter from Universal Genève , a watch which was developed for the cabin crew for the company SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) in the 1960s.

Gérald Genta subsequently contributed to a very large brand: Omega with the renewal of the Constellation collection. The designer's first weapons were real successes but the story had not finished with him, the 70s will bring out all his creativity in perfect harmony 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, the design of watches began to evolve at the end of the 1960s, we already saw it emerging at that time, particularly in the adoption of new case shapes. However, the full maturity of this style emerged with the design proposed by Gérald Genta to Audermars Piguet then to Patek Philippe .

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

This model inaugurated what we would later call luxury sports watches in steel. This is a breakthrough because in the 50s or 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 depending on their means to treat themselves to a basic steel version or a luxury gold version of their favorite model.

The Royal Oak arrived in steel but will be sold at the price of gold which was a small revolution – more in the field of marketing in fact – at its 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 describe as almost 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 bracelet integrated, the very shape of the case makes it easily portable.

Gérald Genta created no less than 100,000 watch designs during his lifetime for major brands but also for his own brand which was subsequently launched. Although he sadly left us in 2011, Gérald Genta left us not only some of the best-known watchmaking references of our time but also he created a whole style of watches in their own right: a hybrid style , at the base of watches luxury sports watches but which ultimately developed subsequently 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 abandon this too 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 emanate from luxury – and in my opinion not all current luxury brands are necessarily chic – but not only that. Let's instead imagine a young sports coach who is certainly accustomed to technical clothing in his work but who, for a meeting or simply during his free time, wants to take a walk on the seaside or bring his girlfriend to an exhibition, he has the option of resorting to a style that mixes casual and more formal elements.

Here are some look possibilities:

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 which tends towards gray , all with a classic white shirt and very light beige chinos from the Scandinave brand These Glory Days and Randolph Engineering for sunglasses.

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

Here we keep the chinos that I appreciate for their immense versatility, but we opt for a velvet jacket from the These Glory Days brand. We could also have used an overshirt 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 a special edition Persol.

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 was wearing a diver but looking back I would have preferred to opt for a chic sport 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 to which I add an element of color: a chic sports watch which will stand out in the look with the touch of color of its dial and bracelet . Converse from a neo-vintage edition, These Glory Days honeycomb knit sweater, MAT Watches watch.

Obviously all these looks are only examples among many possible combinations. My personal preference is for a form of neo-retro but it is up to you to choose to orient the look towards (even) more casual or to go towards (even) more chic. I think 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 chic sports watch has the advantage that it can very easily adapt to all looks that play between these two polarities.

WHAT FOR LADIES?

Here we have a feminine look combining a t-shirt and double-breasted jacket as well as pants in 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 immense advantage of being able to select certain feminine pieces from the period but also certain masculine pieces to match their looks. Vintage men's watches are well suited to this due to their contained diameter. It should also be remembered that many watch brands have adapted their current offering and now offer numerous pieces in limited diameters.

This is the case of March Lab for example which uses 36mm for certain 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 - the latter have been proliferating for years, particularly in entry-level women's watches with brands like Cluse or Daniel Wellington - I cannot recommend enough to look towards 70s-inspired watches which bring more of a 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 which is based on ready models provided for a period of 10 days minimum with daily wear. In summary, I want to live with these watches for a period 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 just presenting watches from the same price segment which not only reduces the prospects but also only deals with the subject only 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 a short time ago but which stood out for its style and technical characteristics.