Sports watches 2010 – real value is back – Unique designs in sports watches - Part 2 of 4

Sports watches, just by their rough and rugged nature, tend to stick out from the crowd, while at the same time, some brands really strive to be distinctive and recognizable. Some of the brands that succeeded this year include: Devon who introduced the Tread 1, which uses multiple moving belts to display the time, resulting in a look unlike anything else on the market. Designed by Jason Wilbur, the Tread 1 is something unique to the industry – a brand new design that was completely developed in the USA. In addition to this, it is being manufactured and assembled in the United States, using a very small percentage of parts from outside the country.
“All the mechanical parts of the movement are custom manufactured from scratch specifically for the Tread 1; from steel, titanium and aluminium, all CNC machined, wire EDM, and so on,” Wilbur details. “No off-the-shelf parts exist in the Tread 1 except for the battery, the microchip, wires and screws.”

TREAD 1 by Devon

The Bell & Ross BR-01 was a breakthrough in styling and performance, and Bell & Ross is turning heads again with the vintage look of its new Vintage BR, which is capitalizing on an overall trend in the watch industry towards classicism and vintage looks. This watch is no poser, however, as it still has the sports watch chops of 200 metre water resistance and pilot watch looks.

Vintage BR 123 & 126 Carbon Chronograh by Bell & Ross

At Linde Werdelin, the brand introduced a new ‘tattoo’ version of the Oktopus, where the case is intricately engraved, based on the designs of Henning Jørgensen, a famous tattoo artist, from Royal Tattoo in Denmark. Though expensive, 15,600 Euros, it sure stood out from the crowd.
“I see the Oktopus Tattoo as a contemporary piece of art for one’s wrist, Linde Werdelin’s first lifestyle watch where body art meets haute horlogerie,” says Morten Linde, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Linde Werdelin.

OKTOPUS TATTOO by Linde Werdelin

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Corum Admiral’s Cup timepieces. The Admiral’s Cup is a great design and this year Corum introduced some fantastic versions to mark its 50th anniversary. The Admiral’s Cup is the prototype of the true sports watch that is just at home at the office or an elegant dinner.

Eterna is introducing its Heritage limited edition line and two of the more noteworthy watches in this great collection are the Pulsometer and the Kon Tiki. The Pulsometer is from 1942 and helps track the beating of your heart (which should beat faster when wearing this cool watch, limited to 1942 pieces), while the Kon Tiki, water resistant to 200 metres, honours Thor Heyerdahl’s 1973 expedition and is limited to 1973 pieces.

One of the newest brands on the market, Equipe from Detroit, Michigan in the United States combines interesting designs and features with a value price point. Though some of the designs in the collections are a bit derivative, the use of ball joints for lugs and the details from the automotive industry (like pistons, gauges, tire tread straps, etc.) make this brand quite interesting.

BALLJOINT by Equipe

Anonimo, following a trend in the industry, introduced an interesting case colour, called Drass, which is gun metal grey that results from sandblasting steel to increase its resistance to wear. “Anonimo has been a case manufacture since 1939, in Firenza, Italy,” says Federico Massacesi, President of Anonimo. “We want to emphasize our cases.” In addition, Anonimo introduced a new opening price point of $2,300 which, according to Massacesi, “is a good answer in today’s market.”

CRONOSCOPIO MARK II DRASS GOLD by Anonimo

• PART 1 of 4 – Sports watches 2010 – real value is back
• PART 2 of 4 – Unique designs in sports watches
• PART 3 of 4 – Professional specifications for sports watches
• PART 4 of 4 – Sporting associations

Source: Europa Star June - July 2010 Magazine Issue