With the near-complete lifting of travel restrictions, the anticipation for heightened global explorations in 2024 is palpable, whether for work or leisure. Celebrate the exciting Christmas and New Year with our specially curated selection of watches that will become indispensable for all your exciting and unforgettable endeavours.
Travel, integral to both work and leisure, demands a watch with practical features. Travel watches seamlessly combine style and functionality, proving indispensable for global travellers. In an age dominated by digital devices, the enduring charm of a well-crafted travel timepiece remains robust. Equipped with dual time zones or GMT functions, these watches simplify tracking different time zones effortlessly, aiding in mitigating jet lag.
Beyond aesthetics, travel watches prioritize readability, comfort, and reliability. Emphasizing a “grab and go” philosophy, they seamlessly adjust to different time zones with quick-adjust features. Comfort is paramount, with material choices like steel, titanium, and high-tech ceramic offering durability and derma-friendly properties.
Reliability is non-negotiable, with long power reserves for mechanical timepieces and robust exteriors featuring elements like a steel case, sapphire crystal, and high water resistance. These ensure watches withstand the rigors of unpredictable travel environments.
A good travel watch transcends timekeeping, standing as a companion designed to simplify and elevate the travel experience. With an ideal blend of convenience, comfort, and reliability, these watches remain indispensable for the modern adventurer, ensuring every journey, whether by land or air, is accompanied by a functional and stylish timepiece. Read on for nine specially curated timepieces that will complement your upcoming travels and adventures.
Worldtimer Watch
OMEGA Seamaster Aqua Terra GMT Worldtimer 43MM
A compelling blend of sportiness and sophistication, this watch is tailored for discerning travellers with exceptional travel-related functions. Bienne, chosen to represent Central European Time, holds significance as Omega‘s headquarters. The watch, powered by the Master Chronometer-certified Calibre 8938, ensures impressive magnetic resistance, making it durable amidst modern electronic devices and aircraft cockpits. The GMT function enables wearers to effortlessly track a second time zone, ideal for jetsetters and global schedule management. The worldtimer feature, displayed on a laser-ablated titanium dial, exhibits 24 time zones with vibrant colours, enhancing its utility for frequent travellers. Despite its 43mm stainless steel case, the design maintains refinement, featuring twisted lugs and a polished bezel. This timepiece exemplifies Omega‘s commitment to innovation, precision, and timeless design, offering a luxurious travel companion for the modern globetrotter.
GMT Watches
Chopard L.U.C GMT One
Chopard‘s L.U.C GMT One pleases not only with its highly practical features, but also its ultra-chic design that embodies the essence of a true GMT watch. Initially created for pilots in the 1950s, the GMT watch has an extra hour hand pointing to a 24-hour scale. It allows tracking two time zones simultaneously. The second hour hand can be independently set, simplifying tracking of home and destination times for travellers, or managing global communications. The L.U.C GMT One, part of Chopard’s revered L.U.C collection, seamlessly integrates the GMT complication into its design. The watch’s functionality includes a 24-hour scale and a second hour hand, ensuring precise tracking of a second time zone—an invaluable feature for modern globetrotters. The watch maintains a clean and intuitive design, while Chopard‘s commitment to fine craftsmanship and exquisite finishing further distinguishes the L.U.C GMT One as a luxurious and reliable companion for the discerning globetrotter.
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT
This rose gold timepiece epitomizes Bulgari‘s fusion of sleek aesthetics and groundbreaking functionality. Part of the Octo Finissimo series, it sets a record as the world’s slimmest automatic-winding watch with both chronograph and GMT functions, boasting an 8.75mm thick case. The satin-polished rose gold case, characterized by its angular design, radiates warmth, complemented by a rich brown lacquered sunray dial. The GMT function elegantly resides in the subdial at 3 o’clock, enabling dual-time tracking with seamless efficiency. The ergonomic design features elongated chrono pushers and a GMT adjustment pusher at nine, enhancing functionality while maintaining architectural allure. With the in-house BVL318 movement, a marvel measuring 3.3mm thick, and a luxurious brown alligator strap, this timepiece marries innovation with an unmistakeable sense of aesthetics that is unique to Italian style.
TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 GMT
The TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 GMT, an enhanced version of the 2021 Aquaracer, merges dual-time functionality with top-tier diving capabilities. Catering to travellers and adventure seekers, it adheres to TAG Heuer‘s Six Features, offering a sapphire crystal, 300m water resistance, unidirectional bezel, screw-in crown, luminous markings, and double safety clasp. The 43mm stainless steel case, featuring polished chamfers and a distinctive crown guard, encases a robust ceramic bezel. With a GMT function seamlessly integrated into the blue sunray dial, the watch is powered by the COSC-rated Calibre 7, combining practicality and aesthetics. This versatile timepiece, adorned with exquisite details, transitions seamlessly from daily wear to various activities with reliability and style.
Dual Time Watches
Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Hemispheres Retrograde Steel Blue
Unveiled at the 2021 Geneva Watch Days, this creation seamlessly marries contemporary elegance with traditional craftsmanship. The stainless-steel edition features a captivating blue dial with hand-turned ‘Pomme de Pin’ guilloché patterns, showcasing a crescent-tipped hand tracing a parabolic curve. This hand indicates both the date and a secondary time zone with a day/night indicator. Javelin-shaped hands and a silvered rail track contribute to the mesmerizing display. The dual crowns of the watch enable independent setting of the primary and secondary time zones. What truly distinguishes the Toric Hemispheres is its remarkable functionality within the travel watch category. The innovative secondary timezone complication allows precise adjustment of ‘home time,’ accommodating offsets as small as 30 or 45 minutes. Paired with a luxurious ‘Indigo Blue’ Hermès alligator strap, this timepiece redefines travel watches, combining impeccable aesthetics with exceptional technical prowess.
H. Moser & Cie. Dual Time Heritage
Part of the brand’s Heritage collection, this timepiece seamlessly blends vintage pilot aesthetics with modern flair. Encased in a 42mm stainless steel case with tapered lugs and a knurled crown, the timepiece boasts a sunburst fumé burgundy dial, Arabic numerals, and a discreet transparent lacquer brand logo. Honouring anonymity for historical homage, the watch introduces a dual-time function with a grey hand neatly tucked beneath the main hour hand when not in use. Legibility is prioritized with large luminous numerals and sword hands, catering to those who appreciate simplicity. Powered by Moser‘s HMC 809 movement, recognized for its robust appearance and three-day power reserve, this creation, paired with grey leather straps, thoughtfully embodies Moser’s signature design DNA, as well as its ingenuity in combining form with meticulous engineering.
Dive Watches
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe
Are you a diver who constantly seeks out new adventures in the depths of the oceans? Introduced in 1956, the Bathyscaphe marked a pivotal moment in dive watch history as a civilian counterpart to the professional Fifty Fathoms. Named after deep-diving submersibles by explorer Auguste Piccard, the Bathyscaphe became iconic for its sleek design and underwater functionality. In 2013, Blancpain revisited this legacy, presenting a contemporary interpretation of the Bathyscaphe with a focus on readability, robustness, and water resistance. The recent three-hand model, encased in plasma grey ceramic with a deep blue dial, showcases the brand’s fusion of tradition and innovation. With its historical significance and modern adaptations, the Bathyscaphe stands as a testament to Blancpain‘s enduring impact on dive watch evolution and its commitment to crafting exceptional timepieces for exploration and everyday use. While being a robust tool watch for your upcoming diving trips, the timelessly elegant design of this emblematic timepiece also offers versatility as the perfect complement for dressier occasions.
OMEGA Seamaster Planet Ocean
Any die-hard diver will be familiar with the legacy behind OMEGA’s Seamaster series. A stalwart in dive watch evolution, the Seamaster embraces its third generation with a remarkable blend of tradition and innovation. Encased in polished stainless steel with a striking blue ceramic dial, its glossy appearance is accentuated by a polished ceramic and LiquidMetal alloy bezel. The signature helium escape valve at 10 o’clock, luminous hour markers, and contrasting hands cater to underwater functionality. Beyond aesthetics, OMEGA‘s commitment to technological excellence is evident in the Master Chronometer certification, ensuring precision and resistance to magnetic fields up to 15,000 gausses. The automatic calibre 8900 with a silicon balance spring and 60-hour power reserve is showcased through a sapphire crystal caseback. Remarkably, the Planet Ocean unveils a unique time zone function, allowing independent one-hour jumps for the hour hand, making it all the convenient for your next dive adventure, anywhere in the world.
Pilot Watch
Zenith Pilot Big Date Flyback
This creation stands as a formidable tool watch for aviators, combining historical significance with contemporary functionality. Rooted in Zenith‘s aviation legacy since 1888, when the term “Pilote” was trademarked, this timepiece is crafted for practical use in the cockpit. Its 42.5mm stainless steel case, designed with wide tapering lugs and an easily graspable diamond-shaped crown, ensures durability and ease of handling for pilots. The chronograph function, with a flyback feature, allows swift and precise timing—an essential tool for aviators for recording consecutive intervals. The luminescent elements on the dial ensure optimal readability, catering to low-light conditions during flights. Furthermore, the big date function, activated with exceptional speed, adds practicality for pilots in managing dates efficiently. The sapphire caseback, revealing an openworked rotor resembling an “artificial horizon,” pays homage to cockpit instruments, underscoring the Pilot Big Date Flyback’s relevance as a reliable and functional tool for aviation professionals.
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