The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Money
Sporting chance
Want to buy a sports luxe watch without the long wait? Adrian Hailwood looks at the less-hyped and must-have alternatives to the market leaders
When Chopard launched its Alpine Eagle earlier this month, the brand became the latest to dip a toe into the hotly-contested sports luxe sector. This specific coupling of high-end watchmaking with robust, yet elegant, sports styling made its debut in 1972 with Gérald Genta’s ground-breaking, stainless-steel Royal Oak design for Audemars Piguet. Four years later its reputation was cemented with Patek Philippe’s launch of the Gentadesigned Nautilus.
The watches, initially demanded by the Italian market, expressed la dolce vita in a manner embodied by Gianni Agnelli, the rakish head of Fiat, who, it is said, would leap from his helicopter into his pool, before heading in for dinner.
The success of these business/sports/ dress watches has endured, and in recent years demand has skyrocketed to make the originals all but unobtainable at brand boutiques. Today, waiting lists stretch to infinity and, while the secondary market remains an option, it can demand premiums of up to three-times list price for certain models, without the comfort of authorised retail.
This imbalance of supply and demand, however, creates an opportunity for other manufactures to break into the sector, as long as the blend of heritage, design, quality and price are deemed right. For iconoclasts still wanting to follow the hottest watch trend, the options have never been wider, or more appealing.
1 CHOPARD ALPINE EAGLE
Back in 1980 Chopard revealed its first steel sports watch – the St Moritz. Although it featured an octagonal screwed bezel and integrated bracelet, it had no input from Genta. The Alpine Eagle reimagines the original watch, but in a stronger, more assured form. The signature four pairs of bezel screws remain, but the movement is in-house and chronometer certified, while the case is crafted from a new, hypoallergenic Lucent Steel, combining enhanced hardness with unique light-reflecting properties. £8,770; chopard.com
2 GIRARD-PERREGAUX LAUREATO
The first Laureato in 1975 capitalised on the advantages of slim quartz innovation. The octagonal bezel was designed by an Italian architect, inspired by the dome of the Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. The Laureato has reappeared in Girard-Perregaux’s prod
‘ The watches, initially demanded by the Italian market, expressed la dolce vita in a manner embodied by Gianni Agnelli’
uct line sporadically ever since, but the most recent iteration has been pared back to sleek simplicity. The intricate and eyecatching clou-de-Paris dial design sits above a self-winding movement made completely in-house. £8,500; William & Son, 3436 Bruton St, Mayfair, London W1; 020 7493 8385; girard-perregaux.com
3 JAEGER-LECOUTRE POLARIS
From the beginning, Jaeger-LeCoultre was the power behind the sports luxe dial, supplying base movements powering both the Royal Oak and Nautilus. While the original 1968 Memovox Polaris was a sturdy, utilitarian dive watch, its modern equivalent adds enough refinement to elevate it to luxury status. The hand-finished case with its mix of brushed and polished textures is rare to find at this price point, while the multitextured, detail-laden dial covers the kind of reliable movement Jaeger-LeCoultre is famous for. £6,800; jaeger-lecoultre.com
4 PIAGET POLO S
Unlike many other prestige manufacturers, Piaget’s first sports watch, the Polo from 1979, was an unashamedly decadent band of gold; the brand didn’t add steel models until 2000 with the short-lived Upstream. The new Polo S leaves behind the striped, seamless design of the original in favour of a more conventional case and bracelet design, the only echoes being the dial’s horizontal grooves. Befitting the masters of the ultra-thin movement, Piaget’s Polo S is svelte but certainly not delicate. £9,900; piaget.com
5 URBAN JÜRGENSEN ONE
The sole watch here that is not a reissue, the Urban Jürgensen One represents a new direction for a historic and classically styled brand, suggesting that even watchmakers without archives to exploit see sports luxe as a lucrative market. The case and bracelet are styled on a series of concentric circles and ovals to create a distinctive and contemporary form similar to its rivals, but in no way derivative. The movement is UJ’s own and continues a centuries-old tradition of hand-finished watchmaking. £23,700; David Duggan Watches, 63 Piccadilly, Mayfair, London W1, 020 7491 1675; urbanjurgensen.com
6 VACHERON CONSTANTIN OVERSEAS
Vacheron Constantin launched its Jörg Hysek-designed ref. 222 in 1977. Its discontinuation in the mid-1980s left a vacancy in the brand’s line-up, which was filled in 1996 by the Overseas – an obvious spiritual descendent of the 222. The latest Overseas is the third evolution of this established classic, featuring a simplified bezel design and a beautiful in-house movement that’s showcased through a sapphire crystal caseback. £18,100; vacheron-constantin.com