TURN BACK TIME

The Swinging Sixties was a golden age for watches, as well as pop culture, which is why brands rarely miss an opportunity to indulge in nostalgia WRIST ASSESSMENT SIXTIES REVIVAL

Anyone who grew up in Britain over the past half-century will be familiar with the mythologisation of 60s culture. Indeed, anyone who came of age three decades later won’t have escaped the pull of the movement nauseatingly known as Cool Britannia. But what do we make of the era today?

Its status as a time that birthed pop culture and modern fashion isn’t in doubt. Sex, drugs and rock and roll, not to mention colour television, the space race, Concorde – the list of ways in which the 60s laid the foundations for contemporary life is long indeed.

But what about the designs of the time?

Are they still cool? It’s received wisdom among car connoisseurs that the appeal of icons such as the E-Type and Ferrari 250 has peaked; today’s teenagers aren’t wowed by vehicles older than their grandparents.

So how about the world of watches? It was a golden decade. Customers were wealthier than they’d been for 30 years and excited by motorsport, aviation, exploration and the quest to leave Earth’s atmosphere – themes eagerly seized upon by

Swiss watchmakers. It was also the last decade in which mechanical watchmaking could still claim to be the dominant technology in its field; by the end of the decade, the battery-powered quartz watch was beginning its march to supremacy.

Ironically, if mechanical watchmaking hadn’t suffered such a shock, it’s possible that the luxury landscape today wouldn’t be so preoccupied with the glory years. Instead, we continue to lap up redux versions of great dive watches and chronographs from a time when they were still the practical tools of adventurous men.

The Tag Heuer Carrera turns 60 this year, as does that other great chronograph, the Rolex Daytona. Between them, they encapsulate the spirit of a decade that arguably produced more great chronographs than any other, including the first self-winding models. But there was more to the 60s. It was a decade of serious dive watches and bold advances in technology, like Bulova’s electronic Accutron. We’ve rounded up six modern watches that all owe a little something to this pivotal decade.

01 Accutron Spaceview 2020, £2,990

In 1960, Bulova produced the first Accutron electric watch. Demonstrator models showed the inner workings and were so popular they went into production as the Spaceview. This commemorative edition retains all the charm of that futuristic first design.

02 Zenith Chronomaster Original, £8,400

This model harks back to the invention, in 1969, of the first automatic chronograph, known ever since as ‘El Primero’. These days, it comes with an updated calibre, capable of measuring to 0.1 second thanks to the El Primero’s high frequency.

03 Breitling Top Time Shelby Cobra, £4,650

A limited edition automatic chronograph that pays tribute both to Breitling’s lesser-known 60s icon, the Top Time, and one of the most beloved cars of the era, Carroll Shelby’s 1962 Cobra. The 40mm watch stands out for its retro sub-dials.

04 Tag Heuer Carrera

60th Anniversary, £6,100

A faithful adaptation of the coveted reference 2447SN, this 39mm limited edition celebrates 60 years since the first Carrera chronograph emerged in 1963. Inside is the automatic calibre Heuer 02, Tag Heuer’s flagship chronograph movement.

05 Seiko Prospex Speedtimer, £2,870

It doesn’t herald it as loudly as its Swiss competitors today, but Seiko was among the first companies to produce an automatic chronograph watch in

1969. This 42.5mm model pays homage to that technical breakthrough.