(Continued) 5000 - 10,000 Euros

In this price range, customers can start getting into more high profile and recognisable brands. Some of the more notable introductions include:

Several years ago, Perrelet introduced the Turbine to great fanfare. Known for its double rotor on the dial side, Perrelet made it an aesthetic feature with the Turbine, and now has taken that one step further with the Turbine Diver. The watch comes in steel or steel and black, with a variety of colourful, SuperLuminova coated dials that are fascinating when the turbine spins, especially in the dark. Water resistant to 300 metres, the 47.5mm Turbine Diver is powered by an automatic movement and retails for €5200-5650.

Using the famous Co-Axial movement, Omega introduced the Seamaster Aqua Terra GMT this year. Available in a 43mm stainless-steel, 18-ct red gold or bi-colour steel and rose-gold case, the Seamaster Aqua Terra GMT is the first watch with the Co-Axial escapement to feature a GMT function. Water resistant to 150 metres, the Seamaster Aqua Terra GMT is a great looking watch that can perform well in just about any conditions. Retail price, €5940 in steel.

Zenith has a long heritage of pilot’s watches, and in fact has a trademark on the word “Pilot” when it comes to watches. This year at BaselWorld, Zenith introduced the new Pilot Big Date Special. A thoroughly modern watch with some vintage touches, it is everything a pilot’s watch should be, starting at €5400.

Linde Werdelin’s new Oktopus II Double Date debuted at BaselWorld. A serious diving watch with the option to add an instrument to become a true diving computer, the Oktopus II Double Date retails for between €8580 and €18,000, depending on case material. Water resistant to 300 metres, this timepiece features a two-level dial that adds depth to the watch and exposes the two big date wheels, which are colour coded for each variation.

The Breitling Transocean Chronograph Unitime is a great new worldtime watch, with its roots in the 1950s. Breitling first introduced the Unitimer back then, and the new timepiece shows how far Breitling has come – it uses as its base Breitling’s in-house calibre 05 movement, retailing for €9880 in steel.

Inspired by classic German racing cars from the 1930s, which were predominantly silver in colour, Chopard introduced the new Mille Miglia GTXL Speed Silver this year. This is the latest edition in the Racing Colours collection (last year it was Italy and racing red), and is a limited edition with an automatic, COSC-certified chronograph, with just 1000 pieces for the world. The Mille Miglia GTXL Speed Silver retails for €7,170.

Over 10,000 Euros

Over €10,000 opens up a wide range of possibilities, from precious metals to out-of-the-box designs, and also making niche brands like Romain Jerome and Graham London a possibility. Now, chances are that first time better watch buyers won’t be jumping into this price range, but for someone who is already a watch buyer and has bought some of the Rolexes and Omegas, they might be ripe for a jump into this price range.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic and Romain Jerome has finally added a diving watch to its Titanic DNA collection – the Octopus (retailing for €11,900-12,900, depending on material). Equipped with an internal unidirectional rotating bezel system, and infused with metal from the Titanic, the Octopus is water resistant to 270 metres (888 feet). Plans are for the Octopus to become its own collection, part of an expanded sports offering from Romain Jerome.

One of the highlights of the show was the Graham Oversize Prodive, which combines real-world usability with the signature Graham design. Big, bold and proud of it, the Graham can’t be missed on anyone’s wrist. A chronograph with Graham’s trigger mechanism, the 45mm Prodive is water resistant to 200 metres. €11,750

The innovative Louis Vuitton Spin Time collection debuted in 2010, and this year Louis Vuitton has expanded it with the Spin Time Regatta, designed for the new regatta rules for the faster catamarans in the Louis Vuitton Cup. Water resistant to 100 metres, this 45.5mm Tambour model will have your head spinning. Price: €45,000.

Staying in the ocean, Bremont is introducing a new chronograph with a solid link to the past. This new timepiece features pieces of the legendary ship HMS Victory, the last remaining 18th century ship in the world. Bremont is working with The National Museum of the Royal Navy (Portsmouth, England) to issue a chronograph with retrograde seconds and date that includes parts of oak timber and copper from the original ship. Part of the proceeds of each watch will go towards the refurbishment and preservation of HMS Victory. In stainless steel, the Victory retails for €14,395, and in rose gold €23,995.

Linked to Blancpain’s involvment in GT racing, the new L’Evolution features a flyback chronograph and with lots of carbon fibre, a material often used in racing. Touches of racing red are throughout this 43mm watch, making it very sporty indeed. Though it is inspired by GT racing, it is also comfortable in the sea, being water resistant to 300 metres. Retail price: €43,000.

OK, Richard Mille’s RM 038 Tourbillon Bubba Watson debuted at SIHH, but it’s worth mentioning here, as it was just on the cover of Sports Illustrated (the world’s largest circulation sports magazine, with a circulation of eight million), after golfer Watson won the Masters while wearing the watch. This amazing tourbillon timepiece retails for $590,000.

There you have it, the cornucopia of sports watches that is the BaselWorld fair. I could see myself wearing just about every watch featured here.
My personal choice, not that it matters much, is the Graham Oversize Prodive – I like the looks of it, it’s big, it makes a statement and it’s rugged, well engineered and features a mechanical chronograph movement.
Or maybe I’d choose the Alpina Extreme Diver. Or the Zenith Pilot. Come to think of it, maybe the Ball Trainmaster Worldtime Chronograph is the right choice, or the Hamilton, which is one of my favourite brands (with its American heritage) or the Dodane Type 23. At the same time, I couldn’t go wrong with the Omega.
I better go through the choices again...

Source: Europa Star June - July 2012 Magazine Issue