Buying Guide: Seven Beach-Ready Wristwatches For Life During Summer

As we have sort of halfway circumnavigated our annual lap around the sun, we come back to that age-old question on every watch enthusiast’s mind: what to wear during our summer holiday travels?! And I’m sure you all recognise the thought of what you’re actually planning on doing during your mid-year adventures. Are you staying in some fancy beach resort, or will you be going on Alpine hikes? Are you visiting unknown parts of the world, or camp out on the lakeside? Whatever your mojo, here are seven watches we deem excellent wrist companions on your adventures, lazy, active or otherwise!

Favre-Leuba Deep Raider Day-Date

We start things off with Favre Leuba’s latest, the Deep Raider Day-Date. Available in four colourways, its standout feature next to the double calendar indication is the ombré dials. Each one shifts from mint green, blue, burgundy or salmon to deep black as if the sun goes down on the dial. It also helps that the Deep Raider Day-Date is a proper diver, with a stout steel case and 300m of water-resistance. Power comes from the Calibre FLD05, which is based on the Sellita SW220-1 automatic. Worn on a three-link integrated steel bracelet and compatible with the available Deep Raider rubber straps, the collection retails for EUR 2,100.

For more information, please visit FavreLeuba.com.

Quick Facts – 40mm x 12.5mm – stainless steel case, brushed & polished – unidirectional rotating bezel with ceramic insert – sapphire crystal, solid caseback – screw-down crown – 300m water-resistant – gradient dial in salmon, mint green, blue or burgundy – applied markers & hands with SLN – day-date window – Calibre FLD05 automatic (SW220-1) – 28,800vph – 38h power reserve – three-link steel bracelet, brushed & polished – rubber straps sold separately – EUR 2,100

Certina DS Super PH2000M Sea Turtle Conservancy

Certina has launched another incredibly solid dive watch, tied to a very good cause, with the DS Super PH2000M Sea Turtle Conservancy. Coming in at 43mm across and 16mm in height, it’s a pretty sizeable one, but it wears well thanks to the grade 2 titanium case. It has a helium escape valve, a screw-down crown and a spring-loaded locking dive bezel with a ceramic insert. The teal-blue gradient dial gives it a strong pop of colour, and inside we find the Powermatic 80 automatic. It comes with both a multi-link titanium bracelet and a teal-blue silicon cut-to-size strap with folding clasps on both. And the best part is the price of CHF 1,235, with part of the proceeds donated to the Sea Turtle Conservancy.

For more information, please visit Certina.com.

Quick Facts – 43mm x 16mm – grade 2 titanium case, brushed & polished – unidirectional spring-loaded locking bezel – ceramic insert – helium escape valve, screw-down crown – sapphire crystal, solid caseback – 2000m water-resistant teal-blue gradient dial – applied markers & hands with SLN – Powermatic 80, automatic – 21,600vph – 80h power reserve – multi-link titanium bracelet & silicone strap with folding clasps – limited to 1,959 pieces – CHF 1,235

Kollokium Projekt 02 variant c “cooler waters” edition

Perfectly fit to combat the summer heat, or anywhere else for that matter, the Kollokium Projekt 02 Variant C “Cooler Waters” Edition will keep you cool, by looks at least. The incredibly voluminous dial of this particular Projekt 02 is built up out of 67 individual white and blue elements for a superb three-dimensional effect as if it were waves swirling around a tropical island. Covered by a tall box-shaped sapphire crystal that’s set on top of a die-cast steel case, it relies on the La Joux-Perret G101 automatic. It’s worn on a turquoise elastic single-pass hook-and-loop strap, is a limited edition of 250 pieces and retails for CHF 3,666.66.

For more information, please visit Kollokium.com.

Quick Facts – 39.5mm x 5.9mm height (12.4mm incl. crystal) – die-cast steel case – valve-shaped crown – tall box-shaped sapphire crystal – dial with 67 plates in white and blue, finished in SLN – turquoise hands with white luminous Lichtblock outlines – needle-shaped seconds hand – La Joux-Perret G101 automatic – 28,800vph – approx. 68h power reserve – turquoise elastic hook-and-loop strap – limited edition of 250 pieces – CHF 3,666.66

TAG Heuer Carrera Seafarer Chronograph

If you’re looking to spend summer life close to the ocean, or even in it, it might be wise to get acquainted with the TAG Heuer Carrera Seafarer Chronograph. Based on the very stylish Carrera Glassbox, this not only shows you elapsed time on demand, but also comes packed with a mechanical tide indicator linked to the pusher in the caseband at 9′. Once synced, it will show you if it’s ebb or flow and rising or falling tide over the course of one lunar cycle. Pretty neat feature, and it looks great too, in this lovely vintage-beige with teal and orange accents. It’s part of the permanent collection, retails for CHF 8,300 and comes with both a steel bracelet and a beige sports strap with teal lining.

For more information, please visit TAGHeuer.com.

Quick Facts – 42mm x 14.4mm – stainless steel case, brushed & polished – domed Glassbox sapphire crystal – sapphire caseback – TIDE pusher at 9′ – 100m water-resistant – beige dial – gold-coloured applied markers & hands with SLN – chronograph subdials – tide indicator at 9′ – teal & orange accents – Calibre TH20-04, in-house – automatic column wheel chronograph – 28,800vph – 80h power reserve – multi-link steel bracelet & beige sports strap – permanent collection – CHF 8,300

Seiko 5 sports field series

For those looking for a more outdoors-y type of summer break, the Seiko 5 Sports Field series is the perfect partner. Fitted with a rotating compass bezel, it might be a help when you’ve trekked a bit too deep into the unknown and lost your way. Simply set the bezel to the sun and calculate north from south and where you need to go, and return to civilisation. It comes in four stylish colourways, including two with a coloured bezel. You have a choice between a bracelet and a strap, and it comes with Seiko’s well-known Calibre 4R36. Priced at EUR 390 (strap) or EUR 410 (bracelet), it’s also a purchase that won’t break the bank or upset your spouse too much (I hope).

For more information, please visit SeikoWatches.com.

Quick Facts – 41mm x 13.2mm – stainless steel case, brushed – bidirectional compass bezel – curved Hardlex crystal – see-through caseback – 100m water-resistant – black, brown, green or white dial – luminous markers & hands – day-date windows – Calibre 4R36, in-house automatic – 21,600vph – 41h power reserve – three-link steel bracelet with folding clasp or nylon strap in brown or green with pin buckle – permanent collection – EUR 390 (HDB008 & HDB009 on strap) or EUR 410 (HBD006 & HBD007 on bracelet)

Briston Clubmaster Legend Diver Ocean

The Briston Clubmaster Legend Diver Ocean is perfect for those looking to match a watch with other summer essentials, such as sunglasses. Known for their use of cellulose acetate for the case, a material widely used for glasses, Briston has used it for this stylish dive watch as well. The cushion-shaped case has a tortoise-shell-like pattern because of it, topped with a rotating dive bezel and a wave-pattern dial in white (blue also available). Hiding underneath the solid caseback is the Miyota 8315 automatic, and it’s worn on a white or navy blue FKM rubber strap with an engraved pin buckle. The price is EUR 850 in acetate, but there’s also an all-steel model for EUR 875.

For more information, please visit Briston-Watches.com.

Quick Facts – 40mm x 40mm x 13.4mm – cushion-shaped acetate case, polished – unidirectional diving bezel – sapphire crystal, solid caseback – 200m water-resistant – Arctic White dial with wave pattern – applied markers & hands with SLN – framed date window – Miyota 8315, automatic – 21,600vph – 60h power reserve – white or blue FKM rubber strap with pin-buckle – available directly from Briston – EUR 850 (acetate case) or EUR 875 (all-steel case)

Rolex yacht master II

We round things off with the new Rolex Yacht Master II launched at Watches & Wonders this year. With a redesigned profile and clarity and purpose in mind, aimed at a life on water (hence the Yacht part). The regatta timing complication has been completely re-engineered, making it easier to use and understand. Operated through the pushers alone, it counts down the time to the start of a regatta race on demand, with the central triangular-tipped minute and central second hands telling you how long there is to go. A more detailed explanation of how everything works can be found here. Available in Oystersteel or 18k Yellow Gold, the new Yacht Master II starts at EUR 19,750.

For more information, please visit Rolex.com.

Quick Facts – 44mm x 13.90mm – Oystersteel or 18k yellow gold case, brushed & polished – bidirectional rotating bezel – regatta timer pushers – sapphire crystal, solid caseback – 100m water-resistance – white lacquered dial, matte – luminous markers & hands – countdown timer hands & scale – Calibre 4162, in-house automatic – chronograph movement with vertical clutch & column-wheel – Parachrom hairspring – Chronergy escapement – 28,800vph – 72h power reserve – Oster bracelet in steel or gold with folding clasp – EUR 19,750 (Ref. 126680, Oystersteel) or EUR 56,200 (Ref. 126688, 18k Yellow Gold)