- Hey guys, it's James Lamdin from Analog/Shift.
Today we're gonna look at athletes
and the watches they wear.
[upbeat music]
Rafael Nadal.
Here, Rafael is wearing his namesake,
the RM 27-03, which is the latest in a series
of ultra lightweight, Richard Mille models
designed to be worn during a tennis match.
You gotta understand, this is kind of a crazy thing.
Sports puts, particularly something like tennis,
puts a huge amount of centrifugal g-force
on a mechanical instrument.
These have actually been designed to withstand
tens of thousands of Gs.
This particular one also created in
the sort of orange and red color scheme
of his native Spain.
Rafael Nadal has been a longtime advocate
and partner of Richard Mille's,
with their partnership going back several models.
Richard Mille watches have become incredibly popular
since their introduction in 1999.
The architecture, the inner workings of a Richard Mille,
which are often exposed, are really unlike anything else.
It's been said that Richard Mille shares more in common with
production in aerospace and in racing car development
than they do with traditional Swiss watchmaking.
Lebron James.
Audemars Piguet has a huge relationship
with the athletic community, and basketball is one of them.
Here, Lebron is wearing an Audemars Piguet
Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph.
The Royal Oak was Audemars Piguet's white knight.
In 1972, the brand was really becoming dangerous
in that it was almost out of business,
bankruptcy was looming and the quartz crisis,
in other words, those $10 Japanese watches
that were keeping better time than the Swiss
were right there on the door waiting to crush 'em.
So, Audemars Piguet made a Hail Mary
and they introduced what became
the world's first sport luxury watch, the Royal Oak.
The watch Lebron is wearing is part of that story,
it's the Offshore.
It was introduced in 1993
and it can really be credited with
kickstarting the oversized watch craze.
What he's got on is a rose gold one, chronograph,
it is just an important piece of the horological landscape
that we're all living in today.
What we have here is Lebron rocking
his Lebron James Edition Royal Oak Offshore,
which I gotta say, I quite like.
It has a two tone case and bezel configuration
with a white rubberized strap.
The bezel of a watch is the piece of metal
that surrounds the dial.
In short, it's a decorative element
but it can also be used for timing purposes
on an instrument watch, a diving watch or a GMT watch.
On the Royal Oak, it is the octagon that surrounds the dial
and it is ornamental and really gives the watch
its characteristic shape.
This is a very sporty, very cool looking watch
that is unmistakably Lebron.
Lewis Hamilton.
The world champion Formula 1 driver
is a very well-known watch collector and enthusiast.
He's also a brand ambassador for IWC.
Here, Lewis is wearing an IWC Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar.
A Perpetual Calendar allows the wearer
to track day, date, month and moon phase
without ever having to set the watch.
It is a masterpiece of mechanical engineering
and it fits into this great, sort of classic IWC Pilot case,
which was made popular after the Second World War
in which the pilots would actually wear the watch
on their thigh.
Pilot's watches, such as the IWC Big Pilot,
are easily identifiable for their very stark,
function first looks.
They have oversized, highly legible numbers
making ease of reading them,
particularly in a cockpit scenario,
as easy and as simple as possible.
The crowns are oversized, which make them easy to grip
while you're wearing gloves in a freezing cockpit.
In this instance, Lewis is wearing
another Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar
but this one is done in a ceramic case,
that's what the black is.
It's actually a ceramic material
which is light and has incredible durability,
it's also less prone to scratching than gold or steel.
Some of the first brand ambassadors
in the luxury industry were athletes.
Jack Heuer, the grandson of the founder of Heuer,
and the man who really brought Heuer
into the future in the 1960s,
was the first man to employ a racing driver,
by the name of Jo Siffert,
to be a brand ambassador for his company.
Jo Siffert was an incredibly successful racing driver
who had an affection for the watches,
and Jack gave him the watches
and he sold them to his friends.
That was the world in the 1960s.
So, athleticism goes way back,
sports and timing are inextricably linked.
So, it makes sense that so many of these athletes
are watch fanatics, watch collectors and brand ambassadors.
Roger Federer is a Rolex ambassador,
which is a really good thing to be
if you want all the best Rolexes.
So here, Roger is wearing the Rolex Sky-Dweller.
This is an interesting watch
that was recently added to Rolex's catalog.
It's actually one of Rolex's
most complicated watches to date.
It features an annual calendar and second time zone feature.
This is a very interesting and very compelling watch
for somebody who's interested in
a entry point complicated watch,
but also wants a Rolex.
These are available for under $20,000,
if you can find one.
Here, we have him wearing a Rolex Day-Date
with an 18 karat case and a green sunburst dial
with Roman indices.
This is a more unusual configuration
that you're not likely to spot on the shelf
and it really stands out in a world full of great Day-Dates.
Russell Westbrook.
Here, Russell is wearing your classic Rolex Day-Date.
It's a thing we keep seeing over and over again.
And, you know what?
It never gets old.
The Day-Date gives you the date, it gives you the day,
it tells the time, it looks amazing in every configuration.
This is a watch that is just never gonna go out of style.
Russell's particular Day-Date features a diamond-set bezel,
which could be factory but it's most likely aftermarket.
Customizing your wristwatch is something
that's become very popular in the athletic community.
Some of these are done at the factory level,
whereas others are done by individual artisans,
making them aftermarket.
Some of them are done very well
and others not so much.
Here, Russell is wearing one of my absolute favorites
from the sort of avant-garde, nouveau design language
that we're seeing come out right now in Switzerland.
This is the Bulgari Octo Finissimo.
It is an absolutely brilliantly designed,
ultra thin automatic
that is cased in 18 karat red gold.
This watch is so cool, it's this thin
and it is just something epic to wear on the wrist
with one of the greatest designed bracelets I've ever seen.
Serena Williams.
Serena Williams has a long, ongoing relationship
with Audemars Piguet.
Here, she's wearing the automatic, 37 millimeter Royal Oak
with the frosted gold case.
This, despite first appearances, is not a gem-set case.
This is a watch that has been modified by
a artisan at the factory with hours and hours
of hand finishing and florentine finishing
to pull up the gold and create this sparkle effect
that appears like precious stones,
but is in fact just the way the gold
is playing with the light.
This is one of the best releases in the last few years
from Audemars Piguet
and Serena totally knows what she's doing here.
Serena won Wimbledon in 2015 wearing this Quartz Royal Oak.
This one is a little unusual.
Audemars Piguet is not known for making quartz watches,
but here's a 37 millimeter, very sporting design,
it's got a rubber strap
and it has a little gem-set on the bezel.
One reason to have a quartz watch in the lineup
is to have something to play in
and she does swing that racket with some speed,
so having a quartz watch that's a little bit more durable
for use on the courts makes a certain amount of sense.
This particular model was actually customized for Serena.
It has the crown on the other side of the case
so that it wouldn't dig into her arm while playing.
And this is the one that Serena has become
absolutely inextricably linked with.
This is the Audemars Piguet Millenary.
The Millenary has been around for a little while
and it has found new life in
its association with Serena Williams.
This is a perfect example of a dress watch
made to a high standard,
that it was actually used in an athletic pursuit,
and I don't think anyone has ever forgotten that.
This particular Millenary is a manually wound example,
meaning you have to actually wind it.
A lot of the watches we've been talking about here
are automatic, watches that draw their power
from the wrist movement.
But a manual wound watch is
arguably the most connected you can ever be
with this horological device.
And also allows for precision and connectivity
with fewer moving parts,
which is good if you're wearing it on the court.
The coolest thing about this Millenary is
she won the Australian Open in 2017
wearing this on her wrist.
And, just a sample of Serena's other Audemars Piguet,
we've got the 18 karat rose gold mid-size Royal Oak
and we have a Royal Oak Chronograph.
Serena definitely is an AP lady.
Rory McIlroy is a pro golfer
and is also a member of the Omega ambassadorial team.
Here, he's wearing a Seamaster Aqua Terra,
which is sort of their entry level sporting,
diving, athletic watch.
It is a piece that is incredibly versatile
but you'll, most of the time,
you'll see them on a rubberized strap, or possibly nylon,
for use in the field.
Here, Rory is wearing another Aqua Terra,
but this one has a GMT function.
GMT is a terminology, Greenwich Mean Time,
that essentially suggests a watch has a secondary time zone.
This is particularly useful if you're a world traveler.
It is a complication that was introduced
by Rolex in the 1950s.
But since, just about every brand has used it.
The Aqua Terra features all of the same characteristics
of that sporty watch
and adds the added functionality of the second time zone,
allowing you, with a quick glance,
to know the time in two different places.
Here, Rory is wearing an Omega Speedmaster
Dark Side Of The Moon.
The Omega Speedmaster is, of course,
the legendary watch the accompanied the crew of Apollo 11
to the lunar surface in July of 1969,
and it's a fact that this watch joined us, mankind,
on our greatest achievement.
The Speedmaster is an icon
but it has also evolved into
all kinds of different categories,
as well as featuring automatic coaxial movement
that winds automatically as you wear it
and some cool ceramic casing technology.
It's a great looking watch.
Tom Brady.
Here, Tom is wearing the watch
that probably needs no introduction
if you've ever been a fan of motorsport.
This is the Tag Heuer Monaco.
The Monaco is a big, square, bold
automatic chronograph watch
that was originally introduced in 1969.
This watch has an indelible association
with The King of Cool, Steve McQueen.
Sorry, Tom, Steve McQueen.
And this watch is the watch that you want to wear
if you are a fan of all things cars.
The Heuer Monaco is not a particularly
comfortable watch to wear,
it's a big square thing with sharp edges.
But it is iconic.
It is the square watch.
It is the watch that has this
absolutely unforgettable appearance
and presence on your wrist,
and there are not many things like that.
[upbeat music]
Most of us are not performing sports
at some serious level, or any level at all,
but that doesn't mean you can't wear a cool watch
while you're doing it.
There is some practicality to having
something disposable on your wrist
if you are gonna go hike a mountain
or climb a rock face, or go scuba diving, or ride a bicycle.
I'm a big fan of some entry level, sort of budget conscious
mechanical watches for use in sports.
Personally, I dive with a Seiko diving watch.
It's a few hundred dollars.
I can also recommend their chronographs,
and other brands as well,
but you don't have to spend big money to get a great watch.