Seven watches for modern adventurers

An icon among diving watches, Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms celebrates its 70th anniversary this year with a special edition inspired by the MIL-SPEC (military specification) model adopted at the time of its launch in the 1950s. Made of bronze gold, this 2023 reinterpretation features the moisture indicator (which would tell a diver if the watch’s safety had been compromised) that made it the watch of choice for combat divers from France, Germany, the US and Norway.

Only slightly later to the diver’s watch party in the 1950s was the Omega Seamaster. Its latest iteration is a symphony in grey, and is both tough (water-resistant to 600m) and super-light, made for the first time with silicon nitride ceramic. Also ocean-ready are Longines’ Hydroconquest (featuring a new GMT movement allowing time to be displayed simultaneously in two time zones), and Bell & Ross’s latest take on its 03-92 model, which has been designed to be worn by the crew of the oceanography exploration schooner Tara.

Breitling looks to the skies with a new generation of its pilot’s watch, the Avenger, first designed two decades ago, as CEO Georges Kern says, “to stand up to the relentless conditions of a jet cockpit”. It would also look good paired with some fine tailoring, as would a pair of handsome motoracing-inspired chronographs from TAG Heuer in 18ct gold, nicknamed the “Success”, and Zenith’s latest Chronomaster Sport, with multicoloured subdials. Get out there.