In case you hadn’t noticed, one of our choice topics here at IMBOLDN is watches. They’re not only statement pieces, but they also serve a very practical purpose: getting us to where we need to go on time. Sure, your smartphone can tell you the time, but certainly not with the same panache as a handsome timepiece on your wrist. Regardless of your budget and taste, we’re certain that at least one of our favorite watches of 2022 (so far) will tempt you.
Zenith Defy Skyline
Constructed with stainless steel and featuring an architectural aesthetic, the Zenith DEFY Skyline is a striking watch, complete with a 41mm case, defined edges, and 12 defined sides indicating hour markers. The Zenith DEFY Skyline also features high-quality mechanics, making this watch just as much about function as it is about form. The Skyline is powered by the El Primero 3620 high-frequency automatic manufacture movement with the very first 1/10th of a second indicator.
Tom Ford 002 Ocean Plastic Sport Watch
With more than 14 million tons of plastic being sent to our oceans each year, Tom Ford isn’t letting his company sit by and watch as oceans fill with these harmful materials. Rather, the Tom Ford 002 Ocean Plastic Sport Watch features a NATO-style strap, 43mm case, and a rotating bezel made entirely from ocean plastic. More recycled ocean plastic can be found in the screw-down crown as well as the watch’s recyclable packaging. This new watch proves that sustainability, sport, and style can all go hand-in-hand.
Farer Erebus
The Erebus is among the latest releases from Farer, and it has kicked off 2022 with a bold statement. It symbolizes that modern timepieces do not need numerous time zones and the newest technology. Simple beauty and classic design will always be relevant. The 39.5mm Erebus sports a silk gloss dial that is one of the watch’s most admirable features, along with a transparent crystal caseback, and its classic three-hand layout.
Baume & Mercier Hampton “Hommage à Pierre Soulages
Baume & Mercier takes as its inspiration for the Hampton “Hommage à Pierre Soulages” watch from a series of paintings modern artist Pierre Soulages created beginning in the late 1970s. Evoking the proportions of a canvas, this art deco-inspired rectangular watch is essentially a miniaturized version of a large-scale Pierre Soulages painting. The Swiss-made movement is automatic and self-winding and features 21 rubies. It is mounted on a black alligator strap with a sandblasted pin buckle.
Timex Q Timex 1972 Reissue
The Timex Q Timex 1972 Reissue is everything retro dreams are made of with its gold-tone case and polished finishing. The burgundy dial, floating hour markers, and polished handset are striking reminders of early 1970s trends. The 43mm Timex 1972 Reissue continues to embody the core values of the Timex brand, which include accuracy, affordability, reliability, and style. The quick-release black leather strap is sleek and functional, and the watch is water-resistant up to 50 meters.
Nodus Avalon II
The Nodus Avalon II is the sequel to the original Avalon, which put the small, LA-based watchmaker on the map. The Avalon II is a dive watch made to thrive underwater. Offering up to 300 meters of water resistance, users never have to take the Nodus Avalon II off — unless they want to. The watch has a fully CNC’d steel cushion case that measures 43.5mm in diameter and the watch’s hands, markers, and bezel insert are packed with luminous T-C1 X1 Grade Super-LumiNova for the highest degree of legibility.
Autodromo Group B Series 2 Automatic Aqua
For lovers of car-themed watches, look no further than Autodromo. Founded in 2011 by life-long car enthusiast Bradley Price, the watch designs mix a vintage vibe and minimalist sense to create car-inspired timepieces with a modern flair. The Autodromo Group B Series Automatic Aqua watch harkens back to the 80s Group B rally cars with its eye-catching design and innovative materials. Featuring a beautiful aqua-colored face, offset by strong, crisp dial markings in a striking orange, the 39mm Automatic Aqua watch is packed full of features and stylistic nods to this infamous period in motorsport.
Laurent Ferrier Sport Auto
The Laurent Ferrier Sport Auto is a luxury watch inspired by a vivid memory the company’s founders share. Laurent Ferrier, Francois Servanin, and their teammate Francois Trisconi raced the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 9 and 10, 1979. The team of amateur drivers crossed the finish line in third place. Thirty years later, inspired by this iconic 1979 race, the 2022 Laurent Ferrier Sport Auto was released. Combining the founders’ passion for race vehicles as well as traditional watchmaking, the Sport Auto has a mechanical look with a fully integrated grade 5 titanium metal bracelet, inclined sides on the center links, and a screwed-down ball-shaped crown.
Hublot Big Bang Integral Time Only
The Hublot Big Bang Integral Time Only is one of the many impressive variations of the Hublot Big Bang that have come out in the past 15 years. The Integral Time Only is available in a choice of 40mm cases of 18k yellow gold, titanium, or ‘All Black’ ceramic. A sapphire crystal covers the face and back, where the Big Bang’s iconic oscillating weight is housed. Here you will see the perfectly adjusted compact caliber, which is manufactured in-house. Each surface is satin-finished to provide a matte finish on the dial for perfect legibility.
TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 200
TAG Heuer’s 40mm Aquaracer Professional 200 is a new sophisticated tool watch that has a unidirectional rotating bezel with twelve facets, water resistance to 200 meters, and offers either an automatic mechanical or quartz movement. The Aquaracer Professional 200 adopts a more classic sports watch look with its straight-edged, trapezoidal hour markers, sleeker sword-shaped hands, and crisp white detailing. For dial legibility, the hour markers and hands are coated with Super-LumiNova.
Classic King Seiko Collection
Recently, Seiko launched five new watches sharing a distinctively sharp and angular design that is inspired by the 1965 King Seiko KSK. Each timepiece features the same case with a different dial color, including light gray, charcoal gray, brown, and red. While the light gray dial has a classic hairline pattern, the other four watches boast a dial with a sunray finish. The King Seiko Collection combines beauty with function, featuring a twelve o’clock index over twice as wide as the others. Seiko says the index’s patterned texture and an anti-reflective coating on the inner surface of the crystal ensure high legibility. Plus, the watches are water-resistant to 100 meters.
Oris Big Crown x Cervo Volante Collaboration
All three new Big Crown watches resulting from Oris’s collaboration with sustainable leather goods company, Cervo Volante, feature a 38mm, 1.496-inch stainless steel case with Oris’s winding date pointer. These custom timepieces also use Superluminova C1/C3 for a stunning luminous display in the dark. With a set of cathedral hands and Arabic numerals for hour markers with a unique, arching “4”, the Oris Big Crown dial format is what we’ve come to expect from the brand. The watches are finished with Cervo Volante’s wild red deerskin to transform it into beautiful, durable, and sustainable leather straps with a stainless-steel, easy-open buckle.