Casual, stylish, waterproof: What makes the perfect holiday watch
There are plenty of articles floating around the internet in praise of the “one and done”; the perfect watch that will see you right for the rest of your life, give or take a service or two. This isn’t that column. I’m definitely in the “watch wardrobe” camp and take great delight in switching timepieces depending on mood, outfit or current situation. This is however about the one watch you should take on holiday with you.
Holidays are different from everyday life, which means your horological needs change too. Before we get to what those needs are, we should define our holiday parameters. For the purposes of narrowing the field, we’re talking the classic summer holiday. Somewhere warm, with a pool, maybe a beach, where the order of business is lying by water during the day and exploring the town at night.
Clothes-wise, you’ll have packed your ideal summer self – one that is slightly more relaxed than your usual sartorial personality. Looser with more linen and a touch of sprezzatura about you, maybe even with a hat. You need a watch that can take you from beach to bar without compromising on either function or form and maybe with a little more panache than you would normally display. This is your holiday, after all – a time to cut loose and experiment. You want something robust, water resistant, obviously, and, I would suggest, with a change of strap – that way you can bring multiple looks with you without the fearing of carrying around extra watches.
The Omega Seamaster
The usual answer to this question would be a Longines Legend Diver or Oris’s Cotton Candy. They fit the fashion brief perfectly, especially if you opt for a coloured dial Legend Diver, however both require tools to change their straps, and no one wants to be wielding one of those after a couple of sundowners. Next up is the Omega Seamaster Diver 300m, which comes with a nifty spring bar retraction system. However, the design is very much “functional diver” – it looks great with swim shorts and a tee-shirt but not so much with unstructured trousers and a loose shirt (presuming you’re taking your dressing cues from Jude Law in Talented Mr Ripley, as all men should when going on holiday).
To my mind, the watch that ticks all the boxes, both horologically and sartorially, is the Hermès Cut. The size is a universally wearable 36mm, the white dial screams summer, and the overall vibe is sporty but with an elegance that feels very French.
It is water resistant to 100m, so perfect for swimming, and alongside a lovely bracelet, there are eight rubber strap options in eight colours drawn from the Hermès palette from the subtle – gris perle, gris étain, glycine, vert croquet – to the standout, orange.
So, that’s your ideal holiday watch sorted: now you just need to find the ideal vacation.
• Laura is a leading watch and jewellery writer