While Rafa Nadal rocks six-figure tool watches on the court, his Richard Mille has met its match by way of Gerard Charles – one of the finest independent watch brands in the industry – being worn by Nikoloz Basilashvili, Hubert Hurkacz and Jenson Brooksby no less on the tour.
Smashing the hell out of a ball could be the best way to ruin a delicate piece of wristwear, and the brands know it. The sweaty combination of sports watch QC and courtside lewk is nothing new, but the Gerald Charles GC Sport ups the game. Spot it, and you’ll be sold on its quirky cool retro panache as your eyebrows lift to unnatural heights. And while there is nothing natural about baroque curves and a waffle rubber strap, Basilashvili et al make it indefinably sexy.
A case for baroque whimsy
Take away the tennis action though and any Gerald Charles will catch your attention. Unlike the usual fare of diver’s watches and too-large tools, the much-exaggerated death of the Dress Watch might be the talking point of watch anoraks, but just try to define the GC Sport, we dare you. The designer of this watch is the scion of modern watch design, Gerald Genta. Wrapped around the wrists of everyone on the red carpet from the Oscars to the Brit Awards, the barrage of Patek Nautilii (plural, innit) and Audemars Piguet Royal Oaks says it all. But his swansong was the small brand Gerald Charles, and boy do we need its otherness in 2022. The likes of the GC Sport and Maestro GC2.0 are unfeasibly thin pieces of wrist comfort with a difference, pairing equally well with a sharp tailored jacket as with, well, your tennis whites.
A strong game of contrasts
A dress watch-sized and baroque-rectangular, on a blue broad waffle strap with a lefty crown, it's unique in every sense. The 39mm case is all-polished, a feat in itself with grade 5 titanium, but the shape? The ornamental mirror-like mad sweeps of the double-edged case is charmingly whimsical. The contrasting sports details are here in brash big numerals and the comfort of a left-handed crown. This ergonomic stroke of genius is for ease of movement and not catching your bespoke cuff or terry cloth sweatband, not for lefties. And 50 grams of hard-to polish titanium plays an impressive wearability game. Within the swoopy case sits an automatic Vaucher calibre, noteworthy for its traditional yet high tech spec. Ultra-thin means fragile, so the emphasis is turned to shock absorption while keeping its svelte nature. Impressive, quirky and immensely charming, the sunburst blue Gerald Charles Sport is available for $19,500.
Four more lesser known independent watch brands
While the Gerald Charles might rock the boat in the sports community, it’s a proper wrist-vestment. With today’s small brand barrage, a wealth of cool microbrands have popped up this year, and here are four of the coolest, most affordable pieces out there.
Nezumi Voiture
With deep roots in early ‘70s motorsport and an owner with a penchant for vintage Porsches, the Nezumi Chronograph virtually smells of engine oil. With its pure ’70s dial it makes us want to pull on a camel-coloured merino turtleneck and a chocolate wool blazer. 1974 Ford rally team manager anyone? With the limited-edition Zen of a hand wound Swiss movement, you’d better grab one of the 300 before they’ve left the paddock. Available for £1,176 from Nezumi Studios.
MAEN Watches Manhattan
If you thought the Gerald Charles too swoopy for its own good but want a piece of octagonal cool, look no further. The Manhattan from MAEN Watches is a slim, small 37mm piece of affordable panache. At an affordable price the fresh navy version is ideal for the (sadly-no-longer-home) office, and the copper toned one for cocktails on Saturday. With a mechanical movement and an integrated bracelet, the sleek Manhattan hits many a nail on their proverbial heads. Pre-order price of £400 from MAEN Watches.
BOLDR Venture Wayfarer
The BOLDR Venture is simply the best value titanium watch out there, and those colours – they pop. This is a remarkably comfortable, tough nugget of lightweight metal, on a soft nylon nato strap with dials that say summertime. With a 200m depth rating and a cheeky 24 hour subdial on a satsuma-orange dial, it’ll cheer you up. Nevermind the soggy spring, one glance and its cartoonish style will make you grin. And as one of the more established microbrands, the style comes with established substance. Direct from BOLDR at $399.
Bulova x D-CAVE Computron
OK, so Bulova is more like semi-independent, but its new Computron D-CAVE doesn’t look like anything else on the planet, seriously just look at it. I’m sure you can find some natty Air Jordans to match the black and acid green razor-edged cool of its stealthy case, but as an NFT? Yes, there are two versions of this alien craft – stay with us. A clear case top version is only available as an NFT (with a physical possibility), but where? In the D-CAVE lifestyle metaverse marketplace no less. Whether or not you're too old to even contemplate what that means, consider the normal black topped version for a mere £299 from Bulova. Now where’s our Teleportation chamber?
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