Big Bang Unico Sky Blue.
It’s officially the dog days of summer. And whether you’re hitting the beach or just enjoying the sultriness of the season, here are a few watches that will remind you of blue skies, sandy shores, and boating—long after summer has passed.
Hublot
The Big Bang Unico Sky Blue features a 42mm blue ceramic case and a blue matte-finished dial that reveals the HUB 1280 caliber, an automatic chronograph movement with a 72-hour power reserve. White luminescent indices and Arabic numerals mark the hours, while white luminescent hands traverse the multidimensional dial. The date window is at 3 o’clock. The brand’s signature six screws stand out on the blue ceramic bezel, complimenting the crown and pushers.
This new Summer Edition of the Big Bang Unico is shown here with a lined natural rubber strap with a titanium deployant buckle; an additional strap is in white calfskin with a blue ceramic buckle. The watch is priced at $23,800.
NOMOS
The new NOMOS 38.5mm Ahoi neomatik 38 date features summery dial options in shades of “sky” or “sand.” The former is a muted grayish blue, while “sand” is a classic taupe-y shade with a metallic finish that reminds me of a fine mineral-laden beach.
Inside, the in-house-built automatic NOMOS DUW 6101 neomatik caliber, fitted with a patented date mechanism and bi-directional quick correction mechanism, powers the watch. It measures 3.6mm in height, 33.0mm in diameter and is used in this size watch here for the first time. It has a power reserve of 42 hours. Other interesting movement details include the NOMOS swing system and a bidirectional winding rotor with gold-plated embossing. Still other features are owed to its Glashütte watchmaking origins, like the Glashütte three-quarter plate and decorative ribbing.
The domed sapphire crystal has anti-reflective coating inside and out, and in a nod to its status as a dive watch, the Ahoi neomatik 38 also offers water resistance to 20 ATM, a quick-dry waterproof woven strap in blue-black and a red warning ring on the screw-down crown to let you know what’s up.
The steel case has a see-through caseback; a solid caseback is also available. The model with the exhibition caseback is priced at $4,660, while the solid caseback variation is $4,320.
TAG Heuer
The dial of the new TAG Heuer Skipper is an unmistakable nod to the well-known Skipper of yore, which was introduced in 1968 and discontinued in 1983. The updated yachting-centric watch features a blue circular brushed design with three counters. Faceted applied indexes are accented with a touch of orange, and rhodium-plated faceted hour and minute hands are treated with white Super-LumiNova®. The angled date window is at 6 o’clock.
Inside, the in-house automatic caliber TH20-06 with 80 hours of power reserve runs the hours, minutes, seconds, date and chronograph. With a column wheel and vertical clutch architecture, this modified TH20-00 here features a 15-minute counter in lieu of the 30-minute counter, and it comprises bi-directional winding and a newly designed rotor.
The 39mm steel case is water resistant to 100m, and has a see-through caseback. The watch is fitted on a blue fabric strap with a steel folding clasp with safety pushbuttons. It is priced at $6,750 and comes with a travel pouch.
