Sports watches are watches that are sporty looking, robust, reliable and waterproof. It is by far the largest category of watches made today. Our event this week showed that as more and more watches are designed and invented, including digital and smartwatches, how people think about sports watches is changing. This Blog Post will guide you through where they came from, what they are now, and where to look for more examples.

What is a Sports Watch?

There are a few ways to think about this. A sports watch can be:

• A mechanical watch that suits sporty looks and sporting activities

• A smartwatch that precisely measures and tracks your sport

• A digital watch that can time your activity or measure other important timing functions

• A vintage watch designed to be worn while wearing sporty clothing, but not designed to be used while playing sports

At first glance, this may seem too much to all be called one category of watches, but there are common features across them all. Crucially, you can use these features to find a really great watch, even if you don’t want all the tools it comes with.

Digital and Smartwatches for Sports

It is now possible to get smartwatches designed explicitly for a certain sport, such as golf, or multifunction watches that contain the potential to track hundreds of activities. All-purpose smartwatches like the Apple watch series have apps you download that are very precisely tailored to specific activities. Some digital watches now have specialised functions for hobbies or sports, such as the tide timers found on Casio G-Shock, the many digital dive computer watches, and digital or hybrid watches for pilots.

Mechanical Sports Watches

Since the invention of the world’s first sports watch, the Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso, watch companies have tried to make watches suitable for more active lifestyles. In the early 20th century this was primarily a problem of waterproofing, solved by Rolex and peers in the late 1920s with the Rolex Oyster, and then it was a problem of shock absorption, which has been solved many times in many different ways.

In the second half of the 20th century, sports watches were developed primarily for diving, and we also saw many watches inspired by motor racing and watches made for mountaineering or polar exploration.

The features developed for these purposes led us directly to the watches we see today. They all have certain features that have proven very popular for watch buyers, whether or not they actually will go diving, climb a mountain, or race a car.

Features of a Sports Watch

Very simply, a sports watch needs to be robust and hard to damage, often leading to a thick and sturdy case. It needs to be waterproof and it needs to be easy to use, with a clear dial and functions.

When we look across the most hyped watches in the world right now, such as the Patek Philippe Nautilus or the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, we see all these features are present. However, there are so many interesting brands out there that you should take the time to look for interesting sports watches that you haven’t seen before.

Last summer we looked at a whole series of watch Microbrands, and many of these got started by making a Dive watch or Pilots watch. Similarly, many highly technical brands create tough but easy-to-use watches for people who want to do outdoor activities. These brands, like Luminox or Squale from Switzerland, or Christopher Ward in the UK, provide interesting mid-range sports watches.