At our latitude, what you experience from December to February has admittedly little to do with our conventional idea of winter. The few snowflakes that get lost on our roads and front yards quickly die of meltdown, and the purported White Christmas seems little more than a myth.
In order to evoke a somewhat wintery mood, in these last few weeks you can at least feel a touch of winter on your wrist. Here are the right watches for the job:
A sense of adventure in the ice and snow should be evoked with the Explorer II from Rolex – especially in the version with white dial (reference 216570). Made for expeditions in harsh environments, the successor to the famous Explorer still flies somewhat under the radar of many Rolex fans. This could change soon, though. Because of the lack of availability of Submariner and Sea-Dweller models, customers already seem to be switching to the Explorer II. So if you want this rugged companion for one last winter expedition you better act quickly – the first waiting lists are said to have already been sighted. If available at an authorized dealer, the watch should cost € 7,750. Get more information about the Rolex Explorer II here.
In order to live through any winter, a watch must be able to withstand extremely low temperatures. The 206 ARKTIS II is a new edition of the 203, first released in 1999 and equipped with Sinn’s temperature resistance technology. The 206 can therefore do its job reliably even at extreme temperatures between -45° and + 80° Celsius. The highlight is the blue sunburst dial, which fully lives up to the ARKTIS name. This watch should conjure sufficient winter mood even in February’s milder temperatures. Prices for the Sinn 206 ARKTIS II start at € 3,490.
Many watches don’t really have to prove their extreme capabilities in the real world. The water resistance of a diving watch, for instance, is rarely verified by their wearer. The situation, however, is very different for the Bremont Terra Nova. In early 2014, the British polar explorer Ben Saunders and his teammate Tarka L’Herpiniere took their Terra Novas on a world record expedition to Antarctica. Over four months they crossed 1,795 miles of inhospitable landscape, setting the world record for the longest polar journey on foot. At temperatures of up to -46° Celsius, they wore a Bremont Terra Nova chronometer with GMT function on the outside of their polar jackets, and thanks to its specially oiled mechanical clockwork the Bremont was more than a match for such intense conditions.
Tudor presented the North Flag at Baselworld 2015 (reference: M91210N-0001). It goes back to the British North Greenland expedition from 1952 to 1954, the camp of which was known as “North Ice.” The researchers were equipped with Tudor Oyster Prince watches, in order to document the performance of the watches in such a harsh environment. The North Flag is said to embody the spirit of these watches. The sporty watch, made of stainless steel and ceramic, is equipped with the MT5621 in-house movement. Indices and second hands in yellow, as well as plenty of luminous material, ensure very good readability even on gray winter days. The watch costs € 3,470 on the leather strap and € 3,570 on the stainless steel bracelet.
No justification is required for the inclusion here of the Grand Seiko SBGA211. It is not for nothing that the watchmaking world most often refers to the SBGA211 by its evocative nickname: Snowflake. This moniker is inspired by the special nature of the dial, which has been finished in several layers to get the effect of freshly fallen, lightly blown snow. This, in combination with the smooth-moving (thanks to Spring Drive) blued second hand, gives a calming impression of time leisurely passing by – just the right timepiece for cold winter evenings in front of the fireplace. Available for 6,000 €, this is the epitome of the winter watch.
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