The word “Cool” is subjective when it comes to fashion. However, it still has a general undertone. Is it stylish? Comfortable? Fashionable? Then it has got to be cool.
When it comes to “Cool Wristwatches“, these are the 5 coolest ones ever made:
1. Tudor Heritage Chrono
Don’t let Tudor’s relationship to mothership Rolex distract you – this is a brand furrowing its own path, especially when it comes to a nostalgic take on the manly tool watch. It’s by no means affected however; its Heritage Black Bay diving watches stem from decades of endorsement by the French and US Navys’ elite combat divers
2. Rolex Sea Dweller
Most will know of James Bond’s original watch of choice, the Rolex Submariner – still just about the most complete watch you’d ever want. It arose with the boom in recreational SCUBA after the war, but by 1967, the hardcore commercial divers of France’s Compagnie Maritime d’Expertises (COMEX) needed to take things up (or rather, down) a few levels.
3. Bell and Ross BR 01-92
Since the mid-nineties, the crisp monochrome utility of Paris-based (but Swiss-made) Bell & Ross has earned it as much love among turtlenecked architects as bomb disposal squads or naval pilots. And it’s the latter that provided the inspiration for 2007’s bombshell: the uncompromisingly massive (like, 46mm massive), uncompromisingly square ‘Instrument’, complete with corner screws, just like the dials in a fighter jet’s cockpit.
4. Omega Speedmaster Professional
It might not boast the most alternative looks, or even the most progressive mechanics, but that’s the point: that’s why the Omega Speedmaster was the only chronograph to survive NASA’s brutal tests back in the sixties and earn a watch-brand marketeer’s Holy Grail of approval: qualification to officially ‘fly’ on the wrists of astronauts, as standard-issue kit.
5. G-Shock DW-5600E-1ver
We all know rappers like their bling, but surprisingly it can manifest in resin rather than gold – specifically in the form of a G-Shock, the cult statement wear for all manner of hip-hop artists, fashionistas, surfers, plus the majority of the world’s special-ops military men. This seminal hardman was conceived in the same year as our other plastic-fantastic cool cat, the Swatch – but while the Swiss were pioneering precision injection moulding, the Japanese were striving to pass their own self-conceived ‘triple 10’ test: water resistance to 10 bar (about 100m), a 10-year battery life, and most importantly, the ability to survive a 10 metre drop onto a hard surface, unscathed and working perfectly.