Time Spent: Why Summer Calls for a Sport Watch

The watch world is constantly ticking forward. Welcome to Time Spent, our new series exploring the trends worth watching—from the return of forgotten classics and standout new releases to the styling cues, celebrity wrists, and design details that are changing how we think about timepieces. Whether you're a seasoned collector or simply looking for your next everyday watch, we'll help you keep time with what's new.

As we transition from July to August, we've reached those scorching weeks when New York has gone from maybe spring to unmistakably summer. Judging by the rest of the country—and much of the Western Hemisphere—we're hardly alone. Wardrobes have switched to crisp linen and floaty cotton, the AC is cranked up, and it feels plain wrong to put on a watch with a leather strap. Scratch that. It’s uncomfortable in this heat. What’s the horological answer—and one that doesn’t just solve for heat but also style? A sport watch. Stick with me. Blame the ’90s resurgence; blame Victoria Beckham's enduring love of the Patek Philippe Nautilus; blame Jonathan Bailey looking so dapper in his orange-strap Omega Deep Sea, which made me wonder whether anyone besides him could pull it off.

By “sport watch,” I don’t mean jumbo, or something bulky with a zillion complications, or borrowing a timepiece from your dad/partner/brother/platonic-person-in-your-life-who-has-good-watches. More sport-y. Thankfully, brands are delivering options that work for the moment. Remember Chanel’s J12? It now comes in a shrunken 28mm form. Color that won't derail an outfit? Tag Heuer’s got a Formula 1 Solargraph in almost every color combination for every day of the week (for every Formula 1 race if we want to get into semantics). I think you can see where I’m going with this.

Let’s contemplate Cartier’s return of the Roadster. A watch beloved by the American market that just got some tweaks and a new lease on life when it was brought back to market from a couple of decades of early retirement. The not-quite-lozenge-shaped face reads speed: as if a rectangle was morphed by a road racer. It’s a bracelet option that leans on nostalgia and has dropped in lockstep with the cultural drumbeat.

For those who equate sport watches with rubber straps, the Hermès Cut is a nice entry point. The face shape—mimicking the geometry of cut stones—isn’t overly large or masculine in feel and the strap colors offered are crisp and interchangeable with the metal bracelet for when you feel like a change.

For the sports lovers who need function with fashion, the Rolex Submariner can go as deep as 300-meters (this one is a bit chunky, but it’s good-looking enough to make the case for it). The Patek Philippe Nautilus isn’t recommended for further than 30-meters, but it’s a great option for the pool or a snorkeling trip. Both work just as well with a swimsuit, The Row crisp khakis trousers and Comme Si shirt, or a Dries pareo and camisole. Victoria Beckham wears her Nautilus consistently. Mrs. Beckham is an excellent face of the Sport Watch, might I add. She wears her timepieces slightly loose on her wrist—like a bracelet—and proves they work with every outfit.

Overarchingly, sporty watches are to the watchmaking world what convertibles are to cars: perfect in the sunshine, made for the outdoors, and—most importantly—Fun with a capital F. They work in the city; they even work in the rain, but you better be doing something in them.