The Rise of the All-Terrain Watch

New designs from Breitling, Panerai, Tudor, and Rolex are pushing the off-grid agenda for watch enthusiasts.

- NICK FOULKES

MANY TRULY emblematic feats of exploration and adventure were completed without the need of specialist explorer watches. For instance, when Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the top of Everest in 1953, their expedition was famously equipped by Rolex with simple Oyster Perpetuals. The Crown’s legendary Explorer 1 was launched later that year to commemorate the climb.) Yachtsman Francis Chichester completed his historic 226-day solo circumnavigation of the globe in 1967 also wearing a straightforward Rolex Oyster Perpetual; mid-Atlantic, he slipped into his dinner jacket to celebrate his birthday with a glass of Champagne.

This year the adventure watch is having a moment, reviving questions of what exactly it is, and what it can be. Adventure watches are more than an accessory, they’re more than just watches, they tell a story,” explains Alex Ghotbi, head of watches for Europe and the Middle East at Phillips. The story of the person who went into space, under the sea, in the jungle, or to the Sahara. From being just a watch they become an element of the adventure itself, and collectors love that because it allows them to live vicariously through their watch.”