Round-UpTop World Famous Sports Partnerships With Watch Brands
Here’s looking at luxury watch brands such as Breitling, Hublot, Omega, TAG Heuer, Tissot and Zenith, which have amassed a successful fan base, provided the desired financial nudge to pull off mega games and kept sportsmanship alive
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To boost sales and bank on the collective euphoria during mega sporting events and increase their fan base among the followers of the niche sports, most luxury watch brands have established a dedicated collection for sports watches. The brand picks at least one sporting discipline, assumes the role of the Official Timekeeper of the mega events held in that sport—even better if held annually—unveils a limited-edition commemorative watch ahead of the game, have the star players and friends of the brand adorn this timepiece on their wrists, and chip in the advertising paraphernalia of the game in terms of jerseys, billboards, referee boards. etc. Sales rocket, especially if the brand patron is also a fanatic of the said game and would not miss out on extending their collection with a limited-run piece. Here’s looking at six watch brands such as Breitling, Hublot, Omega, TAG Heuer, Tissot and Zenith, which have amassed a successful mix of fans, provided the desired financial nudge needed to pull off mega games and keep sportsmanship alive.
IronMan Triathlon
Breitling Endurance Pro
Swiss watchmaker Breitling that celebrates its 140th anniversary this year, have gained repute for their affinity towards sporting partnerships since the 1950s. The brand collaborated with cycling events such as Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and backing the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, vying to become a WorldTour-level squad by 2026. Given their role as the Official Timing Partner of Six Nations Rugby, the brand just launched a 150-piece limited-edition Chronomat Six Nations for each competing nation and their respective team’s logos and colours.
Breitling’s most unique collaboration, however, is as the official luxury watch partner to the annual IRONMAN triathlon, dating back to 1978, in Hawaii, with qualification races in swimming, cycling and marathon. There’s a special Breitling Endurance Pro range—a sub-category of the brand’s Professional series—designed specifically for the events or the participating IRONMAN triathletes. These Breitling COSC-certified chronometers have rubber straps that are either IRONMAN®-branded or plain with textured edges, and the competition logo positioned at six o’clock.
Mid-2024, the brand unveiled a bunch of these IRONMAN watches in two case sizes—44mm and 38mm, with matching inner bezel rings, minute tracks, crowns, and rubber straps in vivid hues. Moreover, these are being championed by Ironman triathletes, such as the women’s world champion Lucy Charles-Barclay; the youngest male winner in Ironman history, Sam Laidlow; German triathlete Jan Frodeno (three-time winner of the Ironman World Championship) and the Swiss triathlete Daniela Ryf (five-time title holder of the Ironman World Championship). The 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship triathlon is next scheduled in Nice, France, on September 22, 2024, and the men’s competition in Kona, Hawaii, on October 26, 2024, and will see the launch of the Ironman-branded Endurance Performance Pro as a 500-piece limited edition in titanium.
Football
Big Bang E Gen3 UEFA EURO 2024
One watchmaking giant synonymous with football is Hublot. About 18 years ago (back in 2006), Hublot became the first luxury watch brand to support football, with their ‘Hublot Loves Football’ banner. Apart from their association to mega tournaments such as FIFA World Cup and the Europa League, Hublot became the official timekeeper for UEFA EURO.
The just concluded UEFA EURO 2024™ is the brand’s fifth partnership, and to commemorate the occasion, Hublot unveiled the Big Bang E Gen3 UEFA EURO 2024 watch. This timepiece makes inroads in the digital side of watchmaking, powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100+ operating on Google Wear OS, compatible with Google Android or Apple iOS, inbuilt with Heart Rate Monitor (HRM), speaker, microphone, DC Motor (Vibration) and Ambient Light Sensor (ALS), and connectivity features such as GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and NFC Payment. Additionally, and they sponsored Referee Boards that timed each one of the 51 games played by 24 countries, and factored in each player substitution, play time, extra time, and penalties. The watch supported by the Hublot brand ambassador and star footballer Kylian Mbappé.
Olympics
Omega Seamaster Diver 300M ‘Paris 2024’ Special Edition; Omega Speedmaster Chronoscope & Omega Paris 2024 Bronze Gold edition
Omega is another Swiss watchmaking giant that served as official timekeepers to a variety of sporting events, such as the world’s oldest sailing competition titled America’s Cup, and golfing events such as the PGA Championship by the Professional Golfers’ Association of America and Dubai Desert Classic.
That said, the largest feather in the brand’s cap in terms of sports collabs has been the world’s largest sporting event, Paris 2024 Olympics. Omega a series of three watch editions to celebrate the 92nd anniversary of association to the Olympics. They unveiled their first watch, the Seamaster Diver 300M ‘Paris 2024’ Special Edition, in 2023 on a date that coincided with the one-year countdown to the Olympics. The Paris 2024 Seamaster dive watch features a unidirectional-rotating bezel in Moonshine gold—Omega’s proprietary 18-karat yellow gold alloy—with a 60-minute dive-timer scale with grained finish, on a 42mm steel case. The golden touch is mirrored shows in the three timekeeping hands, especially the lollipop-style seconds hand, engraved with the motif of the Olympic torch’s flame.
Omega released their second Olympic-themed watch, the Speedmaster Chronoscope, at the 100-day countdown to the Summer Olympics. The watch shone in the event’s official hues, gold, black and white tones, and featured all three precision scales—tachymeter, telemeter and pulsometer. Its 43mm case is made from Moonshine gold, Omega’s proprietary yellow gold alloy. Finally, the brand unveiled a tribute timepiece titled the Paris 2024 Bronze Gold edition, which encompassed all the three top prizes: The case in Omega’s proprietary alloy bronze gold; dial in silver; and the timekeeping hands in the Omega’s Sedna gold.
This flame with the Olympic rings and Paris 2024 emblem appears on the closed caseback. Apart from the steel and leather bracelet options, there are NATO strap options printed with the Olympic typography.
Basketball & Cycling
Tissot Seastar Wilson WNBA & Tissot Seastar Wilson WNBA Quartz + Tissot PR 100 Tour De France
Tissot have been the official timekeeper for professional basketball leagues NBA (National Basketball Association) and WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) since 2015. For the first time in 2024, Tissot marked their first dedicated official WNBA edition. It features two variations of Tissot’s popular Seastar diver line—one an affordable quartz model, the other powered by the brand’s workhorse Powermatic 80 automatic movement. The duo is united by their unmistakable WNBA and basketball motifs throughout their silhouettes. Drawing direct inspiration from the markings on an official WNBA game ball, the first 24 minutes are printed on the bezel in a vibrant orange—a nod to the league’s 24-second shot clock.
Cementing the connection to the game are the two interchangeable straps included with the watch, constructed from the same Evo-NXT Premium Composite material used in Wilson’s WNBA game balls. Tissot have also produced the Seastar Wilson WNBA Quartz. This watch swaps out the mechanical movement for a Swiss-made quartz unit with an end-of-life battery indicator.
It was somewhere in the 1980s that Tissot assumed the role as the Official Timekeeper of Tour de France. The watch brand forged a partnership in 1988 with the renowned A.S.O. (Amaury Sport Organisation)—the chief organizer of 20 cycling championships such as the Spanish race La Vuelta a España, Tour de France that commenced from the Florence to Nice, and French races of Paris-Roubaix and Paris-Nice. Since their association, Tissot fulfilled the timekeeping duties like keeping tabs on falls, breakdowns, or penalties. Their systems consist of 8-15 timekeepers that precisely monitor every rider’s position and speed. This is then shared across multiple platforms so fans of the sport can track these tours. To commemorate sports partnership this year, Tissot unveiled PR 100 Tour de France 2024 in yellow and the PR 100 La Vuelta a España in red. These watches feature 316L stainless steel case, cradling a asphalt-grained black dial to resemble the cycling track. They come with additional dual-hued perforated bi-material rubber and leather strap in yellow and black, featuring a bicycle handlebar grip texture. The most striking reference to these races is the seconds hand shaped distinctively like a cycle, in yellow to coincide with Tour de France hues, or red for the La Vuelta a España.
Motorsport
TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph X Gulf & TAG Heuer Formula 1 Chronograph X Gulf
The iconic square-shaped chronograph titled Monaco has been a flagship for TAG Heuer, perfectly representing their association with motorsports. It was immortalised in the film Le Mans about a fictionalised showdown at the ‘24 Hours of Le Mans’ race, considered to be one of the hardest motor races that tests drivers’ endurance to their limits. Actor Steve McQueen famously wore the Monaco in the film where he was in livery that reflected the branding and colours of Gulf Oil—as a sponsor of the race team his character was driving for. This unofficial association led to a more official one later, and TAG Heuer subsequently released a Gulf edition of the Monaco chronograph. This latest version of the Monaco Gulf.
The Swiss watchmakers’ association with the Gulf is also palpable through the TAG Heuer Formula 1 collection. The Formula 1 Gulf has the same distinctive stripes of Gulf’s colours—blue and orange—seen on the Monaco Gulf. A distinct sunray fine-brushed polish covers the dial and sub-dials. While the Monaco runs on the Heuer 02 automatic chronograph calibre, offering an 80-hour power reserve, the Formula 1 has a more modest, but very reliable Swiss-made quartz movement. Completely the look is the three-row steel bracelet with folding clasp plus a double safety system and driver’s extension to wear over a racing suit.
Tennis
Zenith Chronomaster Sport Titanium
In collaboration with the 2024 Ultimate Tennis Showdown, Zenith have introduced their lightest rendition yet of the award-winning 1/10th of a second Chronomaster Sport—the Titanium version, accompanied by a fresh lineup of integrated rubber straps. What immediately catches the eye is the watch’s monochromatic appearance, a departure from the earlier iterations of the Chronomaster Sport collection known for their contrasting colours. The nickel-tone sunburst dial, adorned with anthracite, light grey, and silver sub-dials, is complemented by faceted rhodium-plated hands and indexes filled with black lacquer, exuding an aura of understated elegance. Subtle pops of colour in bright red elements add a touch of vibrancy to the overall design, creating a perfect balance.
Shop The Story
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Breitling Professional
X82310A51B1S2
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Omega Seamaster
522.21.42.20.04.001
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Omega Speedmaster
522.30.43.51.02.001
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TAG Heuer Monaco
CBL2115.FC6494
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TAG Heuer Formula 1
CAZ101AT.BA0842
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Tissot T-Sport
T120.807.17.051.00
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Tissot T-Classic
T150.417.11.051.00
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Zenith Chronomaster
95.3100.3600/39.M3100
