From sailing clothing to bags the marine market has seen something of a trend in recent years with designs inspired by the past and the newly re-released Spinnaker Dumas watch collection are the latest kit that fits into this bracket.

The manufacturer claims that these sailing watches are inspired by watch shapes and designs of the 1970s,  with the Dumas created to mirror the more muscular form (read chunky) design of dive watches.

The collection takes its name from the famed diving pioneer, Frédéric Dumas. As such Spinnaker says they were looking to evoke the visual appeal  of ‘capsule of dive watches that were designed explicitly for pure function and practicality in their role as pieces of diving instrumentation.’

A strong octagonal watch chassis is topped with mineral crystal 120 click uni-directional turning bezel with luminous calibrations.

In a world of super high-tech smart watches – with many now specifically designed with sailing-specific functions – it’s easy to question how much of a place a traditional watch may have.

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But this is not a watch designed to compete with the smart watch range. This is an aesthetically pleasing piece of engineering that is as much about how it looks as it is about the actual functionality.

That is not to say that the Spinnaker Dumas watch is not without solid timekeeping capabilities. At the heart of the watch sits a precise, NH35 TMI Seiko automatic self-winding movement, offering time and date read out with its inner mechanics visible via the exhibition caseback.

Perhaps it is no surprise, what with the rise of the smart watch, that Spinnaker have chosen to look to the past for their design inspiration. This certainly looks to be a pleasing, solid and reliable for those of us who like our watches to be of the mechanical variety.

Of course the price reflects the engineering that has gone into the timepiece plus the fact that watches such as these have always been a desirable item.

Sure, there will be those who balk at a £315 watch that lacks the functionality of something cheaper, but that is to miss the point entirely. It’s actually relatively competitively priced compared to similar watches on the market.

Price: £315
Spinnaker-watches.co.uk

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