Summer has to be one of the best seasons to be a watch enthusiast. Finally you can take off your winter or spring coat and expose your wrist to some much needed UV rays, and as a side benefit you can show off your watch as well. It’s not all about showing your watch off to others though, this is a great season that really allows your to get into the mood with a watch that compliments your overall summer wardrobe style.
In the winter, spring, and fall your watch is generally covered by your sleeve if you live in the northern hemisphere like I do. Your watch might make the occasional appearance as it slips out from under your cuff when you go to grab a drink or hand something to someone. Sure you’ll probably be wearing something that you love on wrist, but chances are it won’t be making a huge impression on your overall look due to the limited amount of visibility it receives.
The summer is different, as you’ll be in a t-shirt most of the time, or perhaps a long sleeve shirt that exposes your watch. There’s going to be plenty more eyes on your wrist for at least a nice solid 4 months. With this fact it’s time to step up your game and make sure you’re wearing a really cool watch, something with a little more pizzaz than usual, maybe something retro with color, and certainly mechanical in function. Dive watches are also very popular this time of the year, and collectors like us love a good heritage or story behind the watch on our wrist. Let’s take a look below at some great offerings available for this summer in 2024.
Aspects of a Great Summer Watch
We won’t be featuring just any regular watch on our list here. Let’s lay out some rules for what we think makes a fantastic summer watch.
For one, it should be a little more playful in appearance than something reserved and monotone that you’d usually wear in the winter. I’m not just referring to color though, things like innovative bezels, crown position, case shapes, and very important bracelet types are going to be making a big impact on your wrist in the summer compared to the cooler seasons. Less obvious aspects could be things like exhibition casebacks to show off the movement to a friend while you’re out, good water resistance so you can attend the last minute beach party, and perhaps functions like a timing bezel or full on chronograph are going to be actually used more frequently in the summer.
Mido Decompression Worldtimer
The Decompression Worldtimer from Mido’s Ocean Star line is an absolutely must have summer watch, you wont find anything like it at any price point. This is a watch that stands on its own as a cool retro reissue of the original Mido Decompression Timer from 1961. Although, on this new iteration the Worldtimer function has been added which is quite apparent with the cities etched onto the rotating bezel.
The standout summery feature of this watch is the colorful decompression timer dial, which is color coded in a rainbow gradient of yellow, green, pink, and blue – on the blue bezel variant. This feature is designed to calculate the necessary decompression stops required during ascent to avoid decompression sickness. As someone mentioned before, just looking at this watch makes you want to be on a yacht somewhere out in the Mediterranean or off the coast of Florida with a cigar in mouth.
The overall design language of this watch is pure fun, but it’s also Swiss made with a build quality to match. It’s also featuring some great specs such as the Mido Caliber 80 automatic GMT movement, based on the ETA C07.661 architecture, running at 21,600vph (3 Hz) and offering an 80-hour power reserve. This movement features an independently adjustable local hour hand, providing “traveler” style GMT functionality.
Doxa Sub 300T
The Doxa Sub 300T is quite an impressive watch with a utilitarian diver vibe from the 1970s. To be more precise this is also a reissue watch of the original 1968 SUB 300T Conquistador. Functionally, this watch stands out with its patented unidirectional bezel that includes a diving table, making it suitable for professional divers. This is a serious dive watch with a water resistance 1200 meters, and the orange dial and other bright dial choices we’re chosen to provide great visibility under water but thet really look the part while lounging on the beach and match really well while out in a summery linen shirt.
One of my favorite aspects of this watch is its beads of rice bracelet, it adds some retro flash in a similar way to a Jubilee styled bracelet and really complements the cushion case of the watch. The 20mm lug widths are also great allowing for a nice selection of aftermarket straps to switch up the look of the watch during any season. As a brand, Doxa remains relatively low profile which is another reason why I like their watches. They create fantastic watches that you won’t find on everyones wrist in the summer, but they do still have a dedicated group of enthusiasts who enjoy both their modern and vintage offerings.
The 300T is one of the larger models they offer, it has an ETA 2824-2 automatic movement, which is quite reliable and precise with a 42-hour power reserve. This movement operates at 28,800 vibrations per hour and includes both hacking and hand-winding functionalities.
Rolex Submariner
The Submariner is not on here for its flashy color, unless you’re into the new 12 series Date version with the green bezel, or the now discontinued Sub Date “Hulk”. The one we’re featuring here is the original all black Submariner, either the new 12 series or the 114060 will do – occasionally incorrectly referred to as the “No Date Submariner”.
Some collectors find this model a little mundane and boring, but I find it the quintessential dive watch, and it excels for summer wear. This is a watch that has all the every-day wear specs that you need in a watch, and it looks absolutely amazing in any settings whether by the water somewhere or in the city. It does exceptionally well as a summer watch, as its ready for any type of activity thrown at it.
If you’re not sure which reference to choose, you can read our Submariner 124060 Vs 114060 sizing guide here. Generally speaking both models are incredibly similar but Rolex implemented some minute changes that you’d perhaps like to be aware of.
One neat and often overlooked aspect about the Submariner is the glidelock clasp on the bracelet which allows you to make small adjustments to the bracelet size in a matter of seconds. I really didnt think I’d be using this feature much, but I ended up using it all summer long as my wrist swelled and retracted in size during very hot days. This small feature makes the Submariner one of the most comfortable watches I own, despite its somewhat beefy dive watch heft.
The Sub is sporting the very reliable Caliber 3130 which has a smooth seconds hand, and I catch myself gazing at the iconic lollypop seconds hand hover around the dial while enjoying my coffee on warm summer mornings.
Omega Seamaster 300M Summer Blue
The Mido Decompression Wordltimer might be colorful, but the summer edition of the Seamaster cranks up the lumens to a whole new level of blue – and with that the purchase price as well. I had the pleasure to enjoy this watch for a few weeks and the shade of blue chosen for both the dial and bezel is stunning and reminiscent of a tropical lagoon. The blue shifts from an almost deep navy to an almost white or ultra-light shade of soft powder blue. You’re essentially getting all the good stuff that the classic Seamaster is known for but in a summer package.
This watch comes in at a 42mm case size but it wears like a 40mm, feeling nearly identical in size to a modern Submariner. The lugs are actually a little bit slimmer in profile than a Sub and the curve on the wrist a touch more as well lending the watch a very elegant and sporty feeling on wrist. The only downside in my opinion is the blocky bracelet that has no tappering whatsoever.
Technically speaking the Seamaster offers a lot. First off it’s sporting a fantastic movement, the Co-Axial Master Chronometer calibre 8800, which is METAS-certified for accuracy. This movement has a silicon balance spring and is anti-magnetic up to 15,000 gauss. The movement is also light decorated with Geneva waves in arabesque, although it’s not viewable due to the steel caseback.
Oris Artelier S
So far we only have dive watches on our list, how did that happen? I guess they’re just optimal choices for the warm season. I would have liked to fit in a Chronograph of some type, but I couldn’t find something that really screamed summer with its color choices. So lets leave out the chronograph for now and add something dressy to the list, like this new release Artelier S from Oris with its rich forest green dial.
I’m not a huge dress watch advocate, with very little time to wear them, but I still consider a dress watch a must have in any watch collection even if you’re going to wear it on only one occasion in the summer – you’ll be very glad you have one on hand.
I recently reviewed the Artelier S, and I must say, I was very impressed with the watch. The quality of finish is exceptional which I found exceeded the usual quality found on Oris’s line of sports watches. Oris seemingly stepped up their game here to differentiate this watch from the rest of their offerings, which as a watch fanatic I can really appreciate.
One big reason I really like this dress watch for summer wear is simply the green dial, it’s a color you don’t see often on dress watches. Another big reason is the exhibition display caseback, making this watch really fun to take off wrist with some friends and admire the SW 200-1 movement. The Artelier S is perfectly sized at 38mm, lending it a subtle but not too small of a wrist presence. Although I have not tested different straps on this watch yet, I also believe it would make an excellent candidate for a variety of different strap materials, colors, and textures for those pleasingly warm summer days.
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