Beginning 2020 I was contacted by the Portugese designer Danny Luís (BOLDR Supply and ESCH design), and BOLDR’s founder Leon Leong, as the brand started to create a new Regatta watch concept, one particular style BOLDR never had explored before. I am proud I was able to give some feedback and insight for their project, and thus began a very pleasant and positive collaboration!
BRAVING NEW HORIZONS – BOLDR Supply Company Pressrelease
The inspiration for the BOLDR Odyssey Regatta came from world record holder Bhavik Gandhi, who who crossed 3000 miles over The Atlantic Ocean by himself in 2007, a feat accomplished by a precious few humans throughout history. A watch enthusiast himself, Bhavik’s penchant for endurance sports resonates deeply with BOLDR’s core values, leading the brand to reach out for his creative input. Founder of BOLDR Leon Leong recalls meeting Bhavik back when he was a student in Sweden: “I first met Bhavik back in 2010 during a TEDxMälaren talk which I organized with my batchmates. Hearing him speak about his adventures made such an impression on me that many years later, I got in touch with him to share our vision for this project”.
Led by BOLDR’s designer Danny Guzzi, the team also engaged the help of renowned regatta timepiece experts in order to validate their design blueprints. Among those consulted were Mathias Hübner, a vintage watch expert and avid collector from Germany, Mark Reichardt, a regatta watch collector based in the Netherlands and founder of regatta-yachttimers.com, and David Braybrook, a Portugal-based watch collector with years of experience in custom-built timepieces. Their highly-valued feedback was implemented in the intricate details that went into creating the quintessential regatta timepiece, from easy-to-use tracking features down to the triple-lock crown on the case.
Danny was inspired to bring this project to life from childhood memories and his experience in nautical sports. “As a child I lived near the “Lac de la Haute-Sûre”, where nautical sports play an important role to this day, I remember my family hanging out with friends at the Yacht Club du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, where we would watch sailing boats for hours. Later in Portugal I was for several years an athlete in the local Nautic Club, so nautical sports always had a special place in my heart – especially regatta races! Designing a yachting timer has always been on my list of goals, and I’d like to say a huge thank you the entire BOLDR team for making my dream come true!”.
The watch offers several first-time features for the brand such as a unique 2-in-1 bezel, which combines a 15-minute countdown marker with a specialized nautical miles tachymeter. Powering this yachting monster is an ETA Valjoux 7750 Elabore grade chronograph movement encased in a full stainless steel body, rated for 500m. Designed to be highly legible, the black & white dial features three specialized sub-dials and stylized boat-shaped skeleton hands for better readability.
One of its sub-dials is a classic 10-minute count back disk-dial, a popular feature used to mark the start of a regatta race. The chronograph tracking hand moves smoothly across the indexes with a simple click and snaps back immediately into reset position using the ‘flyback’ reset feature. This is highly useful for tracking in intense race situations, where concentration is high and every second counts. Keeping the inner workings safe and dry is a triple-lock screw-down crown, a sophisticated three-tiered locking system that prevents water from seeping in. Wearers can be assured of top performance, no matter how much water hits the dial.
More information and pictures of the watch in the brandlist here.