In a similar stroke of good fortune that allowed me to shoot a German watch in the Swiss Alps, the new Corum Admiral Legend 42mm automatic watch arrived at the office a couple of days before I finally got to take my “summer” holidays… in October. As temperatures in Switzerland plummeted as low as 5 degrees Celsius, I was relaxing by the pool in a much more balmy 36 degrees on the coast at Ras Al-Khaimah. But the beach was about as close as I got to the environment from which the Corum Admiral Legend takes its inspiration.
The choice of name for this new collection, which covers the full range of desires, from 32mm jewellery pieces for women up to a 47mm world time model, was wise, since Corum have decided to drop the “Admiral’s Cup”. Corum’s Admiral’s Cup collection had existed in parallel with the unofficial world championships of offshore sailing ever since 1960, but the last Admiral’s Cup race was held in 2003 (after a four-year hiatus) and there is currently no indication of a come-back.
With the watch strapped on to my wrist with the leather strap, I did not test the 50-metre water resistance claims, either in the air-conditioned pool or the jacuzzi-like temperatures of the Arabian sea. Instead, the Admiral Legend became my distinguished evening accessory for dinner at the hotel and on my daytime excursions, as you can see from the photo above.
One of the first riddles I had to solve was that of the indications on the dial. Just what do those nautical pennants on the dial mean? After a little bit of Googling, I should have known better: they are simply the nautical flags that represent 1-9, with the flags at 10, 11 and 12 o’clock being a combined flag made up of the individual digits. No doubt self-evident for the seasoned sailor, but they were few and far between in the dunes surrounding the Bedouin oasis camp. Once you have your bearings, however, it’s easy to read the time thanks to generously-proportioned hands with SuperLuminova inserts, as well as a small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock with indications in the style of those of a compass.
The case of the Admiral Legend is distinctive for two reasons, the first being the dodecagonal case that matches the bezel, the second is the uniform polished finish across the case and bezel. The faceting on the case extends slightly in the 3 o’clock position to act as a form of crown protection. Power comes from the CO 395 self-winding calibre (visible through a sapphire crystal case back) with a 42-hour power reserve, more than enough to stay on time when kept safely in the hotel safe to be brought out as and when required.
This particular model is available with a choice of blue or white dials, with an additional black dial available for the chronograph. But the entire collection is vast – please refer to our watchfinder for an overview.
