Swiss photographer Sébastien Rohner first heard the call of the sea during his military service, which he chose to spend on board a cargo ship sailing to South Africa. His work behind the lens brought him to the attention of all the top media publishers in his home country, and opened the door to the rest of the world, courtesy of commissions from some of the world’s most recognisable magazines. Cosmopolitan, Elle, GQ, Marie-Claire and Men’s Health were won over by his sense of composition and empathy for his subjects. His photos have also been collected in a book.
Two for the price of one As well as being a seasoned traveller, Sébastien Rohner is also an accomplished skipper. When he’s back in Switzerland, he sails on Lake Constance and Lake Zurich. His passion and talent for photography brought him into contact with German-speaking watchmakers including Carl F. Bucherer, Glashütte and IWC, for whom he does photo shoots. This new professional opening sparked his interest, and he began to document his own journey in the amazing world of watches. It was only natural that he should approach the Swiss watch magazine of reference, GMT (which belongs to the same publishing house as WorldTempus). And that’s when he discovered that GMT also publishes Switzerland’s oldest sailing magazine, also a market leader: Skippers, voile & ocean. It was inevitable that their paths would eventually cross. The sailor/photographer suggested a number of ways in which we could team up. He could do a sailing feature, or maybe a watch article? “Both, sir!” the present author replied. To kick off the summer in fitting style, Sébastien treated us to a watch shoot on board a boat.
We would like to thank the Historic Boat Foundation of Lake Zurich, who allowed us to borrow one of the jewels of its collection, the century-old Ajax, for this occasion. On board, we have a Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe from Blancpain, a Serpenti Spiga by Bulgari, a Pasha de Cartier chronograph, a Gucci Dive, a Polaris Mariner by Jaeger-LeCoultre, an Atlas X bracelet from Tiffany & Co, a Diver Lemon Shark by Ulysse Nardin and an Overseas Dual Time by Vacheron Constantin, worn by models Marina Summer (who could not be more appropriately named!) and Romano Brizzi. The models are also featured in this short video, which was filmed during the shoot.
As a World Tempus reader, we are delighted to offer you the latest digital version of this GMT magazine that you can download here. Happy reading!
