Surfing is much older than most people realize with the first records being traced back to 12th century cave drawings found in Polynesia. It is thought that the Polynesians then brought the sport to Hawaii with their seafaring ventures. Surfing for the Hawaiians was not only a sport, but a religious activity, becoming popular with all genders and social classes. Even royalty were known to take to the waves.
In the 19th century, all this would come to an end due to the arrival of missionaries who didn’t like the constant fraternizing of sexes and classes and banned it. The sport was hardly practiced at all until the early 20th century when it saw a comeback thanks to the development of Hawaii as a tourist destination. From there, it spread to California, and Australia, and anywhere on the planet with good waves. The first international competition was held at the Waikiki Surf Club in 1953 and it hasn’t stopped growing in popularity since.
Watchmaking and Surfing
Surfing has always struggled slightly in the commercial world as surfers are free spirits, just happy to be out on the water improving their skills. The idea of luxury commercial collaborations, beyond surfboards and wetsuits, wasn’t something that really caught on. A handful of watchmakers, however, have managed to pierce into this hip sport.
Breitling and Kelly Slater
Breitling is working with one of the most famous names in surfing, Kelly Slater. The collaboration is with Slater’s sustainable apparel company called Outerknown, which is committed to protecting the environment, supporting fair labour, and investing in non-profit projects. Their first campaign called “It’s not OK” cleans beaches of plastic pollution. “Breitling has agreed to come in and work with us on those projects and to have another brand work with us to see that vision is very exciting for me,” he says.
Breitling also works with Australian professional surfers Stephanie Gilmore and Sally Fitzgibbons, who wear the Breitling Superocean Automatic 36 and the Superocean Automatic 42 respectively.
TAG Heuer and Kai Lenny
Kai Lenny is a renowned professional water sports athlete who is an ambassador for TAG Heuer and wears the brand’s Aquaracer model. He is a seven-time world stand-up paddle champion, and an accomplished windsurfer, kitesurfer, and hydrofoiler. He is also the youngest person to enter the Surfers’ Hall of Fame, receiving the honour at 29 years of age. You can discover more about him in TAG Heuer’s podcast series called The Edge.
Tudor, Nic Von Rupp, and the Big Wave Season
Tudor has a partnership with the Big Wave Season of the World Surf League, which covers two major events – the Tudor Nazaré Big Wave Challenge in Portugal and the Tudor Jaws Big Wave Challenge in Hawaii. The brand has also teamed up with surfer Nic Von Rupp, a Portuguese local and legendary big wave surfer who can be seen wearing the brand’s Pelagos model.
Bremont and Laird Hamilton
Over the years, Bremont has worked with an impression line-up of daring athletes, many of whom test the brand’s watches in their respective sports. In the world of surfing, Bremont has teamed up with none other than Laird Hamilton, a famous figure in the sport, who not only wears the brand’s watches but was involved in the development and testing of its Waterman Apex II timepiece, a high-performance mechanical dive watch with a water-resistance of 500 metres.
Charriol and Garrett "GMAC" McNamara
Charriol joined forces with American professional big wave surfer Garrett “GMAC” McNamara in 2023 to help celebrate the brand’s 40th anniversary and the launch of its St-Tropez Navigator GMT 41 Automatic timepiece. McNamara is recognized for surfing the largest wave ever – measuring 100 feet/30 metres – in 2013. His most recent claim to fame is his role in the Emmy award-winning HBO documentary series 100 Foot Wave, which follows his quest to conquer this 100-foot wave in Nazaré, Portugal, and how it transformed this small fishing village into a global destination for big-wave surfing. So, look out for the next series and some sightings of the Charriol St-Tropez Navigator GMT, of course!
