Cycling and luxury timepieces are an easy pairing. Both share a history of marrying beauty and performance. That marriage underscores Bravur, a Swedish watchmaker with deep ties to the cycling world.
Bravur unveiled its latest collection — Team Heritage — this month, commemorating the golden era of racing from the ’50s through the ’80s. The collection comprises three watches, each a tribute to an iconic racing team of that time: Peugeot, Renault, and Mercier.
The watches are not Bravur’s most expensive cycling-inspired options — the Grand Tour watches claim that distinction. Instead, Bravur Team Heritage watches mark a more style-focused entry into the brand’s “Cycling Couture” offerings.
“While our Grand Tour series is all about performance and the thrill of racing, the Team Heritage series embodies a lifestyle ethos celebrating elegance, sophistication, and individuality,” Bravur co-founder Johan Sahlin said in a press release. “For us, the new Team Heritage collection represents a seamless progression in strengthening our position as the leading watch brand for style-conscious cyclists.”
Far from the metric-tracking wrist computers often associated with a modern sports watch, the Team Heritage timepieces will likely appeal more to serious fans of road racing and cycling’s history — particularly those who own a vintage bike themselves.
Team Heritage Luxury Cycling Watch
The three watches in the collection are the REN, MER, PEU, a nod to the three-letter code assigned to teams by cycling’s governing body, UCI. All three are automatic, using the Swiss-made Sellita SW200 movement, domed sapphire crystal, and measuring 37 mm across the stainless steel case. According to the brand, the dimensions of these timepieces were “carefully considered [and] intentionally tailored to suit slender wrists.”
Two timepieces, PEU and REN, offer a black ceramic coating for the case, and strap options include leather or rubber. Plus, the watches all boast 10 ATM/100m water resistance.
Notably, the Team Heritage watches come with a hand-crafted leather carrying case that doubles as a classy handlebar bag, big enough for spare tubes and/or on-bike nutrition.
Team Heritage PEU, REN, MER Watches
Kicking off the collection is the black-and-white checkered pattern of the PEU — a tribute to the French Peugeot team, ranked most successful team in history, according to the Bravur. The checkerboard pattern was a hallmark of the team from 1963 to 1986 and graced riders like Eddy Merckx, Robert Millar, Charly Gaul, Walter Godefroot, and Tom Simpson.
Meanwhile, the REN watch carries the striking yellow, black, and white pattern worn by Renault riders who dominated the peloton from 1978 to 1983, like Greg LeMond, Bernard Hinault, and Laurent Fignon. Distinctive and easy to spot in a large group, that striped pattern sits on the lower level of the sandwich dial, creating the appearance of floating indices, according to the brand.
Finally, the MER watch, which celebrates the Mercier brand dating back to 1933, celebrates the bike maker with the most Tour de France appearances in history. The royal purple and yellow accents marked Mercier riders like Raymond “Pou-Pou” Poulidor’s jerseys from the early 1950s until 1969.
If you need some wrist candy as sleek as your ride, the Team Heritage watches are available now for $1,195 each.
