What kind of watch is the luxury sports watch "Ragspo"?

Today, I'm going to explain in a very simple and easy-to-understand way the history and definition of luxury sports, which became popular about 70 years ago.

What kind of watch is Ragspo?

Now, let's get started. Ragspo is an abbreviation for Luxury Sports Watch, and refers to a wristwatch that combines a high-class design (a luxurious feel) with the functionality of a sports watch .

Here is a very brief explanation of the history of Ragspo.

The history of Ragspo dates back to the 1950s.

At the time, sports watches were characterized by their practical design and functionality.

However, luxury watch brands have begun to pursue high-end designs while maintaining the functionality of sports watches.

In the 1960s, representative luxury sports models such as IWC's Portuguese, Omega's Seamaster Aqua Terra, and Panerai's Luminor appeared.

These models combined a luxurious design with the functionality of a sports watch, and became very popular.

The 1970s is generally considered to be the era when luxury sports became popular, and during this period many different brands produced a variety of models that are still famous today.

That's why the 1970s are said to be the era of luxury sports.

As you know, the demand for mechanical watches declined after the 1970s due to the Seiko quartz shock in 1978.

However, Ragspo continued to maintain its popularity thanks to its luxurious design and strong brand power.

Features of Ragspo

So, to summarize the characteristics of Ragspo in an easy-to-understand way:

The first is the luxurious design.

Ragspo are watches manufactured by high-end brands and are characterized by their luxurious design.
What constitutes a high-end brand? I think that everyone has different perceptions, but here I will go by the name of a brand that most men know.

Looking at the watch as a whole, it is made of materials such as stainless steel and gold, and the bracelet is basically made of metal, giving it a sophisticated design.

Another design feature is the use of distinctive bezels, each of which is unique to the company.


The second is its functionality as a sports watch.

The Raguspo also has the functionality of a sports watch.
It is equipped with features such as water resistance and magnetic resistance, making it suitable for a wide range of uses, from everyday life to sports.

To put it simply, I think these two are the characteristics of Ragspo.

Let's take a look at some of the watches that were popular from various companies during the heyday of this luxury sports era.

Let's take a look at some of Ragspo's most popular watches.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak

This is a representative model of RagSport and has been highly popular around the world since its release in 1972.
Its attractive design includes a stainless steel case, an octagonal bezel, Breguet numerals, and screw-set indexes.
As is well known, this model was designed by the famous watch designer Gerald Genta.

Patek Philippe Nautilus

Along with the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, this is a representative model of Luxury Sports.
Since its release in 1976, it has gained popularity for its sophisticated design and high functionality.
This was also designed by Genta, just like the previous designer.

Vacheron Constantin Overseas

When talking about luxury sports, the two companies mentioned above are generally the main ones, but these are also classified as luxury sports when looking at design and functionality.

This model was released in 1977 and is known as one of the three major luxury sports models, alongside the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and the Patek Philippe Nautilus.

Although not very well known in Japan, it was designed by a designer named Jorg Hyzek.

By the way, these three watches are equipped with movements based on Jaeger-LeCoultre's Cal. 920.

In short, although they all have their own unique appearance, they all have the same movement.


They are produced by the world's three major watch brands, as well as a variety of other brands.

Santos, a luxury sports car you can't miss

And what I would like to introduce to you today is one of them, the Santos.

The Cartier Santos was the world's first men's wristwatch.

The watch was named "Santos" because it was made in 1904 for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont.

After that, the Santos was produced in small quantities, but by the 1970s, Cartier had decided to start producing watches as well as jewelry!

So we will start mass production.

So Alain Dominique Perrin, the chief designer at Cartier, who had been watching the success of Patek's Nautilus and Audemars' Royal Oak, said, "We're going to make a luxury sport watch too!"

Saying that, I think about the new Santos.


The Santos, which was born in 1904, was given a modern twist and incorporated luxury sports elements to become the Santos in 1978.

Later, in 1987, they released the curved Santos Galbee to make the Santos fit the wrist better, and I think the Santos Galbee is probably the more famous vintage watch.

In order to differentiate itself from the models that had been released by the big three watch brands earlier, Santos launched a bold design revolution for the time.

Up until then, watches had generally been made using a single color material, but the Santos was released with a combination of stainless steel and gold as the default color.

The Santos was such a big hit that an all-stainless steel version was also created, which is what makes it the Santos we know today.


All of these models combine luxurious design with high functionality, and are still popular with many enthusiasts today as models that symbolize the era of luxury sports.


Since the 2000s, mechanical watches have become popular again, and luxury sports watches have once again begun to attract attention.

In recent years, new luxury sports watches have been released one after another, such as IWC's Portofino Hand-Wound 8 Days, Omega's Seamaster 300, and Panerai's Luminor Submersible.

Ragspo is a versatile watch that can be used in a wide range of situations, from business to casual.

It combines a luxurious design with the functionality of a sports watch, and remains highly popular today.