India-based Bangalore Watch Company today introduces its latest new timepiece collection — the Cover Drive, which is available in three different versions. Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world, after football, and has massive popularity in India. The sport of Cricket arrived there by the British in the late 18th century and has developed a distinctly Indian character. The game proved such a major hit that today — more than 200 years later — cricket remains the most popular sport in India and enjoys fans and players all across the subcontinent. The Bangalore Watch Company Cover Drive is the first major timepiece to celebrate cricket and the enthusiasm shared by many Indians and other fans from cricket-playing nations around the world.

A “cover drive” is the most elegant shot that can be played in cricket, where the batsman plays a shot that drives the ball intelligently through the covers, and between the fielders, to the boundary. Bangalore Watch Company designed the Cover Drive to be a classic sports watch with several details related to the sport. Cover Drive watches are an elegant daily-wear companion while also providing emotional satisfaction for cricket fans around the world. As opposed to a product that screams “cricket fan” in the design, the watch has several subtle nods to cricket.

In addition to the “Cover Drive” name on the dial, the most obvious nod to cricket (for those in the know) on the Cover Drive watches is the specially designed rotating bezel. While the bezel can be used as a traditional 60-minute countdown timer, its markers are designed to help cricket spectators (or players) keep track of the number of overs in the game (up to 50 for a 50-overs match and 20 for a twenty-20 match). The watch’s hour markers (on the sandwich-style dial) are inspired by the look of Cricket stumps, while the 12 o’clock hour marker represents the wicket where the batsman would be positioned. Finally, Bangalore Watch Company designed the counter-weight on the seconds hand to be in the shape of a cricket bat. The sandwich cutouts on the dial and hands are filled with a generous dose of C3 Swiss Super-LumiNova for excellent visibility in the dark.

Serious fans of cricket will also notice how the use of Arabic hour numbers at 4 and 6 o’clock allow for a reference to boundary shots in the game, the achievement of which allows for major scoring opportunities (akin to a home run in baseball). Each of these cricket-inspired elements on the Cover Drive watches would be immediately obvious to anyone who follows or plays cricket, but do not remove from the Cover Drive’s ability to be a classy dress-style watch for business or casual attire. Once again, Bangalore Watch Company intends for the Cover Drive timepieces to celebrate cricket fandom, while keeping the details subtle.

On the wrist the Cover Drive watches are 40mm-wide in polished and brushed stainless steel. The sporty watch is water-resistant to 100 meters with an AR-coated sapphire crystal over the dial. The case is also 12.3mm-thick and has a very wearable 48mm lug-to-lug distance. Powering each of the Cover Drive watches is a Swiss Made Sellita SW200 automatic movement executed in a “no date” style in order to create a more attractive sense of dial balance and symmetry. Purists will be happy to note that there will be no phantom-date position in the crown, with the absence of a calendar disc on the dial.

Attached to each of the watches is an oil-pulled brown leather strap with white contrast stitching, matching that of the cricket ball. Bangalore Watch Company introduces the Cover Drive in three dial colors — with names that represent various parts of the cricket field, including the brown-dialed Cover Drive Pitch, the black-dialed Cover Driver Pavilion, and the green-dialed Cover Drive Outfield. Each timepiece is equipped with bespoke caseback art featuring a right-hand batsman playing a shot to the covers, rendered in rich relief. Price for each Bangalore Watch Company Cover Drive watch is $760 USD, but as a pre-order special (for a limited time) the Cover Drive can be ordered at a price of just $670 USD each. The watches can be reserved now and will ship worldwide from Bangalore starting in mid-November. Learn more at the Bangalore Watch Company website here.