Yema x seconde/seconde/ Yachtingraff Meca-Quartz black dial tropic bracelet 38,5 mm

When an icon takes a new turn

There was a time when the YEMA Yachtingraf Croisière represented the very best of classic nautical watchmaking: a robust, easy-to-read chronograph designed for regattas and sea spray. It was created in the 1960s, inspired by a spirit of adventure and a taste for technical instruments.

But this year, the game has changed. Or rather, it has exploded. Renamed Yachtingraff — with two “F”s, like deliberate graffiti — the watch returns in a furiously free version, designed in collaboration with seconde/seconde/. A vandalized watch? Perhaps. But above all, it is a watch that stands tall, no longer asking permission to break the mold.

seconde/seconde/ redraws the rules

It is impossible to talk about the Yachtingraff without mentioning Romaric André, alias seconde/seconde/, a contemporary French artist who has mastered the art of watchmaking diversion. Known for his interventions on cult pieces, his signature style is simple: a touch of humor, a good dose of irony, and a genuine respect for forms, which he enjoys disrupting without ever betraying them. Here, he injects his graphic DNA into a base inspired by the 1969 Croisière model. The dial looks as if it has been marked accidentally. The colors spill over. The sub-dials look as if they have been tagged in a hurry. Even the YEMA logo has not been spared, scribbled hastily. And yet everything is in its place. The art of chaos, but perfectly orchestrated.

There is no shortage of details. The pushers, for example, are no longer simple triggers: they evoke spray paint caps, polished, colored, and shaped to “tag” time. And then there is the phrase engraved on the back of the watch: “La Croisière, ma muse” (Cruising, my muse). Both a tribute and a nod to a 1980s TV series that has become a poetic manifesto.

A solid base beneath the aerosol

Beneath the apparent visual anarchy, the Yachtingraff remains a reliable and well-constructed watch. Its 316L steel case features contrasting finishes—vertical brushing, polished bezel and lugs—with a diameter of 38.5 mm, a controlled thickness of 13 mm, and a double-domed hesalite crystal that reinforces the vintage effect. The whole thing is water-resistant to 100 meters.

Inside, the Seiko VK63 movement is at work: a hybrid caliber combining quartz (for the time) and mechanical (for the chronograph), offering modern precision and an “old-fashioned” feel when starting the chronograph, which is very pleasant to use. There is a 24-hour counter at 3 o'clock, a small seconds counter at 6 o'clock, and the famous regatta “big eye” at 9 o'clock—an iconic symbol of the old Yachtingraf watches, revisited here in a graphic explosion. The whole thing is legible, lively, almost in motion.

In terms of readability, the pencil-shaped hands are coated with Super-LumiNova BGW9, as are the faceted applied hour markers. And for comfort, the black rubber Tropic strap ensures flexibility and water resistance, in a very “tool watch” spirit.

A tag on the wrist

More than a reinterpretation, the Yachtingraff is an act. A graphic gesture. A wristwatch that embraces its excesses, its sparkle, its exuberance. By collaborating with seconde/seconde/, YEMA proves that tradition and irreverence, heritage and rebellion can go hand in hand. And above all, that watchmaking can still surprise, provoke... and make you smile.