The Sports Section New Collabs From Merci x Tracksmith And Maurice De Mauriac x Racquet Offer A Different Kind Of 'Sports Watch'

It's a different kind of "sports watch" than the legion of stainless steel, black dial watches we most associate with the form, and they don't demand to be taken so seriously. Let's look at the fun collabs from Maurice de Mauriac and Merci.

Swiss brand Maurice de Mauriac and tennis magazine Racquet are playing doubles again with the Rallymaster III, the third edition of their tennis-inspired collaboration. While the first Rallymaster played off the red clay courts of the French Open at Roland Garros and last year's Rallymaster II on the blue hardcourts of the U.S. Open, this year's effort features an olive-green dial meant to evoke the lawns of the grass court season that culminates with the Wimbledon finals this weekend.

Racquet is a trendy tennis-focused quarterly print magazine that's gained fans for its focus on storytelling and tennis culture. The Rallymaster III measures 39 x 12mm (47mm lug-to-lug) and is powered by the Landeron 24, an automatic movement that's a clone of the ETA 2824-2. (The modern Landeron company isn't related to the historic maker of Swiss chronograph movements you might know.)

Maurice de Mauriac and Racquet have tapped L.A. designer Carlton DeWoody for each edition of the Rallymaster. DeWoody's a real vintage watch nerd and drew inspiration from all kinds of vintage watches for the Rallymaster III.

"To make sure this watch wasn't just a 'theme watch,' I sought to mine various other sources of reference besides tennis itself," DeWoody told me over direct message. Obviously, there's a net on the dial, but he says he actually got the inspiration for that from an exotic racing dial he saw on a LIP (check out this article to see what he's talking about).

Another racing motif is in the tension ring, inspired by "rally" rehauts seen on some chronographs – also a cheeky reference to the watch's tennis-inspired name. He said the other source of inspiration was colorful yachting subdials like the Heuer Autavia Skipper, Gallet Multichron Yachting, and others that he has stashed in his personal collection.

The Rallymaster III is more dressed up than the previous two, with a 3N gold crown and additional gold accents on the dial. It's a thoughtful update to the previous editions. It clearly makes reference to the All England Club's grass courts, but it's subtle enough so as to not feel trite (or to raise the eyebrow of a pesky Wimbledon lawyer). Especially since most watches associated with tennis are five (Rolex) or six (Richard Mille) figures, the Rallymaster III is a fun and more accessible option, though the $2,400 is $400 higher than the previous two Rallymasters, surely due to the gold crown. It's limited to 100 pieces.

Even the signature on the bottom is a playful tennis reference: "Swiss Made With Love."

The Maurice de Mauriac x Racquet Rallymaster III has a 39 x 12mm (47mm lug-to-lug) stainless steel case with a screw-in gold crown. Sapphire caseback, water resistant to 100 meters. Green dial with applied "tennis ball" indices and Super-LumiNova. The Rallymaster III is powered by the automatic Landeron 24 movement with 40-hour power reserve beating at 4 Hz. Delivered on a tan calf leather strap and an additional two-piece "textile flex" strap. Limited edition of 100 pieces, pre-orders opened on July 2. Price: $2,400. Available at mdm-watches.com.

Just across the English Channel from Wimbledon, running brand Tracksmith has collaborated with Merci Paris on a limited edition LMM-01. The Tracksmith Timepiece features a navy blue dial with Breguet numerals and a bold red seconds hand. Of course the Breguet numerals are a vintage touch, but the red seconds hand also feels like a reference to the stopwatches that would've been used to precisely time races back in the day (like the ones Tracksmith sold in collaboration with Wind Vintage in 2021). Like Maurice de Mauriac working with DeWoody, Tracksmith and Merci tapped vintage dealer Eric Wind for his input, so surely he's partially to thank for these thoughtful vintage touches.

The Tracksmith Timepiece measures 38 x 12mm (47mm lug-to-lug). I wear my Merci LMM-H01 all the time, and it's an absolute joy on the wrist. It goes with almost any strap and you can throw it on a bracelet to draw out its vintage vibes. This version is delivered on a tan calfskin leather strap. I even enjoy winding the manual-wind Sellita SW 210 movement every day – you might as well lean into the vintage aesthetic and wind your watch every morning like our grandparents had to.

The Tracksmith Timepiece is limited to just 100 pieces with a few available at the Tracksmith x Merci Paris pop-up beginning today and the rest available on Tracksmith's website on July 15 at 10 a.m. ET. It'll cost $700, just a small premium over a standard Merci LMM-01.

The Tracksmith Timepiece, created in collaboration with Merci Paris and curated by Wind Vintage, is a limited edition of 100 pieces. The stainless steel case measures 38 x 12mm (47mm lug-to-lug). It uses the manual Sellita SW 210-1 caliber with 42-hour power reserve beating at 4 Hz. Navy blue dial with applied Breguet numerals. Delivered on a calfskin leather strap. Availability beginning July 12 at the Tracksmith x Merci Shop pop up in Paris, with the rest available online at tracksmith.com on July 15. Price: $700.