Hour favourites: Owners reveal the watches they wear on board

For Ömer Malaz, owner of 25.9 metre explorer yacht Minella, it has to be an "Audemars Piguet Grand Prix Carbon – it’s light, colourful and very masculine.”

“Apple Watch with cellular," says Bill Joy, owner of 58 metre Royal Huisman sailing yacht Ethereal. "I turn off all notifications, including for texts, and leave my iPhone behind, but am still reachable by phone calls for emergencies.”

A two-tone Rolex Oyster Perpetual is the pick of Sabina Nasser, owner of 42.7 metre Bina. "I ‘borrowed’ it from my mother a few years ago – it’s clear I won’t be giving it back to her but it still feels like I’m wearing something of hers, even though we live oceans apart. It makes us feel closer.”

“The one I wear 99 per cent of the time is a Skagen that cost me $79," says Milton Sender, owner of 26.4 metre catamaran WindQuest. "It’s light and it keeps the date and time. I had it cleaned recently, which cost more than the watch.”

“I’ve been wearing the same Rolex Submariner for years," says Slim Bouricha, former owner of 33.4 metre Heliad II (now Robbie Bobby). "It’s the only watch I wear.”

“I use my steel watches during the day (Rolex Daytona, Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711, and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15202)," explains Guarav Burman, owner of 28.5 metre Prana. "In the evening, it’s an FP Journe, A Lange & Söhne or another Patek.”

“I collect watches – I have 51 of them. My favourite is the Cartier Ballon Bleu, by far,” says Sieste Koopmans, former owner of 37 metre Zeepaard.

Joaquin Folch-Rusiñol, owner of Buka says, “I wear the Breitling Emergency when on board, a 1981 Comex in the evening and a Swatch when swimming – because water and watches don’t mix well.”

“I rarely part with my Rolex Yacht-Master II; it is a true classic for all occasions,” says Bobby Genovese, owner of BG.

“I carry a pocket watch and have a drawer full. My favourite is a Patek Philippe 1920 Hunter,” advises Ted Andrew, owner of Nautor's Swan sailing yacht Song of the Sea.