CAN A correlation between boxing and watches be drawn?

Well, Christophe Claret proves horologic inspiration can come from the most unlikely of places — and this simply hit him. This happened around six years ago when the watchmaker realized boxing’s ringside bell is actually one of the most recognizable sounds in sports. The bell is a signal, a time-teller, marking the start and end of a round, if not the one-minute intervals between the rounds. For Claret (the man, not the brand), a chronograph that rings a bell when it is activated seemed logical.

And this is exactly what the new Christophe Claret Loma does. The watch, a monopusher chronograph with a striking mechanism and a constant-force escapement, came out of the brand’s partnership with Ukrainian boxer Vasyl Lomachenko — or Loma, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and wearer of three world championship belts.

Actually, the Loma is basically the Christophe Claret Kantharos in different clothes. The Kantharos, which the brand released in 2013, has a chiming system which rings a bell — well, gong — when the chronograph is started, stopped and reset.

So like the Kantharos, the Loma boasts a striking mechanism which uses cathedral gongs. The gong hammer — hard to miss at 10 o’clock because of its bright blue gavel illustration — sounds out a chime when the monopusher chronograph is activated. The striking mechanism is kitted with a patented system that precludes the gong from vibrating against the case.

Meanwhile, the chronograph central second hand has a clutch disk that prevents it from “jumping,” basically juddering, when the chronograph function is activated.

As noted, the Loma is also equipped with a constant-force escapement. Displayed at 6 o’clock through a large cutout on the bright blue dial, this mechanism stabilizes amplitude by ensuring the energy delivered to the escapement remains constant regardless of how tightly (or loosely) wound the mainspring might be. In the Loma, this is accomplished by a series of gears, as seen through the watch’s dial.

All of these features are integrated into Christophe Claret’s self-winding cal. MBA13. This 570-component movement boasts a platinum rotor, a swan-neck regulator and plenty of hand-finished touches. The 75-jewel cal. MBA13 oscillates at 21,600vph and has a 40-hour power reserve.

Like the Kantharos, the Loma isn’t a shy piece. Its case is a sizeable 45 millimeters wide. Inside this a bright blue dial is matched by equally dazzling bright yellow accents, plus numerous other elements in black PVD. The two sub-registers are actually a pair of discs each. One disc in each sub-register is fixed (the one with numerals). The other one below it, which rotates, features an indicator. On the center of the two sub-registers are transfers of Olympic medals. Loma has two, remember?

The Loma watch’s blue and yellow palette is patterned after the Ukrainian flag. Other nationalistic nods are the yellow-lacquered “Loma” inscription on the blue alligator leather strap, and the “Round” that’s engraved on the pusher at 2 o’clock. Striking touches, all.

The Loma watch packs a punch.