GR, the hiking watch

Perhaps you enjoy spending your weekends taking beautiful walks in nature and would like to wear a different watch than the one you usually wear during the week? A watch better suited to your weekend activities, like hiking, for example? It's with this in mind that we designed our men's watch "GR". Indeed, GR stands for "Grande Randonnée" (Long-Distance Hiking Trail) and is a registered trademark of the French Hiking Federation (FFR), with whom we have had the opportunity to partner. Today, Team Charlie presents its hiking watch, developed in partnership with the FFR.

The hiking watch, by CHARLIE

At Charlie Paris, we offer a hiking watch: the GR. Designed and assembled in France, the GR is a waterproof watch with Strap Interchangeable and built to withstand the test of time and nature, it features a design inspired by the past but with a decidedly modern, sporty character. As a nod to the red and white markers found on long-distance hiking trails, we've engraved the markings "change of direction right," "change of direction left," "correct direction," and "wrong direction" on the back of the watch. The GR watch has an ultra-resistant sapphire crystal and a Case This watch is made of 316L stainless steel. This hiking watch features hands coated with Super-LumiNova, making it easy to read even at night—perfect for camping. Furthermore, our GR watch is water-resistant to 10 ATM, so it's ideal for swimming in a river along your hiking trail. Finally, our "Grande Randonnée" watch... is equipped with a system of Strap interchangeable, so you can adopt a sporty style by choosing a Strap in nylon or steel. And if you wish to wear your GR watch with a more formal outfit, you can choose one of our Strapleather watch straps like our Strap brown leather.

Our watch brand in partnership with the French Hiking Federation

GR® stands for Grande Randonnée (Long-Distance Hiking Trail) and is a registered trademark of the French Hiking Federation (FFRandonnée), with whom we have established a partnership. To ensure you can hike with peace of mind, 8,500 passionate volunteer trail markers and collectors are active all year round, GPS, paintbrush or pruning shears in hand. Creation, maintenance, marking... the FFRandonnée trail markers are the first line of defense for a living and fragile network, rich in 180,000 km of trails!

The origins of the first GRs :

The origins of the first long-distance hiking trails (GRs) begin with Jean Loiseau, a nature and hiking enthusiast since his early experiences with the Scouts around 1910. To avoid pursuing his passion alone, he founded a hiking group, the "Compagnons Voyageurs" (Traveling Companions), with whom he explored the numerous hiking trails in France and Europe. The law establishing the first paid vacations, passed on June 20, 1936, granted workers two weeks of paid leave per year. The concepts of leisure and enjoyment grew, giving the French more time to hike. In 1946, with the help of the Touring Club of France, Jean Loiseau developed a master plan to mark the paths and trails across the country. The National Committee for Long-Distance Hiking Trails (CNSGR), known as the French Hiking Federation (FFR) since 1978, was established in 1947, and that same year the first marked trail was created. The first 28 kilometers of the GR 3 route between Orléans and Beaugency had just been marked for the general public.. Today, this sports federation has more than 250,000 members. 

Choose a hiking watch suited to your activity

If you're looking for a hiking watch, the important thing is to choose a sturdy, waterproof watch with a Strap A watch that's sweat-resistant and comfortable to wear. Today, hiking enthusiasts can take advantage of the latest technologies, such as smartwatches that offer numerous features (GPS, average speed, etc.). However, if you enjoy outdoor activities and prefer to stay connected to nature rather than your watch, a watch like ours is perfect!