Like most high-end European automakers, Porsche
offers a line of wristwatches to go with its high-performance automobiles. But
unlike most, Porsche Design creates its timepieces itself, instead of licensing
them out to other watchmakers. So among all the new driver’s watches presented
at the Baselworld watch and jewelry show in Switzerland this year, we weren’t
surprised to see several new models from Porsche Design. And each of them looks
worthy of adorning the wrists of the hands driving its sister company’s
automobiles.
The latest lineup includes the new Chronotimer
Flyback Special Edition. Like all the other watches Porsche Design makes, it’s
built around a titanium case. The freshest of the baker’s dozen variants of the
piece measures a generous 42 millimeters and features a titanium-carbine
coating. The dial is done up in matte carbon, and the chronograph push-buttons
are ringed in red for a racier look. The strap is made of the same leather used
to upholster the interiors of Porsche’s automobiles, secured by a titanium
butterfly clasp.
Those with a more classic sense of style may be more
drawn by the 1919 Chronotimer Brown & Leather edition. The intricate
flyback chronograph is inspired by vintage 911s, with an understated design
that moves the usual tachymeter scale from the bezel to inside the dial. And
this particular edition, as the name suggests, is done up with a dark brown
dial and a leather strap.
Perhaps the most tempting of the four new pieces
presented in Baselworld last week, however, are the two new versions of the
Monobloc Actuator. Porsche Design Timepieces AG in Switzerland created the
watch in collaboration with Porsche Motorsport in Germany and Studio F. A.
Porsche in Austria. It features an innovative rocker switch integrated into its
titanium case, operating the chronograph functions by pressing the watch’s face
instead of buttons on the side.
The Monobloc Actuator Chronotimer Flyback Limited
Edition features that same titanium-carbide coating as the aforementioned
Chronotimer. Its face is complemented by a matte carbon dial with black, red,
grey, and white accents. Only 251 examples will be made, in a reference to the
251-centimeter wheelbase of the Porsche 911 RSR. The Monobloc Actuator
24H-Chronotimer All Black Edition meanwhile, is all murdered-out for a
sinister, low-key look.
Prices, as you might expect of anything coming from
Porsche, are far from mass-market. The Chronotimer Flyback Special Edition
sells for US$ 6,700. The 1919 Chronotimer Flyback Brown & Leather carries a US$ 6,350 sticker price. And the two new Monobloc Actuator models retail for US$ 8,500 and US$ 7,250, respectively.