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Porsche Design Debuts Flyback with Titanium Carbide Case  

Porsche Design launches a new flyback chronograph for buyers of the new Porsche 911 Dakar, a specially designed 911 named after the famed Dakar auto rally.

The new Porsche Design Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar.

For these owners, Porsche design offers its new Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar and a variation, the Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar Rallye Design Edition (with an additional dial graphic). Both watches are cased in a new titanium alloy called titanium carbide.

The Porsche Design Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar Rallye Design Edition, with added Dakar graphic.

The new material represents a continuation of Porsche Design’s long history as an innovator of titanium watch cases, which were introduced into watchmaking forty years ago by Porsche Design in tandem with IWC. 

The newest titanium alloy is highly scratch resistant, according to the watchmaker, which says that the “smallest scratches caused by fine sand, for example, are now a thing of the past.” In addition, titanium carbide is not subject to any visible aging process, is hypoallergenic, and is lighter than traditional case-grade titanium.

Porsche Design is understandably quite proud of its new metal and even calls it out in red at the top of the new watch’s dial with a new abbreviation “TiC” (titanium carbide). 

While Porsche Design still makes the crown and pushers on the Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar with standard titanium, the entire 42.7mm case for the watch is made using the new material, which the company spent years developing.

Porsche Design explains that the material is created by first compressing titanium carbide granules under several tons of pressure, and then sintering them at over 2,000 degrees Celsius. “This condenses the granules and irreversibly turns them into a homogeneous compound.”

The watchmaker explains that the case blank is then milled and honed into shape.

The dial

Porsche Design ensures a quick reading the dial of the new chronographs with a highly visible red 60 in the minute scale. This perfectly matches with the red color of the chronograph stop hands as well as the word ‘flyback.’ In addition, the watchmaker’s designers have widened the markings of the small hour display for whole hours as compared to the half-hour markings.

The Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar Rallye Design differs from the Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar only with the colorful graphic within the running seconds aperture at 9 o’clock. Its white, blue, gold, and red lines represent the colors on the modified Porsche 953 that won the Rallye in 1984.

Porsche Design designed the watch’s rotor to match the Porsche 911 Dakar rims, and makes them available for the watch in either black satin or solid white. For the Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar, the winding rotor is also available in Vesuvius gray.

Porsche Design fits its COSC-certified Porsche Design WERK 01.240 movement into the watch. This excellent in-house caliber features a flyback function that combines starting, stopping, and resetting in a single operation. The movement is visible through a titanium caseback and clear sapphire crystal. Each watch will bear an engraved limitation number on the caseback to match the number on the owner’s automobile.

As on all Porsche Design watches, th new chronograph allows straps to be changed without the use of tools. Porsche Design makes the watch’s handsome strap of black leather with contrast stitching in Shadegreen, the same hue found on the seat middle of the Porsche 911 Dakar. For the Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar Rallye Design Edition the stitching is  made of Race-Tex in Shark Blue.

The Porsche Design Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar and Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar Rallye Design Edition can be ordered only by buyers of the new Porsche 911 Dakar and 911 Dakar Rallye Design automobiles at authorized local Porsche dealers.  The watches in both liveries are limited to a total of 2,500 pieces, each priced at $14,500.

 

Specifications: Porsche Design Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar and Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar Rallye Design Edition

Movement: Caliber Porsche Design Caliber WERK 01.240, chronograph with flyback function, day and date display in German and English, COSC certified Rotor 360° rotor in wheel design in White, Black or Vesuvius Grey with Porsche Crest. Decorative features include matte black color with chrome-plated bridges, plates and polished screws, engraved Porsche Design icon. Power reserve is 48 hours and its frequency is 28,800 semi-oscillations per hour [4Hz].

Case: 42.7mm by 15.5mm titanium carbide with glass bead blasted finish.  Crown and pushers in titanium, Sapphire crystal with hard coating, scratch-resistant and with sevenfold anti-glare properties on both sides. Caseback in black titanium with sapphire crystal. Water resistant to 100 meters. 

Dial: Black/white minute and hour hands with SuperLumiNova, seconds hand in white; chronograph hand in neon orange; day and date display in German and English at 3 o’clock; red TiC graphic between 1 and 2 o’clock; chronograph second; 30-minute display at 12 o’clock, 12-hour display at 6 o’clock; small seconds at 9 o’clock. 

Strap: Perforated leather strap made of genuine Porsche vehicle leather in black with backing in Race-Tex in Shade Green and decorative stitching in genuine Porsche vehicle thread in Shade Green or Shark Blue. Black titanium folding clasp with pushers. 

Price: $14,500. 

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The Watches

Ulysse Nardin Whitens a Diver X Skeleton

Ulysse Nardin extends its X-themed skeleton dive watch collection with the new Diver X Skeleton White, a 44mm titanium-cased model with an openwork dial and concave, rubberized white bezel.

The new Ulysse Nardin Diver X Skeleton White.

As the latest X-series model thus far in the watchmaker’s dive watch collection, the watch underscores its white theme with white markers, a white crown protector and a white rubber strap. Under and around the large polished and satin-finished X-shaped dial bridge Ulysse Nardin sensibly offers clear view of the UN-372 automatic caliber.

As with the existing Diver X models, the movement is also quite visible from its clear sapphire back, which exposes the movement’s silicon escapement wheel, pallet and balance-spring. Also on display is the logo-marked rotor, gearing and barrel cover.

Ulysse Nardin insures that the polished and satin-finished titanium case is water-resistant to 200 meters. The watchmaker attaches the case to your wrist with a white rubber strap complete with ‘Ulysse Nardin’ element and titanium folding clasp, or with a white woven strap.

Ulysse Nardin’s Caliber UN-372.

Price: $26,400.

 

Specifications: Ulysse Nardin Diver X Skeleton White 

 

Movement: Manufacture caliber UN-372 skeleton automatic. Oversized oscillator in silicon, escapement wheel, anchor & balance spring in silicon. Frequency 3 Hz (21,600 vph).

Case: 44mm titanium polished & satin-finished, concave rubberized unidirectional rotating bezel, titanium open sapphire case back, Water resistance to 200 meters.

Dial: Skeleton X shape polished and satin-finished grey, grey indexes and hands with Superluminova.

Strap: White rubber with UN titanium element with titanium deployant buckle and

white fabric strap with scratch closing. Compatible with R-STRAP.

Price: $26,400

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The Watches

Hublot Revives an Original

Among its wide-ranging LVMH Watch Week 2023 debuts (which include several new Big Bang and Spirit of Big Bang models) Hublot revisits its 1980 debut model, the first luxury Swiss watch that dared to arrive attached to a rubber strap.

The Hublot Classic Fusion Original is available in titanium, black ceramic and yellow gold, and in three case sizes.

Designed by Hublot founder Carlo Crocco in 1980, the 36mm ‘Classic Original’ embodied contemporary luxury with a polished black lacquered dial, no markers except for twelve screws along the bezel, a date window, facetted hands and a vanilla-scented black rubber strap.

Hublot founder Carlo Crocco with early Hublot models, including what Hublot now calls the Classic Original.

It didn’t take long for enthusiasts, in search of an original design, to agree that its spare dial and supple black rubber strap represented a modern approach to the typically busier dial and leather straps of classic Swiss watch design.

Hublot in 2023 revives the 1980 original with the new Classic Fusion Original, an updated version that adds a more sophisticated, multi-level case with a clear sapphire caseback.

The newest version also now offers the modern Hublot six-screw bezel design and, with two of the new models, is powered by modern Hublot MHUB1110 Sellita-based automatic movement. Even the Hublot logo at the top of the dial has changed over the years, though ever so subtly.

To reach the widest range of new enthusiasts, Hublot offers the new Classic Fusion Original in three different case metals and in three different sizes. Thus, you’ll find the new watch available in yellow gold, titanium and ceramic and the cases made in 42mm, 38mm and 33mm diameters.

We’ll show you all the LVMH Watch Week 2023 debuts in upcoming posts. 

Prices: 42mm:  $8,200 (Titanium), $10,000 (Black Magic) and $24,100.00 (Yellow Gold.)

For 38mm: $7,900 (Titanium), $8,500 (Black Magic) and $20,500 (Yellow Gold).

33mm quartz-powered: $6,500 (Titanium), $7,300 (Black Magic) and $17,800 (Yellow Gold).

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Featured News

Zenith Expands Defy Skyline and Extreme

Focusing on its contemporary Defy collection for early 2023, Zenith this week adds new 36mm and skeleton models to its hot new Defy Skyline series while also introducing a new Defy Extreme design.

Two of the new Zenith Defy Skyline Skeleton models pictured alongside an existing Defy Skyline.

Defy Skyline Skeleton 

Introduced last year, the 41mm Defy Skyline has become a strong-selling steel bracelet design for Zenith. The watch, with its constantly running 1/10th of a second counter at 9 o’clock (completing one revolution every ten seconds) introduced El Primero 3620, a new iteration of its El Primero 3600, which headlined the debut of the Zenith Chronomaster Sport in 2021.

The new Zenith Defy Skyline Skeleton, in blue.

As Zenith explains, this automatic manufacture movement drives the 1/10th of a second hand directly from the escapement, which beats at 36,000 VpH, thus making it a “natural fraction-of-a-second indication.”

With the new Defy Skyline Skeleton Zenith adds two versions of the steel watch with a skeletonized symmetric dial that looks much like four-pointed stars. Zenith notes that the open-work here is a direct reference to a Zenith “double Z” logo of the 1960s.

You may recall that the Defy Skyline’s faceted bezel is also meant to recall early 1960s eight-sided Defy models that have been now reimagined with twelve sides, each positioned as extensions to the hour markers.

Blue or black

Defying the typical hard-to-read skeleton dial design, Zenith purposefully applied a generous amount of SuperLuminova to the Skyline Skeleton’s applied baton hour markers and its central hour and minute hands. 

Zenith offers the new skeleton design in a black or blue hue. The same color can be found on the main plate as well as the bridges and open star-shaped oscillating weight, visible from the back.

As usual, Zenith mixes its finishes, applying matte, satin-brushed and polished surfaces to the steel case and bezel. Its efficient automatic bi-directional winding mechanism with a star-shaped rotor delivers a power reserve of approximately sixty hours. The Defy’s steel bracelet can be swapped with the supplied rubber strap and steel folding clasp the boasts a starry sky pattern, matching the dial.

Price: $11,000

 

Defy Skyline 36mm

Also new in 2023 is a slightly smaller Skyline model, which debuts in three new pastel colors, each offered with or without a diamond bezel.

Unlike the 41mm debut edition Skyline and the new Skeleton version, this unisex example is a traditional time-and-date model fitted with a Zenith Elite movement that doesn’t include the one-tenth-of-a-second subdial at 6 o’clock.

Price: $8,500 (no diamonds) and  $12,000 (with diamonds).

One of the new Zenith Defy Skyline 36 models. The series is available with and without a diamond bezel.

Zenith also adds a Boutique Edition to the lineup of the original 41mm model offerings. This model  features a contrasting color scheme with rose gold highlights. Zenith has engraved the watch’s anthracite dial with a rose gold motif and added rose gold hands and hour markers.

The new Zenith Defy Skyline Boutique Edition.

The intent, according to Zenith, is to mimic the night sky and its twinkling stars. To do this, artisans have engraved the Skyline’s characteristic four-pointed star dial pattern and then plated it with rose gold. 

Zenith will deliver the watch on a steel bracelet with a satin-brushed surface and chamfered and polished edges. An easy-change black rubber strap with a starry sky pattern is also provided.

Price: $8,400.

 

Defy Extreme Glacier 

Zenith also adds the Defy Extreme Glacier in 2023 as an extension of its rugged 45mm titanium-cased Defy Extreme collection, a series that boasts a 1/100-of-a-second El Primero chronograph.

The new Zenith Defy Extreme Glacier boasts a chalcedony dodecagonal outer bezel and pusher protectors.

More specifically, the new watch is meant to complement the Defy Extreme Desert from 2021. While that watch was designed to echo hot and arid conditions, the new model is inspired by frozen landscapes and built with a chalcedony dodecagonal outer bezel and pusher protectors.

Chalcedony is a crystalline semi-translucent stone with a pale blue color meant to look like a frozen glacier. Zenith says each stone is cut and polished by hand, and because each exhibits slightly different colors and fibers, every bezel from the fifty-piece limited edition will appear slightly different on each of the fifty examples of the Defy Extreme Glacier.

Zenith continues the ice-cold theme by making the chronograph counters using transparent sapphire crystal that’s also given a terrific frosted finish to look icy and to allow light to pass through. 

Through the frosted finish the wearer will see an El Primero 9004 high-frequency chronograph movement, found in all the Defy Extreme models. The movement offers 1/100th-of-a -second time measurements with two independent escapements. One beats at 5Hz (36,000 VpH) for timekeeping while the second vibrates at 50Hz (360,000 VpH) to activate the chronograph function. Zenith makes the nicely finished movement, a certified chronometer, visible through the sapphire display back.

Zenith finishes the watch with a black Velcro strap and white rubber strap, which can be easily swapped with the titanium bracelet using Zenith’s quick strap-change mechanism. 

As noted, Zenith will offer the Defy Extreme Glacier as a limited edition of fifty pieces, available exclusively at Zenith stores and online boutiques. 

Price: $26,100.

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The Watches

Porsche Design Races on Ice 

Porsche Design launches a special edition of its Chronograph 1 to commemorate the brand’s fourth year as timing partner of the GP Ice Race in Austria.

The 250-piece limited-edition echoes the original Chronograph 1 from 1972, which is often considered the first all-black chronograph.

The new Porsche Design Chronograph 1 – GP Ice Race 2023 Edition.

The new Chronograph 1 – GP Ice Race 2023 Edition, like the original watch, delivers the appearance of a Porsche 911 dashboard to the wrist, complete with luminescent hour markers and a matte-black dial. 

But on the new watch Porsche Design updates certain details, such as using a pointed minute hand and red chronograph hands. The minute hand on the original model was rectangular while the chronograph hands on that 1972 edition were white. 

Also reflecting modern technology, Porsche Design builds the new watch with antireflective, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and an uncoated, 40.8mm lightweight silver titanium case.

Inside the watchmaker fits its excellent COSC-certified WERK 01.240 caliber with flyback function that powers a quick-switch date display and a bilingual day display. Porsche Design has engraved the edition number and the unusual GP logo on the caseback. The logo, which depicts Yeti sitting on a tractor, is unique to this limited edition.

Porsche Design also provides two bracelet options: a textile variant and a classic black version made of vehicle leather and with a matte-black titanium folding clasp.

The Porsche Design Chronograph 1 – GP Ice Race 2023 Edition can be ordered at the Porsche Design website and in Porsche Design Stores. Price: $9,650. 

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