Building upon its range of vintage-inspired watches, French watchmaker Yema has announced a new collection of racing-themed chronographs. The new Yema Rallygraf is based on automotive dashboard instruments and the brand’s historical association with 1970s-era motor racing. Retro charm and a touch of ’70s funk make it stylish and fun, while a quartz movement helps keep it affordable, with a starting price of $329.
It’s the two trapezoidal-yet-rounded subdials that give the Rallygraf its eye-catching character. This minor quirk is offset by an otherwise sober design, with each model in the collection featuring a panda or reverse-panda dial — in other words, subdials that contrast with the main dial color. The 39mm-wide Rallygraf is made of steel with a mineral crystal, and it’s water-resistant to 100m.
The Seiko VK64 powering the Rallygraf is a quartz movement that uses certain elements similar to mechanical watches in the chronograph function, leading to this kind of movement being called Meca-Quartz and “hybrid.” Like other quartz watches, doing this saves on cost and reduces thickness, but in some respects resembles the “feel” of a mechanical chrono.
The Yema Rallygraf Meca-Quartz comes in several variations, each at a price of $329 when paired with a leather racing-style strap or $349 on a steel mesh band.
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