Editor’s Note: Watches & Wonders (formerly SIHH) has moved online and Baselworld 2020 is canceled, but that hasn’t stopped watch brands large and small from debuting their new wares. Stay on top of this year’s best new watch releases here.
Want a customized Porsche 911? You can get that through Porsche’s car configurator, and now you can get a watch to match it perfectly — or in any combination of elements you choose. A similar configurator concept is being applied to Porsche Design’s distinctive chronograph watch, resulting in up to “1.5 million possibilities,” according to the brand.
In addition to making a range of sleek products from luggage to eyewear, Porsche Design has been producing watches since the 1970s. The brand’s first and most famous watch, the Chronograph 1, forms the base of the watch customizing program.
Equipped with a 42mm titanium case and a familiar chronograph dial layout, practically everything else about its aesthetics is up to you. There are choices of bezel and hand types, for example, as well as color options (including the original Porsche color palette) for just about every element. The case’s finish, however, is available only in bead-blasted or black-coated forms — and the Porsche Design Timepieces Managing Director Rolf Bergmann says “this originated with the designer of the Porsche 911, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, and we will never change anything about it.”
Along with the watch configurator, Porsche Design is announcing a new, COSC chronometer-certified, in-house automatic movement called the WERK 01.100 with a 48-hour power reserve. It’s visible through the watch’s case back, and there’s even the option to customize the winding rotor.
Of course, the straps are also customizable with up to 300 possible configurations, all featuring a quick-change system. Leather straps are made from the same materials used for 911 interiors, so they can be matched precisely.
