There is almost no end to watches inspired by motorsport, but very few watches take that inspiration and do anything truly unique with it. Just yesterday, we brought you news of a new TAG Heuer Carrera that, in my opinion, is something of a by-the-numbers collaboration between an automaker and a luxury watch brand. It has design notes that convey a watch that’s sporty and modern, the “Porsche” wordmark prominently featured on the case itself, and it’s a Carrera, a collection that is naturally imbued with racing history. I’ve written about a lot of watches that say “Porsche” on them in one way or another, but it’s honestly difficult to tell them apart after a while. Singer Reimagined takes an entirely different approach.
The brand itself is part of the Singer Group, which rose to prominence with their bespoke restorations of vintage Porsche 911s. What Singer brings to the table is a very unique and highly specialized perspective. You might love it or hate it, but they don’t suffer from the same problems that inevitably plague large luxury watch brands, namely casting an impossibly wide net, resulting in products that, even when ostensibly “niche,” have a certain generic quality to them.
Being intrinsically connected to the car world, it’s no surprise that Singer only makes chronographs. Expanding on the very idea of the chronograph in an adventurous way is part of what makes Singer Reimagined exciting. Their chronographs use unconventional movements and mark time in unconventional ways, and the watches themselves have a unique design that is immediately recognizable if you know what you’re looking for.
Their latest release is a series of four new references in their 1969 collection: two 1969 Chronographs and two 1969 Timers. Each model has a version in steel with a silver dial, and bronze with a green dial.
The 1969 Chronograph is the centerpiece of Singer’s chronograph collection. It uses an Agengraphe caliber that’s been modified for this 1969 collection (it’s smaller, to fit the 40mm case) and is one of the first genuinely new developments in chronograph movement design in decades. The watch is geared primarily toward chronograph use, with the current time read through apertures found at the bottom of the dial. Elapsed time is read by the centrally mounted hands, tracking hours and minutes around a track at the dial’s perimeter. The 1969 Chronograph can time events up to 60 hours in duration, which is something only this watch can claim.
The 1969 Timer is a very different type of chronograph. The current time is read in a traditional way on this watch, via centrally mounted hour and minute hands. The second hand is constantly running, but can be reset instantly via the pusher at 2:00, allowing for the quick timing of shorter interval events.
In addition to a certain amount of mechanical ingenuity, a large part of the appeal of Singer Reimagined watches comes from the distinct barrel shaped cases. Each measures 40mm in diameter and 13.8mm tall, and the addition of bronze to the collection with this release adds an entirely new aesthetic. When Singer’s chronographs were first launched, the cases were only available in a significantly larger size, so it’s nice to see the 1969 collection continue to expand for collectors looking for something a bit more modest.
The 1969 Timer in Steel retails for CHF 31,500, while the chronograph goes for CHF 53,500. In bronze, the Timer and Chronograph sell for CHF 32,500 and CHF 55,000, respectively. Singer Reimagined
