Porsche Designs New Watches To Go With Its Sports Cars

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 $6,700. The 1919 Chronotimer Flyback Brown & Leather carries a $6,350 sticker price. And the two new Monobloc Actuator models retail for $8,500 and $7,250, respectively.