Porsche Design is celebrating the automaker’s 75th anniversary throughout 2023 with festivities like the grand display at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. Fans of the German brand can wear a piece of the jubilation by buying the new Chronograph 1 – 75 Years Porsche Edition timepiece. It just went on sale on July 15 for $11,000 and a limited run of 475 pieces.
The Chronograph 1 – 75 Years Porsche Edition uses the Porsche Design Werk 01.140 caliber movement that has accuracy certification from the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC). The dial has many functions, including a running second display at 9 o’clock, a 30-minute counter at 12 o’clock, a 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock, a big red chronograph second hand, and a day and date window at 3 o’clock.
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The case back has an engraving for the production number out of 475 units and a 75Y logo. The winding rotor is shaped like the classic five-spoke Fuchs wheel with the Porsche logo in the middle.
The dial measures 40.80 millimeters and is 14.15 mm tall. The watch is water resistant to 100 feet (10 bar). The Werk 01.140 caliber movement has 25 jewels and runs at 28,800 beats per hour. It has a 48-hour power reserve.
The watch is available with a textile leather strap featuring light-blue stitching and a red stripe in the center. There’s also a black leather strap with black stitching. A quick-change system allows for easily swapping them out.
The Chronograph 1 – 75 Years Porsche Edition shares styling cues with the stopwatch on the Mission X electric supercar concept’s dashboard (see below). Both are inspired by Porsche Design’s original Chronograph 1 from 1972. The watch was groundbreaking for the time by having an antireflective matte-black dial with a matching case and strap. It came packed with features like a stopwatch and displays for the day and date.
The Chronograph 1 proved popular. The German military adopted it in the 1970s but without the black case and a few other tweaks. Plus, Tom Cruise wore one in Top Gun. A post on the Revolution watch blog shows Mario Andretti wearing one, too.
Professor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche designed the iconic 911 and founded Porsche Design in 1972. The Chronograph 1 was the first offering from the company.