Blast from the Past: A Spotlight on the Carlo Ferrara Regulatore Sport
When exploring the past, you sometimes come across unique creations that left their place in the spotlight many years ago. They are now sentenced to obscurity, with only a handful of collectors still remembering them. Such is, unfortunately, also the fate of the unusual ‘Regulatore’ watches created by Italian Carlo Ferrara (1943 - 2012).
Ferrara had an interesting idea to create a new type of regulateur/regulator display. This traditional way of indicating time predates the wristwatch and is based on giving each hand its own scale. The idea behind this is that time can be read easier and more accurately, hence this type of clock found its way into laboratories and factories. In wristwatches, the regulator display forms an interesting niche, with brands often opting for a centrally mounted minute hand with subdials for the hours and seconds. Ferrara took quite a different approach and divided the dial into two segments, looking very much like an oval horse track. This is perhaps also why he quite suitably named one of his watches ‘Regulatore Jockey.’ The left track is dedicated to the minutes, and the right to the hours, now with the seconds hand centrally mounted.
This novel idea required quite a substantial modification of the movement, as there are no other watches in which a hand first moves 180 degrees, then has to go down while remaining in a horizontal position, turn 180 degrees again, and move up. To achieve this, Ferrara created a D-shaped gear with teeth on the inside to guide the hand. As a base movement, he used the ETA 2892-A2, which was in the early 1990s when Ferrara started to create his watch brand, still readily available. This type of display, which Ferrara called ‘Regulatore,’ was available in a few different styles, including this so-called sports model. What sets it apart from the other models is mainly the stainless-steel bracelet, although Super-LumiNova-filled hands and a display back contribute to a more sportive look and feel.
The way that the Regulatore Sport tells time is not only unique but also quite captivating. It is as if the hour and minute hands perform a dance, and their positions opposite each other make it so that the Carlo Ferrara is always interesting to look at. You get used to reading time this way surprisingly quickly and can do so with great accuracy. It is well known that Italians have a knack for design and this Carlo Ferrara is no exception to this rule. The dial is clean and legible, but also has quite a bit of character, not in the least, thanks to the shape of the hands. The case itself is clean and straightforward in its design, apart from the lugs, which show an elegant curl. Screws secure the bracelet and perfectly connect it to the case. The links are slightly curved for increased wearing comfort, and some are even decorated on the inside with the crossed keys, the logo of Carlo Ferrara. The ETA 2892-A2 base movement can be seen through the display back. It is finished nicely, with blued screws, Geneva stripes, and an engine-turned mainplate. Ferrara decided to maintain the date function of the movement, but as the unique construction for the hands takes up some space, it lies deeper than the hands. A small magnifying glass has been placed on top of it to compensate for this. With an overall height of 10.50 mm, the Regulatore Sport is still relatively thin and well-proportioned in relation to its diameter of 39.50 mm. It also gives it an elegant touch, all the more as this watch still easily slides under the cuff of a shirt.
While Carlo Ferrara as a brand unfortunately doesn’t exist anymore, maintenance is not a huge issue. The unique construction for the hands has proven to be quite robust over the years, and the ETA 2892-A2 base movement can still easily be serviced. This allows collectors to enjoy one of the most unusual regulateur/regulator watches with relative peace of mind.
This article was originally published in the September/October 2023 print issue. To subscribe to WatchTime Magazine, click here.
