WATCH TO WATCH

Members Only: Porsche Design Chronograph 70Y Sportwagen PCA Edition


Porsche Design, which in recent years has emerged from the shadow of its past partnerships with watch brands like IWC and Eterna to begin developing and manufacturing its own timepieces from scratch, has launched its latest limited edition, celebrating 70 years of Porsche sports cars and offered exclusively to members of the Porsche Club of America (PCA). Here’s the scoop on this week’s Watch to Watch, the Porsche Design Chronograph 70Y Sportwagen PCA Edition.

Porsche Design Chronograph 70Y Sportwagen PCA LE - soldier
Porsche Design Chronograph 70Y Sportwagen PCA Edition

The watch, which is limited to 70 pieces, follows up other exclusive editions targeted at Porsche automobile enthusiasts and collectors in recent years, such as 2017’s Chronograph 911 Turbo S, which was offered strictly to owners of the eponymous sports car. Appropriately, it features design elements, materials and colors that are emblematic of both Porsche cars and the PCA, and it is powered by an in-house-made engine, the Werk 01.200 caliber, the Porsche Design brand’s first proprietary movement. The 42-mm titanium case, with black titanium carbide coating, frames a black carbon fiber dial accented with white hands and indices and a central flyback chronograph hand and small seconds hand in Porsche’s Guards Red color. The dial also hosts a date window at 4:30 and a “function indicator,” which displays the working of the movement, at 9 o’clock, while the bezel is inscribed with a racing-inspired tachymeter scale.

Porsche Design Chronograph 70Y Sportwagen PCA LE - front
The watch has a black titanium carbide case and a carbon fiber dial.

Inside the case is the self-winding Werk 01.200 movement, equipped with a flyback chronograph mechanism and storing a power reserve of 48 hours. For this extremely limited edition, Porsche Design created a very special technical highlight: a winding rotor shaped like Porsche’s famous Fuchs forged alloy wheel. Designed for the Porsche 911 more than 50 years ago, the shape of the Fuchsfelge has become an iconic visual element of Porsche cars. On display behind a sapphire caseback, the Werk 01.200 caliber is COSC-certified for chronometric performance. Its barrel bridges feature cutouts that display the chronograph’s flyback function as well as gear trains. As per Porsche Design timepiece tradition, the major movement parts are in matte black; the bridges, plates, and polished screws are chrome-plated.

Porsche Design Chronograph 70Y Sportwagen PCA LE - back
The movement’s rotor is shaped like the famous Fuchs wheels found on the Porsche 911.

The Porsche Design Chronograph 70Y Sportwagen PCA Edition carries its PCA colors onto the black-leather-and-Alcantara strap, which is highlighted by stitching in Club Blau (blue) and Guards Red. The strap fastens to the wrist with a titanium double-folding clasp with black titanium-carbide coating (matching the case) and includes an integrated strap-changing mechanism. The watch retails for $9,911 — note the last three digits — and can be ordered by PCA members at www.porsche-design.us/70Y-PCA-edition.

 

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