Porsche Design has launched a new chronograph inspired by a very specific 1972 model that collectors have been lusting after for decades.
It ain’t exactly cheap, coming in with a hefty price tag in excess of $7500, but it may be worth it because this is a collector’s item and a timepiece that means everything to Porsche Design, the branch of Porsche that makes things that aren’t cars.
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If you’re a watch maker, putting your timepiece around the right wrist at the right time is crucial.
That’s what Porsche Design did in the 1980s when they managed to convince Tom Cruise to wear an Orfina Porsche Design chronograph while filming Top Gun.
In the 1986 action drama directed by Tony Scott, Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Cruise) is seen wearing a gorgeous blacked-out timepiece that became an instant classic precisely because it was featured in the movie.
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Officially known as the 7750 and made in partnership with a Swiss manufacturer called Orfina, the original Porsche Design was powered by a Valjoux chronograph – and Valjoux is to chronographs what Porsche is to flat-six engines.
The new Chronograph 1 timepiece is made from PVD-coated titanium and powered by a movement made by Porsche Design themselves.
It doesn’t have the same allure as the original one, but it’s a good reminder of what Porsche Design can do, and it’s limited to 750 units, which makes it rare.
Watch enthusiasts are notoriously averse to this, they don’t like it when car manufacturers start building watches, and yet Porsche Design gets a pass precisely because of this chronograph.
