Hands-On: Porsche Design's New Watch Manufacture Creates A New All-Titanium Chronograph 1

Today, Porsche Design announces a new (limited) edition of the brand’s well-known Chronograph 1. It’s another subtle variation of the tried-and-true design, as the automotive brand stays true to the silhouette and continues to tweak the details on the case and dial. But while the changes on the outside might be subtle, this edition also coincides with the opening of a new Porsche Design Timepieces facility, located about 170 kilometers from Geneva, in Grenchen, Switzerland.

Porsche Design is quite a fascinating name when it comes to watches, given the varying involvement of some other iconic names in its horological history. The Chronograph 1, launched in 1972, was first made by Orfina with Porsche Design co-branding. A few years later, the Austrian design studio started producing its designs through IWC, many of which remain collectible to this day. 

When the relationship with IWC ended in 1998, Porsche Design would produce watches under license from its recently acquired subsidiary, Eterna—this would continue until 2014, when Porsche Design Timepieces AG was established to move production under its own name in Solothurn, and now finally in Grenchen. I went to Switzerland to visit the new site during its opening, and, quite fittingly, it is actually in the former Eterna headquarters, completely renovated for a modern presence.

It seems that the point of establishing an official presence at the base of the Jura mountains isn’t to bring manufacturing in-house, at least for now. At this new site, the watchmaking I saw involved assembling already-constructed calibers, cases, and dials in a space that currently houses 10 watchmakers, though sadly, no photos were permitted. So for now, no floors of CNC machines and the like are to be seen, rather a few laser engraving machines for customized plaques and casebacks. Just as Porsche owners travel to Germany to pick up their car at the factory, they can now visit Switzerland to design a bespoke watch that complements that very same vehicle. 

The space open to the public (aside from the assembly and parts storage, most of the building is set for offices) is centered around just that kind of experience. The first floor opens into a Porsche Design museum, focusing, of course, on the watches, and eventually leads to a miniature design studio for customers to customize their next watch (colors, straps, stitching, etc.).

When I asked them about the new site, the team emphasized the future possibilities here — the official opening after years of development and construction is the foundation for a future heavily invested in the watch division. Rolf Bergmann, CEO of the Porsche Design Timepieces Manufactory, waxed on about the freedom to think differently as a brand, having purchased its own space and no longer being beholden to a landlord. Decisions can be made for the long term.

And while, surprisingly, the majority of the watches coming out of Porsche Design every year are part of their bespoke customization program rather than the Chronograph 1, the brand still sees the Chronograph 1 as an important pillar in the collection thanks to the legitimacy of heritage and connection to F.A. Porsche it gives the brand. “We are setting the stage to bring back justice to the Chronograph 1 now, after almost fifty years,” Gerhard Novak, Director of the Timepieces Business Unit at Porsche Lifestyle Group, tells me. “And this is the first step into the next chapter.”

Freshly launched, this is the Chronograph 1 All-Titanium Numbered Edition, and with it, Porsche Design marks the second time a Chronograph 1 is rendered in uncoated, bead-blasted titanium. Where most brands introduce an all-black look as a twist on a classic, Porsche Design does the inverse here, thanks to the Chronograph 1 being associated with its all-black coating from the start. Dimensions here remain the same—a diameter of 40.6mm and a height of 14.15mm, with the case offering a water resistance of 10 bar. On the front, the classic 6-9-12 chronograph layout features the modern Porsche Design logo, as well as bilingual German and English day wheels for the date.

Inside the watch is the Porsche Design caliber WERK01.140, a cam-actuated chronograph movement based on the Valjoux 7750 architecture and layout, manufactured by Concepto. It would have been really cool to see some of these editions get the WERK 01.240, with that added flyback functionality, though I imagine that Porsche Design is deliberately using that caliber sparingly. Like all current Porsche Design watches, the Chronograph 1 remains COSC-certified (as marked on the dial). Decoration consists of blackening of the bridges and rotor, as well as some Porsche Design logo motifs on these parts. 

On the wrist, the Porsche Design wears large but comfortably, thanks to its chunky, rounded silhouette and those lug hoods. The bracelet, also in beadblasted titanium, is very supple, with oversized screws for the links and a toolless microadjust for the clasp. Given that the case is really identical to all the other modern iterations, there should be no surprise here about how it feels—if you’ve been able to try another version on, you won’t be surprised by this one. Revolutionary in aesthetic, this new edition is certainly not, but it remains fun and undeniably Porsche Design.

This edition is not limited in quantity, rather in yearly production, capped at a thousand pieces a year. Priced at $8,250, it continues to offer another variation of Porsche Design’s horological icon for watch collectors and car enthusiasts alike.