Editor’s Note: Watches & Wonders (formerly SIHH) has moved online and Baselworld 2020 is canceled, but that hasn’t stopped watch brands large and small from debuting their new wares. Stay on top of this year’s best new watch releases here.
Do your retirement plans account for a time share in St. John but not a fancy convertible? Did you miss the boat on the air-cooled Porsche craze? (Did I just mix boat and car metaphors?) Do you like watches?
If you answered “yes” to some combination of the above, then we have something fun for you: the 901-RWB Limited Edition Collection watches designed by REC Watches in Copenhagen, “a young team of petrol heads and watch fanatics.” Designed in collaboration with famed Japanese Porsche tuner Akira Nakai, founder of RAUH WELT Begriff (RWB), the collection consists of two watches that use recycled material from two RWB Porsches: the black-and-gold “Stella” (based on a 1985 Porsche 930) and a crazy purple 993.
Each watch features design influence that call to mind the Porsche on which the watch was based: wide, aftermarket body kits show up in the case architecture, for example, while the dial textures look like those of Porsche foot plates and wheel rims make themselves apparent on the watches’ case backs. The color schemes from the respective vehicles (black and gold for the Stella — which comes from a certain Belgian pilsner you may be familiar with — and purple for the 993) also play a large part in the overall designs.
The Stella, which is housed in a 44mm steel case, features the automatic Miyota cal. 9100 triple-calendar movement, meaning you get day, date and month functions conveyed in a (thankfully) unobtrusive way on the clearly automotive-inspired dial. The case itself is coated with black and gold PVD, is water resistant to 50m and features a black rubber strap with debossed texture and quick-release system. It’s limited to 305 pieces and is available for pre-order at a price of $1,795.
The 901 RWB Rotana, based on a very purple 993, features a similar design to the Stella — 44mm steel case, black rubber strap, etc. — but the color accents are now purple, and the dial makes use of the cal. 9100’s power reserve function. Pricing and availability are the same as that of the Stella.
Whether you’re a die-hard Porsche addict or simply a watch guy, there’s something refreshing about a timepiece that flies in the face of conventional, let’s-just-remake-something-we-made-50-years-ago watchmaking that we see so often these days. Unfortunately it may only be in smaller, specialty shops such as REC Watches that we see any real boldness and initiative taken with respect to designs that push the aesthetic envelope. To be able to buy something so avant-garde for under $2,000 (provided it’s well-made, of course — we admittedly haven’t handled these watches yet ourselves) seems more than reasonable, indeed…
And certainly more affordable that a pre-owned 993.
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