Porsche Design wristwear is as clean, classic, and refined as the cars they’re inspired by. Now, Porsche Design offers their discerning customers the chance to customize a watch to their liking. With approximately 1,500,000 different design configurations available, it’s clear that they’ll have one to suit all stripes of Porsche fanatics, sartorialists, and watch collectors.
“No other car manufacturer or watch brand currently offers such a customizable and exclusive program of this kind. The colors, types of leather and decorative stitching on these chronographs all originate from automotive production,” says Jan Becker, CEO of Porsche Design Group.
Those who’ve gleefully wiled away many an hour customizing their own dream car on Porsche’s car configurator will find their watch configurator a familiar sight. The interface is similar, and the features, including the pricing for each respective configuration, are displayed in real time. A basic custom-built Timepiece starts at $6,000 USD and, depending on the options selected, can range up to $12,500. Orders are placed exclusively through Porsche dealers and delivery will take 8 to 12 weeks.
The Case
Buyers will first decide on how they’d like their 42mm watch case configured. Titanium is the chosen metal, but two options—glass bead-blasted natural titanium case or a black titanium case coated in titanium carbide (via PVD)—are available.
The Winding Rotor
Then comes the custom winding rotor, styled off the wheel designs of the latest-generation Porsche 911. There is no shortage of options, from the classic 911 Carrera rim, including the two-tone Porsche crest in the center of the rotor, to the 911 Carrera Exclusive Design wheel version with a gold badge at its center. In total, there are six different rotor types to choose from.
The color on the rotor edge can also be customized, just like the outer edges of the wheels of the Porsche you drive. Porsche Design is also offering the original Porsche color palette. The rotor on the new watches correspond to a 1:22 scaled-down version of the original rim, adapted to the geometry of the timepiece. The highly visible Porsche crest is only 3.3 mm wide and 4.4 mm high on the winding rotor cover.
The Strap
The choice of materials for the strap—either leather or titanium—is not as limited as it might sound. In fact, it has little impact on the multitude of possibilities in this area. All leather straps are crafted from the same hides used for Porsche automobile interiors and come in the 14 official interior color options of the Porsche 911. The stitching on the leather strap is available in 19 different colors. The leather wristbands come with a butterfly clasp as well as side buttons for quick and easy release.
The titanium straps are available in glass bead-blasted natural titanium or black-coated titanium carbide. Additionally, there are two different closing mechanisms to choose from: a butterfly clasp with lateral buttons or seven-step fine adjustment. All versions of the titanium straps feature individually screwed-down links.
“We put an enormous amount of work into checking all of the variants in advance but that is precisely the level of attention to detail that our customers expect from us,” Rolf Bergmann, Managing Director Porsche Design.
The Dial and Bezel
The dial is personalized with inlaid colored rings, featuring minute markers in the style of the design-defining classic speedometer developed by F. A. Porsche. There are 27 Porsche 911 exterior and interior colors to choose from. Even the hands can be personalized, with the customer able to choose either classic Essence in black or sporty Performance hands in matte-white with red tips. The watch’s bezel can also feature either traditional minute markers or a tachymeter for tracking speed or distance.
In Germany, the custom-built timepieces can be configured online and ordered through participating Porsche dealerships starting July 1, 2020. In the United States, the program and English watch configurator will be available on September 1, 2020.
The Final Touch
Upon request, each Porsche Design Custom-Built Timepiece can be individualized with laser engraving on the back of the case, enhancing each timepiece with the ultimate in personal touches. This supplementary engraving can also be applied to the watch box, which is exclusive to the new watches.
Additionally, the corresponding car visuals can be requested for the emblem on the timepieces’ box. The fonts and lettering featured on the rear of the customer’s car can be applied as well. Alternatively, the customer has the option to select a graphic logo, such as the current 911 Carrera flyline.