The German sports-car-manufacturer Porsche today designs and builds wristwatches under the name Porsche Design that do not serve as a simple multiplicator of the name Porsche on the wrist. Porsche Design Timepieces, known since the 1980s, are tool-watches and of course we talk about real and serious watchmaking. Prof. F. A. Porsche once said: “A formally harmonious product needs neither decoration, nor exaggeration. The form should draw its life from the bare minimum and must not distract from the product and its function.” I invite you to discover the new Porsche Design 1919 Globetimer UTC together with Rolf Bergmann, CTO of Porsche Design Timepieces AG based in Solothurn in Switzerland.
A little bit of history … In 1972, Prof. F. A. Porsche began realizing his design ideas for a wide variety of everyday objects. A chronograph wristwatch was one of his first projects. He designed it in accordance with the same principles of perfect legibility, ergonomics and the instant recognition distinguishing the cockpit of the Porsche 911, which he designed. Admired ever since, Porsche Design epitomizes unadorned clarity skillfully uniting form and function, and symbolizing technically inspired products beyond the automotive world, simultaneously keeping the same standards of aesthetics and technological leadership. Porsche Design Timepieces enjoys special significance in this context. The perpetual urge for performance and precision, along with the unique transfer of technology from sports car construction to the watch industry, has always been and remains an obligation and motivation to be forward thinking, thus developing watches ahead of their time. I am sure you remember some of the the legendary tool-watches built together with IWC Schaffhausen: The famous compass watch, which combined two precise measuring instruments for orientation in time and space, is one example. The first chronograph made entirely of titanium, which debuted in 1980, is another. Prof. F. A. Porsche revolutionized traditional watchmaking through his use of titanium, a corrosion-free, lightweight and hypoallergenic metal Porsche had already used in the construction of engines for racing cars. The bold “Ocean” diver’s watch was also made of titanium, as were Porsche Design’s “travel watch” with world-time indication and alarm in 1995, its WorldTimer in 2007 and its Globetimer in 2015. The 1919 Globetimer UTC is part of the 1919 watch collection and is available as of September 2019, in four model variants, starting at a price of 5,950 Euro (including 19 % VAT).
