Singer Reimagined: Track 1 Geneva Edition

One of the most interesting new niche independent watch brands on the market is Singer Reimagined. Launched by Rob Dickinson, founder and creative director of Singer Vehicle Design, and Italian watch designer Marco Borraccino (who previously held the role of Head of Design at Panerai) in June 2017, the brand aims, as the names itself states, to ‘reimagine’ high-watchmaking with original perspectives and flashes from the iconic sport watches of the 1960s and 1970s.

Singer Reimagined shares with Singer Vehicle Design the same philosophy, an obsessive attention to detail. Since 2009 Singer Vehicle Design has restored air-cooled Porsche 911s as bespoke customer commissions for a global clientele. The mantra of both companies is “Everything is Important”.

Less than six months after its official launch, the brand’s first watch, Singer Track 1, was awarded both the ‘Watch of the Year’ and ‘Innovation in Watchmaking’ prizes at the WOTY awards in Poland. Track 1 Launch Edition was also selected among the finalists in the chronograph category at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève 2017, the leading award of the Swiss watch industry.

Track 1 is a radical re-engineering of the chronograph with a ground-breaking movement, the Agengraphe, and a highly complex design.

“We love simple, beautiful things. – states the brand in a press document – What we do is different and unique but still looks familiar. You need to scratch the surface, you need to get closer, and only then, will you be able to understand the complexity and the care put into all our creations”.

The second edition of Singer Reimagined’s first creation, the Geneva Edition, was presented to the press and buyers during Geneva watch week in January 2018, the first stop of the brand’s roadshow of product launches around the world.

The timepiece features a 43 mm luscious light yellow gold (1N) barrel-shaped case subtly finished with alternating brushed and polished surfaces, a nod to iconic watches from the past. It is designed to simplify and highlight the chronograph indication as much as possible, with a black dial and contrasting orange hands for optimal legibility, both for the chronograph and time indications.

The chronograph counter has a new and more minimal layout compared to the Track 1 Launch Edition. The chronograph indications and ring have been moved to the outer part the dial. Hours and minutes are displayed in the very unique Singer Reimagined style. A static orange index at 6 o’clock points at the precise indication of time, being superimposed over two matte black ceramic turning discs with luminescent golden numerals: the inner disk for the minutes and the outer disk for the hours. A delicate golden line runs horizontally through the dial as a final vintage note. The start stop pushers are located on either side of the case for enhanced operations. The crown is seamlessly integrated into the base band.

At the watch’s heart, the Agengraphe movement redefines chronograph functionality.

The result of a decade of development, this automatic mechanical caliber completely redefines fundamental principles that have remained unchanged for decades. The underlying idea that led to its invention was to enhance the legibility of the chronograph – which is usually poor with the use of small counters spread out across the dial. Thanks to a radically new archi-tecture, the Agengraphe brings together all the chronograph functions in the centre of the watch, allowing an easy and intuitive reading of elapsed time. To further enhance legibility, the chronograph incorporates jumping minute and hour indicators. To connect the chronograph mechanism to the timekeeping gear train, the Agengraphe features an innovative clutch mechanism. The coupling is made horizontally which requires less space, yet it is made using friction, just like a vertical clutch. The dial-side rotor (made possible because the hands are on a central axis) leaves an unimpeded view of the movement and its 477 meticulously hand-finished parts.

The timepiece is proposed with a soft khaki calf leather strap with screw down rivets matching the colour of the case and a new dedicated gold folding buckle. With their distinctive square tip, the straps are crafted from rare and fine quality leathers by expert artisans in Geneva. Each strap is handmade, hand-stitched and the brand signature is subtly hot-stamped on the inner lining. The brand offers a rich choice of custom-made straps upon request.

Singer Reimagined Track 1 Geneva Edition on sale for 72’000 CHF excluding VAT and local taxes. Quite a high price for a brand new player, but proportional to the complexity and innovation of the watch movement and design.

By Valeria Garavaglia