Enthusiasts have made their interest clear in seeing Depancel move back towards its racing chronograph roots: Legend 60s is equipped with a Seagull ST1901 hand-wound movement, derived from the famous Swiss Venus 175 (that was manufactured until the late 60s) and is adjusted by our French watchmakers. It features an iconic column wheel – very much the caliber’s gearbox, managing the different functions of the chronograph. A reliable, well-finished movement with a 45-hour power reserve and a frequency of 3 Hz.

There are no shortage of nods to history on the dial, either. First with the two finishes chosen, ‘Panda’ and ‘Reverse Panda’. The Panda features two black counters on a silver background with a vertical satin finish; on the Reverse Panda, the color scheme is reversed. The two versions both serve the same purpose of maximum legibility, even at high speed – and in a shuddering race car cockpit. The dial is surrounded by a double tachymeter & pulsometer scale that have been carefully engineered : the pulsometer goes up to 150, plus a red zone if the heart rate reaches 200bpm. The tachymeter scale runs from 0 to 240 km/h, the usual Formula One performance range in the Sixties.

In the interests of historical accuracy, the concept of this Legend 60s collection has been designed to reproduce exactly the same feel as the original chronographs. The diameter has been studiously kept at 39mm, the standard during the 1960s. The case is made from steel, the best material for withstanding the harsh conditions of Formula One racing, and topped with a ‘glass box’ sapphire crystal: the customary design of the era. The strap is perforated with small holes, mirroring a pattern also to be found on drivers’ gloves at that time.

For this pre-order launch, the first 240 copies of each dial will be individually numbered and delivered in a collector’s edition accompanied by a poster signed by the brand’s founder. Ready to race?

Price: $700 (US), $1,040 (Australia) Case diameter : Ø39mm – Thickness : 13mm Sapphire crystal Movement : ST1901 Hand-wound (PR 45 hours) Water resistance : 50m (5ATM *Shipment planned from October 3rd to 10th 2023 *Pricing may varies among countries.