British luxury watch brand Pinion has created its first collection of chronograph wristwatches.
The Pinion Revival 1969 (R1969), which will be officially unveiled in November, will use the classic Valjoux 7734 hand-wound movement that was a workhorse of the Swiss watch making industry for a decade following its release in the late sixties.
All the movements that will be used in the Pinion R1969 were manufactured in 1969, and secured by the watch brand. As Piers Berry, the company’s founder, explains, the task then was to create a modern watch using this heritage movement.
“We’re a modern English watch company that has secured a very rare stock of these 7734 movements still in their unused and unassembled (Ebauché) condition. So we started with what we had and built out from there.
“In terms of the aesthetics we wanted the Revival 1969 to reference 20th century vintage chronographs, but with a 21st century twist. Hence the ‘Superdome’ double bezel and convex anti-reflective crystal combination and a very wearable, modern yet modest 43mm size.
“For all these reasons the Revival’s form follows its function, and that for me is what makes this a thoroughly modern watch – with heritage at its heart. You can see its modernity and ‘feel’ its history… the ticka-ticka sound from the handwound Valjoux movement is wonderfully satisfying and just a bit different from higher beat modern automatic movements,” Berry enthuses.
The R1969, like all Pinion watches, is assembled, finished and tested in England, this also includes the entire assembly and testing of the vintage 7734 movements from our Ebauché stock. Each watch will be engraved with its unique serial number and presented on a leather strap handmade in England by artisan strap makers.
As a finishing touch, The Revival 1969 will be presented in a large handcrafted solid wooden box finished in a high gloss piano black with polished chrome-plated hardware and soft blue inner lining.
