Introducing: The Porsche Design 1919 Globetimer UTC

March 20, 2019

When you hear "Porsche Design" your mind might immediately jump to chronographs. And with the automotive connection, you'd easily be forgiven. However, don't sell the brand short and pigeon hole them into only making one kind of timepiece. You'd be missing out if you did. The new 1919 Globetimer UTC is a travel-focused watch that uses the familiar ergonomics of a chrono to make changing time zones extremely easy. The Globetimer starts with a very Porsche Design style case with broad, open lugs and sleek tonal dials available in titanium or gold. You get a simple time display augmented by a central date hand and a central 24-hour hand for the GMT function (complete with day/night indicator). The best part though is that by using the two chronograph-style pushers on either side of the crown you can simply jump the local hour hand in whole-hour increments as you move across time zones.?There are four versions of the 1919 Globetimer UTC available at launch. Two have titanium cases paired with leathers straps, one has a titanium case with a matching titanium bracelet, and one has a solid 18k gold case paired with a strap. The latter is obviously the top of the line when it comes to price, but the blue, black, and brown dials on the titanium models are all extremely handsome and offer enough interest to keep the otherwise clean-looking watches from appearing boring. Initial Thoughts Travel watches are having something of a moment right now, with the re-release of the Rolex Pepsi GMT-Master and the introduction of the Tudor Black Bay GMT sparking something of a renaissance last year. Porsche Design clearly wants to get in on the action and instead of offering something that's a slight variation on a common theme they've gone and developed something thoughtful that feels very them through and through. Without an external rotating bezel, GMT watches can sometimes be fussy and fiddly, but the simple pusher system looks like it fixes that problem. I could see the GMT and date hands getting a bit confusing, as they look similar at a glance, but I want to see the watches up close and in-the-metal before making any final judgements there. The Basics Brand: Porsche DesignModel: 1919 Globetimer UTCDiameter: 42mmThickness: 14.9mmCase Material: Titanium or 18k gold Dial Color: Blue, black, or brown Indexes: Arabic numerals and batonsLume: Yes, hands and hour markersWater Resistance: 100 metersStrap/Bracelet: Leather strap or metal bracelet The Movement Caliber: WERK 04.110 (Sellita SW 200 base)Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date, GMT, day/night indicatorDiameter: 28.5mmThickness: 6.94mmPower Reserve: 38 hoursWinding: AutomaticFrequency: 4 Hz (28,800 vph)Jewels: 26COSC Chronometer Certified? Pricing & Availability Price: $6,350 (titanium on strap), $6,900 (titanium with bracelet), $31,500 (gold on strap)Limited Edition: NoFor more click here.