Carl F. Bucherer Brings Back the Heritage Worldtimer
Carl F. Bucherer unveils the Heritage Worldtimer, an elegant reinterpretation of a historic timepiece from its archives paying homage to the golden era of jet-set travel. The original Worldtimer, released in the 1950s, was a pioneering achievement in timekeeping, catering to the increasing desire for travel during that period. It was the Lucerne-based brand’s first watch to display two time zones simultaneously, capturing the cosmopolitan spirit and international flair of its era. The timepiece featured an innovative case complication that deployed a simple gear train, operated by a second crown at 9 0’clock, to drive a city disk that displays the second time zone. The new Heritage version retains the essential design elements of its predecessor while incorporating modern technologies and refined details. Above all, it conveys the aura of a true watchmaking jewel of this decade, which takes us back in time.
The timepiece is available in stainless steel with a sunray-brushed black or silver dial a rose gold variant. There is also a limited edition of 88 pieces, which authentically emulates the glamor of its precursor. It features a sunray-brushed silver dial, with utilitarian, thin baton-style hour and minute hands, and engraved rose-gold-plated indices.
In the center of the dial, the words ‘CHRONOMETER’ and ’33 JEWELS’ replace the earlier watch’s ‘WATERPROOF’ and ’17 JEWELS’, hinting at the status of the new movement within – and reflecting that, since the 1950s, water-resistance has become commonplace. The two crowns— one to wind the movement and adjust the time, the other to operate the time-zone complication— have been ergonomically redesigned. Some of the names of cities on the dial’s outer disk have changed, reflecting the modern world’s key commercial hubs, but the font in which they appear remains astonishingly similar.
The new timepiece is powered by the beautifully finished and decorated CFB A2020 manufacture movement with 55 hours of power reserve, which offers the accuracy and precision of a COSC-certified chronometer and incorporates CFB’s signature Peripheral Technology, which repositions critical parts of the movement by moving them on ball bearings around the periphery, rather than around a central rotor or attached to the plates or bridges of the movement. This has a number of benefits, including a thinner movement (5.57mm) that is never obscured when viewed through the sapphire caseback. In the Heritage Worldtimer, it is presented with a peripherally mounted bidirectional automatic winding system.
Across the range, the original Worldtimer’s black leather strap has been updated with an elegant black fabric strap–reminiscent of the look and feel of a luxurious city suit–completed with a gold pin buckle. The stainless-steel options are available with a black textile strap and a stainless-steel pin-lock folding clasp for $7,900 or with a matching stainless-steel bracelet for $8,400. . Both, the textile strap as well as the stainless-steel bracelet, are equipped with a quick release mechanism which enables the wearer to swap between bracelet and strap to vary looks. The pink gold variant retails for $14,900.
To learn more, visit Carl F. Bucherer, here.