Welcome to our series highlighting the exceptional watches available through PERPETUAL, Phillips’ boutique service offering immediate access to the world’s rarest and most desirable timepieces. You can view all currently available watches by stopping in at our London headquarters at 30 Berkeley Square, or by visiting Phillips PERPETUAL online. Our new "Buy Now" button makes acquiring the watch of your dreams easier than ever.
– By Logan Baker
A Circa 2017 Singer Reimagined Track1 Launch Edition 'Prototype' In Titanium
Price: £48,500
Singer Reimagined burst onto the watchmaking scene in 2017 with the release of the Track1, an innovative auto-inspired chronograph that made good use of Jean-Marc Wiederrecht's ingenious and highly original AgenGraphe movement platform. Singer Reimagined is the horological offshoot of Singer Vehicle Design, a specialty customization outfit in the high-end auto space founded by a man named Rob Dickinson and that has garnered a cult following for its reconstructed takes on classic car silhouettes, such as the Porsche 911.
Dickinson teamed up with Wiederrecht and designer Marco Borraccino to create the Track1 Chronograph and to officially launch Singer Reimagined. The debut went even better than they could have hoped. Singer Reimagined walked away with the Chronograph Watch Prize at the 2018 edition of the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) awards show.
What makes the Track1 so unique is the movement inside. Wiederrecht's AgenGraphe caliber offers up both a central chronograph display as well as a peripheral time display. The primary timekeeping display utilizes a pair of aluminum discs set around the edge of the watch with Arabic numerals for your passing minutes and hours. These discs rotate clockwise, and the exact time can be read via a single marker at the traditional six o'clock position. For instance, it's approximately 5:14 in the above image.
The chronograph display, then, is read off the central handset. The idea is that, if you're wearing a chronograph while auto racing, the elapsed time display is much more important than the passing time, so why not put it on center stage? It's a fascinating concept that's executed with all the attention to detail you'd expect out of the Singer organization.
The present Track1 is arguably one of the most important watches they've created. It's an early prototype of the watch from circa its first year of prodution (2017). The dial, of course, is directly inspired by the rev counter of the Porsche 911.
The watch comes with a bespoke "prototype" Attestation of Authenticity and a fitted box. It's priced at £48,500 and is available for immediate purchase from Phillips PERPETUAL.
A 2010 Hublot F1 King Power Chronograph 'Prototype' In Zirconium And Titanium
Price: £19,500
Hublot doesn't care to follow industry trends or historic watchmaking precedent. The brand was founded on the principle of combining materials in a single watch that had never been successfully combined before. The original Hublot watches from 1980 combined yellow gold cases with rubber straps – a daring combination at the time that today might seem blasé.
So what's a brand to do? It was back to the drawing board, where in 2010, the Hublot designers, under the leadership of Jean-Claude Biver (post-LVMH takeover), came up with a new version of the King Power Automatic Chronograph inspired by Hublot's nascent partnership as the Official Timekeeper of Formula 1 racing. Instead of rubber and gold, Hublot's new F1 King Power Chronograph was cased in zirconium and titanium.
The watch's bezel was directly inspired by the brake disc found on certain Formula 1 race cars, and the watch came on a two-layer strap, with a rubber interior, and Nomex, a material featured in the driver's overalls, on the outside.
Hublot produced 500 examples of the F1 King Power Chronograph, plus an additional prototype numbered 000/500. The prototype, pictured here and available now for purchase from Phillips PERPETUAL, was the exact watch featured at the model's original launch ceremony, which took place in Singapore in 2010, where it was featured in all the various marketing and press images created. It was eventually auctioned off for charity, where it was acquired by the current consignor.
Fresh to the market after more than a decade in an important private collection, the watch is accompanied by its International Guarantee, Product Card, Polishing Cloth, and inner and outer box. It's priced at £19,500 and is available for immediate purchase from Phillips PERPETUAL.
Phillips PERPETUAL offers a boutique experience to clients for both the sale and purchase of fine and rare watches, in London’s Berkeley Square and the Gstaad Palace, in Switzerland.
About Logan Baker
Logan has spent the past decade reporting on every aspect of the watch business. He joined Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo at the start of 2023 as the department's Senior Editorial Manager. He splits his time between New York and Geneva.
Visit Phillips PERPETUAL /
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Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM – 17:30 PM
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