The Nº 1968 Scarlet Automatic [Charity Auction]

Description

AUTOMOTIVE WATCH

THE Nº 1968 COLLECTION

We are proud to present our seventh collection – the Nº 1968 automotive watch.

It marks the 1968 season of World Championship motor racing. Our signature silhouette adopts a rotating bezel referencing an automotive watch from the time, and introduces the renowned style into our growing collection of timepieces that includes examples of military, aviation and diving stories to name a few!

The Nº 1968 is an automatic and hand wound mechanical wristwatch with a quick date setting, stop second device, unidirectional rotating bezel and exhibition back. Each 316L stainless steel watch head measures 44 mm diameter × 49 mm length (lug-to-lug) × 12.5 mm depth (including lugs) and is tested to 10 ATM (100m / 325ft) water resistance.

Utlising a beautiful combination of meticulously polished and carefully brushed surfaces, it has been elevated further with the use of a delicately brushed two-tone, unidirectional rotating bezel. The knurled crown features a bold, deep red anodised finish, consistent with all of our past collections.

The screw down exhibition back, printed with the WT Author mark and uniquely allocated serial number, gives the wearer uninterrupted access to view the inner workings of the intricate mechanical movement. The bespoke watch head is finished with the option of a heavy-duty handmade rally strap in deep tan or a solid, delicately brushed stainless steel jubilee bracelet.

Every watch is built to order with British and imported parts in our UK workshop located in Shropshire. It is guaranteed against any defects in material or workmanship that may occur under normal use for a period of 24 months from the date of purchase. Learn more.

AUTOMOTIVE WATCH

THE Nº 1968 SCARLET

Featuring an eye-catching scarlet finish applied to a subtle matt dial that brings a striking contrast against polished silver-tone indices. Custom, angled hour markers are applied precisely to the dial with a contrasting chequered minute track.

AUTOMOTIVE WATCH

THE MECHANICAL MOVEMENT

In 1959, Citizen Watch established a movement manufacturing factory in the town of Miyota, Japan.

The caliber Nº 9015 is both an automatic and hand wound mechanical movement, assembled using only parts manufactured at Japanese plants. It is produced in-house by high-speed automatic assembly lines and undergoes strict quality checks.

The balance wheel is produced by human hands. Adjusting the eccentricity and horizontality of the balance spring is the most difficult procedure, and cannot be expressed in numerical form by machinery.

The movement is precise and durable with high impact resistance. It is valued for its craftsmanship, artistry and beauty; all major parts are made of metal to enhance colour and texture. We trust Citizen due to the high quality and stable supply that our products require.

AUTOMOTIVE WATCH

THE STAINLESS STEEL HEAD

The Nº 1968 automotive watch harks back to the golden age of World Championship motor racing. We have taken every essential aspect of this legendary style and modernised it from top-to-bottom within our own expertly engineered unique components.

The watch head securely houses the intricacies of the delicately assembled mechanical movement, displaying its complexity through the uninterrupted rear lens. It has been designed to fit perfectly on the wrist within a robust and solid watch head that has been assembled to be put through its paces. The result is a timepiece with a 44 mm diameter, a length of 49 mm (lug-to-lug), all contained within a depth of 12.5 mm (including lugs).

We effortlessly combine beautifully brushed and highly polished surfaces that meet to create a clean aesthetic with incredibly strong properties. The knurled, black ion-plated watch head wall brings a dynamic style whilst offering a fantastically machined aesthetic.

AUTOMOTIVE WATCH

THE UNIDIRECTIONAL BEZEL

The bold unidirectional rotating bezel offers quick functionality through knurled grip areas on the edge of the component. The two-tone aesthetic presented through the anodised finish is enhanced further by a delicately brushed surface.

The bezel’s original function serves to record elapsed time in motor racing. The 12 o’clock marker is aligned to the prominent minute / second hand to record up to 60 minutes / seconds of elapsed time. The unidirectional ratcheting mechanism stops any accidental movement to the bezel thus avoiding any chance of less time being recorded.

AUTOMOTIVE WATCH

THE SCREW DOWN BACK

The intricately machined screw down exhibition back includes deep, tooled recesses with enamel infill to reflect our established signature “poker chip” aesthetic influenced from our previous watch collections. The component creates a powerful seal that ensures water resistance tested to 100m / 10 ATM.

The exhibition back is fitted with a glass lens and ensures the automotive watch retains its maximum water resistance whilst offering an uninterrupted presentation of the mechanical movement’s inner workings.

The stable construction with precisely defined architecture has been designed and machined to be as beautiful as every other component on the watch. The rear lens is finished with our intricately printed mark and serial code to indicate its allotted number in the limited edition collection.

AUTOMOTIVE WATCH

THE ANODISED CROWN

The crown is placed at the 3 o’clock position with lugs that fall tightly underneath the top component of the watch head, avoiding any discomfort to your wrist.

AUTOMOTIVE WATCH

THE SOLID SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL LENS

The solid sapphire crystal lens is constructed in extremely high temperatures and made up of crystalline aluminium oxide. Each item is precisely cut with diamond saws that are then ground & polished into shape for the finished product.

It offers significantly more scratch resistance vs. traditional glass, plastic or acrylic crystal as well as being extremely strong and shatter resistant. The solid sapphire crystal lens has an identical hardness to natural sapphire.

AUTOMOTIVE WATCH

THE SIGNATURE DIAL

The watch dial is where we can be the most expressive. The Nº 1968 watch comes in twelve different colour options: Gold, Blue, Red, Green, Silver, Cream, Black, Cerulean, Orange, White, Scarlet and Yellow. Each one carries a specific correlation of meticulously designed hour, minute and second indices. The hour markers utilise a correlation of our faceted, signature “tuning fork” indices applied securely to the dial to compliment the thick matt painted WT Author mark at the 12 position.

Delicate gloss painted inner and outer minute tracks surround the dial, allowing details like the date window and model information at the 3 and 6 o’clock positions to be picked up through a palette of contrasting colours. The result is a timepiece that’s colourful, eye-catching and legible.

AUTOMOTIVE WATCH

THE EXPRESSIVE HANDS

The highly distinctive minute, hour and second hands utilise a combination of brightly coloured gloss paint and silver-tone finishes. The bold forms have been designed to be easily read and visible against the dial.

AUTOMOTIVE WATCH

THE HANDMADE RALLY STRAPS & JUBILEE BRACELET

We collaborate with talented CNC toolmakers to craft bespoke watch straps full of character, meaning and originality. The origin of the handmade strap in question dates back to the 1970’s. The puncture pattern was directly inspired by the perforations present in certain parts of racing cars as a way to reduce weight.

Each leather watch strap has been handmade in Britain using vegetable tanned dyed through Italian cow hide. The rich colour, treated with waxes and oils offers a distressed effect which lightens in colour when folded or turned. The natural grain is left intact to show all the growth marks and unique character, giving a distinctive look with this mellow feeling skin. The strap has been designed and manufactured to fit a 22 mm lug width with an overall thickness of 3 mm and is embossed with the WT Author ‘A’ trademark. Each strap is completed with a brushed stainless steel buckle and finished with rounded, burnished strap edges.

Choose a 22 mm solid stainless steel jubilee bracelet as an optional band add-on to all purchases for £45 each instead of the usual £65.

AUTOMOTIVE WATCH

THE SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING

Our packaging has been engineered to be 100% reusable and recyclable, as well as providing a lightweight solution to reduce wasteful distribution. We endeavour to use recycled stock at every possible opportunity. The inherent beauty of this repurposed material is adorned by our own exclusive artwork.

Every watch comes accompanied by the following items:

• Custom limited edition bumper sticker.
• Chapter 7 taken from The Book of WT Author (the Nº 1968’s story visualised within a beautifully formatted booklet).

Learn more about our environmental commitments here.