Borrowed Time: Speake-Marin London Chronograph Valjoux 92

Despite the departure of its eponymous founder, Peter Speake-Marin, this Swiss-made brand has defiantly clung to its British heritage, never more boldly or audaciously than with the introduction of the new London Chronograph, a watch that truly meets its mandate as a ticking embodiment of Swinging London - its colorful design calling to mind the early Beatles, Carnaby Street, and yes, Austin Powers, all while still channeling an immense level of horological cred with its use of a vintage Valjoux 92 chronograph movement To start with the titanium case, we have here the latest example of Speake-Marin's now-emblematic "Piccadilly" construction, named for the London neighborhood of the antique shop where Speake-Marin cut his horological teeth restoring antique timepieces, with its perfectly rounded shape, thin, stepped bezel, and signature protruding lugs with the movable screwed central bar to attach the strap The topmost piece is polished, while the sides are brushed; on the right-hand side are two plunger-style chronograph pushers with polished, rounded heads, and a fluted crown decorated in its center by Speake-Marin's "Topping tool" emblem.

Indicating the current hours and minutes are two blued hands in Speake-Marin's signature spade-shaped "Foundation" style and a thin central chronograph seconds hand in bright red These hands hover over two subdials - one white, at 9 o'clock, upon which a minuscule blue hand ticks away the running seconds; the other red, with a white 45-minute scale, upon which a white hand tallies the chronograph minutes Once you get used to it, it's simple: all the blue hands are devoted to the reading of the current time, while all the elements in red are employed to display the chronograph readouts.

Technologically, the Valjoux 92 is distinctive from others in the Valjoux 23 family of calibers from which it sprang: it's got an oscillating pinion design, a column wheel mechanism, two chronograph engagement wheels visible in the back, and seven pillars. . Source