Why the First All-Black Watch Wouldn’t Exist Without the Porsche 911

An Enduring Classic

For the first several decades of its existence, Porsche Design partnered with watchmakers for the actual production of its watches.

The earliest iterations of the Chronograph 1 feature Porsche’s own name on the dial alongside watchmaker Orfina. The brand would later partner with IWC and Eterna on more innovative timekeepers.

Since 2014, however, Porsche Design has taken on many aspects of watch production itself, so those co-branded dials are a thing of the past. The brand has its own manufacture in Switzerland, Porsche Design Timepieces AG, and even produces its own in-house movements for some of its watches.

In 2022, Porsche Design marked its 50th anniversary by recreating the watch that started it all. Side by side with the original model, it’s slightly chunkier, but remarkably faithful in almost every way. It’s also produced in titanium, referencing another Porsche Design landmark: when it made one of the earliest watches in the material with IWC in 1980.

Two years later, Hodinkee teamed with Porsche Design for an even more retro version, which still featured a titanium case and in-house chronograph movement. The $9,650 watch sold out in mere days.