Deconstructed watch: Porsche Design Chronograph 1 — 50 years 911 Turbo Edition

Fans of the UK television series The Professionals that ran from 1977 to 1983 starring Lewis Collins and Martin Shaw as the maverick law enforcers Bodie and Doyle of crime busting agency “CI5” might have been too distracted by the near constant action to have noticed Doyle’s wrist wear: the distinctive Porsche Design Chronograph 1.

Launched in 1972, the Chronograph 1’s claim to fame was that it was the world’s first all-black wristwatch, and also the first product to emerge from the Porsche Design studio set-up that year by Porsche 911 creator F A “Butzi” Porsche — an offshoot that evolved into the luxury goods subsidiary that today sells everything from luggage and sunglasses to coffee makers and clothing in branded boutiques around the world.

Back in Doyle’s day, Porsche Design watches were made for the studio by a firm called Orfina. That relationship lasted until 1978, when PD partnered with IWC to produce a string of groundbreaking models, including the nifty Compass watch (it contained a hidden compass) and the Titanium chronograph of 1980, the first titanium-cased watch.

In 1998, manufacture shifted to the historic Eterna brand but, when that was sold to Chinese jewellery group Citychamp in 2014, Porsche Design took watch manufacture back in-house.

And its latest creation, pictured here in deconstructed form, celebrates this year’s 50th anniversary of what many consider to be the Porsche car marque’s seminal creation: the legendary 911 Turbo — the fastest streetcar of the day when it arrived with a bang in 1974.

With its fat wheel arches, whale-tail spoiler, blistering acceleration and a top speed of 150mph, the Turbo became a design classic — and prompted this special edition watch based on the Chronograph 1, the originals of which were available at the same time as the original Turbo.

Limited to 500 examples, the Chronograph 1 — 50 years 911 Turbo Edition features a lightweight, titanium case finished with a coating of anti-scratch titanium carbide.

The dial is based on the three main instruments seen through the steering wheel of the first Turbo model — complete with the same white hands and indices — while a vivid red stop seconds hand mimics the red of the car’s speedometer and rev counter needles.

A “Flyback” inscription above the 6 o’clock position denotes that the chronograph hand can be stopped, reset and restarted with a single push of the button. It is written in the font found on the old 911’s dashboard, while the Porsche Design logo is identical to that on the 1972 Chronograph 1.

Turning the watch over reveals a sapphire crystal case back marked with the instantly recognisable “Turbo” logo, beneath which sits an automatic winding rotor based on the car’s famous cloverleaf-pattern Fuchs road wheels — complete with Porsche centre crest.

A beige-coloured leather and textile leather strap pays homage to the colour of the first Turbo production car and also gets a “Turbo” logo.

An additional blackened titanium bracelet will be supplied with each of the 500 watches, which are assembled at the Porsche Design manufacture in Solothurn Switzerland and cost £10,950.