copies of actual automobile instruments to ever make it onto watch dials. Crono's new Volkswagen line consists of 10 watches that faithfully and very accurately reproduce the look and feel of selected classic VW instrument panels in cars produced from 1946 up to 1970's models.Bavarian Chrono started by looking at the instrument gauges in early VW Beetles where the single central speedometer was the only gauge on the dash. The Speedo also housed the warning lights and fuel gauge on the singular dial. All the features can be found reproduced in a corresponding Bavarian Chrono watch in styles ranging from the 1946 Beetle to the 1971 Beetle. Other styles available include the 1966 VW Karmann Ghia and a VW Bus model from 1961.
Each watch face has the standard gauge pointer that was on the original dial repurposed into a minute hand and a smaller hour hand was created to make the watches functional. The non-functional odometers on each of the instrument-clone dials are set to the year of the appropriate VW gauge's first appearance on the market as an added touch. The dials recreate the evolution of the VW Beetle instrument cluster design and range from a simple 1946 model designed by Ferdinand Porsche, to the minimalist faces of the 1950s and 1960s model VW's, up to the more efficient utilitarian look of the 70's Beetles.
The Bavarian Crono Volkswagen watches feature standard fare Swiss Ronda quartz movements and the dials only feature the hour and minute, there are no second hands here. The watches come on brown or black leather straps and the cases are medium size at 37mm wide. Priced between $200 and $300, the Volkswagen Collection watches are not really expensive, although a lot of what you are paying for is the vintage automotive styling.
Images courtesy of backpackphotography, JD Hancock