Wakmann Regate

Why We Love It There is perhaps no more versatile complication than the chronograph. From race cars to rocket ships, boats to battlefields, you are likely to find a chronograph being employed to measure a myriad of tasks and times. One of the most unusual applications for the chronograph that we've come across is the regatta timer. This isn't the first time we've offered a regatta timer on our site, as we rather like them and are constantly seeking out colorful and interesting examples. Yet we haven't come across too many of these super cool, jumbo sized Wakmann Regates from the 1970s. Their multi-colored dials are vibrant and dynamic with bold contrasting chapter rings, vividly punctuated by bright orange chronograph hands.  This particular example features a 42mm gold plated cushion case with an exotic champagne toned Tritium dial, a matching handset with orange accents, and a Landeron Calibre 1341 automatic-winding central minutes chronograph movement.  If you are looking for a quirky, functional, and endlessly charming chronograph from the golden era of sports watches, you have to give this one a look! The Story Aficionados of vintage Breitling will recognize the name Wakmann as the importer of Breitling in the United States prior to the 1980s. As Breitling's official import partner, Wakmann would receive unassembled watches direct from Switzerland and put them together for retail sale - often with specially commissioned Wakmann branding. This particular model, produced solely for the Wakmann brand, is simply named the Regate, and was designed specifically for use on the water as a timing instrument for regattas. A regatta timer, as you might surmise from the name, is used to time yacht races. Because sailboats are rarely completely still--even when at anchor--regatta timers feature a 15-minute countdown to allow for the interval when the competing sailors scramble for top positioning behind the starting buoy before a race. In this instance, the first 15 minutes of the counter is denoted by colorful 5 minute blocks printed on the outer bezel, while the rest of the watch features standard chronograph, date, and calendar functions.