Vintage Val Juice Driven Singer Heritage Collection

For me, one of the biggest watch surprises of the past year was singer Divetrack. This is an incredible engineering and design that the singer reimagined founder Marco Borraccino. But I quickly meant that it was 85,000 times the price, meaning that I could only admire it from afar. That’s good; you don’t have to own everything you like. But this year, the singer’s rethinking will allow me to calculate my watch budget. Meet the Singer Heritage Collection chronograph and house the movement based on the Vintage (1974) valjoux 236 rows – wheel chronograph calibre. As you can see, it is two registered chronographs that have been rethinked for this new singer.

Singer Heritage Collection Chronograph

Borraccino and his team were able to source the Valjoux 236 caliber in new and old stock conditions. This means that the watchmaker has never touched or used these movements before and for some reason was simply “forgotten” or kept by the previous owner. Valjoux 236 – in this case called SR2361 – is the successor to the faster beting of the iconic Valjoux 23.

Caliber SR2361 / Valjoux 236

The singer’s Reimagined team carefully disassembled these movements, repaired them and reassembled them. The singer’s finishing touches consist of matte bridges, hand-made chamfers and rhodium plating. The watchmaker also made small tweaks to improve performance. As can be seen in the photos, the movement is engraved with “restored by the singer.” The Calibre SR2361 offers a 48-hour power reserve, running for just a few seconds at 9am and a 30-minute counter at 3am.

Singer Design Elements

Looking at the chronograph from this new Singer Heritage Collection, you’ll see some of the brand’s signature design elements. How about the sunray satin finish with stainless steel case and teeth golden flange? I also saw these design elements in Track1 (Sunray Finish) and 1969 (Toothed Flange). Needless to say, the circular brushed metal cabochon that appears in the hands of the chronograph seconds will definitely make this heritage collection chronograph a watch reimagined by a true singer.

For this watch, the singer uses a 38.8mm case with a thickness of 11.75mm. If I’m not wrong, this is the smallest watch from the brand. The steel case comes with a sunray satin finish as mentioned above, with a mirror polished chamfer and a box-type sapphire crystal with a double reflective coating. Additionally, the caseback sapphire windows provide a great opportunity for owners to praise the Valjoux-based SR2361 movement.

Empire Green and Black Lacquer Dial

The singer offers two dial options for the Heritage Collection Chronograph. Reference sr602 has a green lacquer-shaped dial and reference sr601 has a black lacquer dial. The singer calls the shade of green “Empire Green,” which may be my favorite option. It certainly catches your eye, but of course, the black lacquered dial is also great if you want something more classic. Both dials have a golden flange with teeth, an applied facet time marker, and a singer logo applied at 12 o’clock. The singer gave the application of orange super luminova in sword style hands to improve readability under low light conditions. All printing on the dial is ECRU and provides a great contrast, whether you choose Empire Green or Black Dial. Both watches have orange chronograph seconds hand.

Each Singer Heritage Collection chronograph comes with a dial matching strap. Grain leather black strap for SR601 and khaki green strap for SR602. Grain leather green straps are optional. These straps taper from 20mm to 18mm with a Singer Signature stainless steel buckle.

Pricing and availability

I started this article with comments not only on how much I like singer Divetrack, but also on how its CHF 85,000 price has far surpassed my watch budget. The relatively accessible retail price for this new Heritage Collection Chronograph is CHF 16,700 (Ex. Vat), with the singer limiting two variants to a total of 100. The latter is due to the number of Nos Valjoux 236 moves the singer has been able to source. I’ve only seen it in pictures so far, but I’m obsessed with watches. This Heritage Collection Chronograph is the most affordable watch in the singer’s catalogue, and using the Nos Valjoux movement was undoubtedly a key factor in determining the price.

Caliber SR2361

Some may argue whether praise for a singer without a singer movement is a good idea, but that fits the singer’s concept. The company’s three pillars are “reimagining”, “restoration”, and “reborn”. These Valjoux-based column wheel chronograph movements will recover and reborn within this new singer Heritage collection.

Some thoughts on the Singer Heritage Collection

I’m extremely excited about this new singer project and can’t wait to try it out on my wrist. For me, this watch is not about cutting corners, but about providing as much “restoring” as possible with a typical singer-reimagined design. Like I said, Empire Green checks the box for me, but perhaps this preference changes when I look at the watch in real life. I don’t think the Singer Heritage Collection is easy to get at this price and quantity, but I don’t think 100 will sell out anytime soon. Well, I’m still excited to have the opportunity to try it out on my wrist at least once next week.

The Singer Heritage Collection SR601 and SR602 come with a three-year warranty and are available only at selected boutiques. Each watch comes with a custom designed leather case with a certificate “restored by the singer.” Additionally, it includes a booklet containing all the details about the movement’s history and restoration process.

For more information, please visit the Singer Remaging website. Let us know what you think about these Heritage Collection chronographs in the comments below!

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