Bravur completes this year’s Grand Tour series of chronographs today with the release of the 2022 La Vuelta chronograph. You might recall from our previous coverage that Bravur has really shifted their focus over the last few years to creating cycling inspired watches, all of which pay tribute to a particular race in the “Grand Tour,” the most serious or European races. The La Vuelta watch represents the last entry in this year’s series, and is named for the Vuelta a España, a multistage race beginning this weekend that will take riders through much of Spain before the race is completed in early September.
Bravur Completes the 2022 Grand Tour Series with the New La Vuelta Chronograph
Like the other watches in this ongoing series, this year’s La Vuelta has a color scheme largely inspired by the jersey worn by the race’s lead rider. In this case, that means a watch that’s dominated by tones of red. The minutes register at 3:00 is in a darker shade of red with a white central section, and the running seconds and hour totalizers at 9:00 and 6:00 have an almost pink hue. The minutes track along the dial’s perimeter as well as the Arabic numerals used for the hours are a light red shade that casts a nice contrast against the white dial for easy legibility.
For the dedicated cycling fan, there are a bunch of hyper specific allusions to the Vuelta a España to be found throughout the watch. For instance, at 12:00 you’ll find a red triangle in the style of the “flamme rouge,” a flag used in cycling to mark the final kilometer of a race. One of the more clever nods to the race can be found in the “Nobel” font used for the hour numerals, which was created by two Dutch designers in the 1930s. This is in recognition of the starting point for this year’s race, which is in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
The stainless case of the La Vuelta chronograph measures 38.2mm in diameter, which is a size specifically chosen by Bravur to make the watch appealing for actual cyclists to wear while they ride. The idea here is that it should be small enough to not get in the way, but large enough to have some presence and maintain legibility. Like all Bravur watches, the La Vuelta is assembled in Sweden, and this one uses a Swiss made Sellita SW511 automatic movement with up to 62 hours of power reserve.
The 2022 La Vuelta chronograph is a limited edition of just 50 pieces. They are available beginning today, and carry a retail price of $2,550. Bravur