Singer Reimagined Returns to the Valjoux 72 with the Heritage V72

Singer Reimagined has always made the most sense when viewed through the lens of restoration and reinvention.

With the Heritage V72, the brand turns its attention to the Valjoux 72, a manual-winding column-wheel chronograph caliber with a reputation that stretches across some of the most admired racing watches of the 20th century.

The result is not a vintage watch and not a conventional revival, but a carefully restored mechanical heart placed inside a contemporary Singer case.

At a glance

From Porsche restomods to restored chronographs

The Singer way of thinking began in cars, with Rob Dickinson and the air-cooled Porsche 911.

Dickinson, who studied automotive design at Coventry University and worked briefly at Lotus before fronting the British band Catherine Wheel, later built his ideal 1969 Porsche 911E in Los Angeles.

That car became the foundation for Singer Vehicle Design, a company known for preserving the character of the classic 911 while upgrading its engineering, materials and finish.

The same philosophy entered watchmaking after Dickinson met Italian designer Marco Borraccino in 2015.

Singer Reimagined debuted in 2017 with the Track 1, powered by the AgenGraphe movement developed by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht and Agenhor, with chronograph seconds, minutes and hours displayed centrally.

The Heritage V72 represents a different side of that idea.

Rather than creating a radically new chronograph architecture, Singer has taken an historic movement and restored it for a modern watch.

The Valjoux 72 brings the romance

The Valjoux 72 is one of those calibers that carries weight beyond its technical description.

It’s a manual-winding column-wheel chronograph with a horizontal clutch, a 12-hour counter and the classic three-register layout that became deeply associated with mid-century motorsport watches.

It runs at 18,000 vibrations per hour, a slower beat than the Valjoux 236 used in Singer’s Heritage V23, which operates at 21,600 vibrations per hour.

That technical distinction matters, but it’s only part of the appeal.

The Valjoux 72 feels tied to endurance racing, timing boards, mechanical pit-lane precision and the era before electronic timing took over the language of speed.

For the Heritage V72, Singer uses new-old-stock Valjoux 72 movements that have remained unused for almost half a century.

Each movement is assessed, restored and refinished with frosted bridges, hand-polished chamfers and rhodium-plated components.

The blue ALD-treated chronograph switching components add a deliberately modern signature, while the chronograph bridge is engraved with “Restored by Singer”.

A modern Singer case with a vintage engine

The Heritage V72 keeps the collection’s 38.8mm case diameter, but the Valjoux 72 movement brings the thickness to 13.25mm.

A glass-box sapphire crystal covers the dial, while a newly designed glass-box sapphire caseback gives a broader view of the restored movement.

That detail matters because the movement is the reason this watch exists.

Rather than hiding the Valjoux 72 behind nostalgia, Singer presents it as an object of mechanical restoration and finishing.

The dial follows the brand’s established language with three azuraged subdials, faceted applied markers, orange Super-LumiNova and an orange central chronograph seconds hand.

At the center of that chronograph hand sits Singer’s golden cabochon, a small but unmistakable brand cue.

The toothed golden flange also gives the watch the sort of graphic tension that keeps it from feeling like a straight period reproduction.

Two dial options are offered.

One pairs a velvety matte stone-grey dial with oyster-coloured counters, while the other uses a black dial with champagne counters.

Cases, straps and collectability

The stainless steel version is reference SR621, while the 18ct yellow gold version is reference SR620-1.

Both can be paired with either dial, and buyers can choose between a black-grained leather strap or a grey textile strap.

Each strap is fitted with a pin buckle matching the case material.

Production is limited by the finite supply of suitable Valjoux 72 components, which gives the Heritage V72 a naturally constrained character rather than an arbitrary edition number.

For collectors, that’s likely to be a central part of the watch’s appeal.

It offers the experience of an historic chronograph caliber without asking the owner to live with the fragility, uncertainty or compromises of a fully vintage watch.

Details & Specifications

The Heritage V72 is aimed at the collector who wants more than a vintage reference and more restraint than a purely modern chronograph spectacle.

It’s a Singer in the most literal sense, not because it mimics the past, but because it gives a revered mechanical object the setting, finish and visibility to feel alive again.