The New Cuervo y Sobrinos Vuelo Emilio Carranza Collection

Any watch, especially mechanical, can be considered an emotionally charged item. After all, it would help if you felt something towards the watch you buy, whatever the purpose. Cuervo y Sobrinos is a brand with Latino roots with many expressions, and it is hard not to be touched by the history and stories that inspire contemporary collections. The Vuelo celebrates the pioneering spirit of aviators, but unlike other popular Cuervo y Sobrinos collections, it has no connection to the brand’s past. Vuelo takes inspiration from the pilot watches of the early 20th century, and the new models in the Vuelo series represent Cuervo y Sobrino’s style, passion and aesthetics, swiss made. Named after the legendary Mexican pilot Emilio Carranza, they offer a choice of time-and-date, a chronograph and a bicompax calendar timepiece.

The Vuelo Emilio Carranza Time-and-Date

This time-and-date model with the central seconds is very similar to the first watch in the Vuelo collection, the Domingo Rosillo limited edition, honouring the famous Cuban aviation pioneer. The new Vuelo Emilio Carranza is presented in a 44mm stainless steel “historiador” case with characteristic screwed-down lugs; with a double curved sapphire crystal, the watch is 11.6 mm thick. The dial is black, with large numerals. Instead of “12”, there is an applied Cuervo y Sobrinos emblem, and a date aperture takes part of “6”, but strangely enough, this date intrusion does not seem to disturb the dial’s balance. The hour and minutes hands are coated with Super-LumiNova and, like the indices, were designed to provide excellent legibility, day and night.

A picture of a historical aeroplane hovers above the date window, but even without it, the case and the dial nod to the history of aviation. The caseback is solid, and it is engraved with the portrait of Emilio Carranza. An automatic Soprod M100-based calibre CYS5103 powers the watch, and it has a power reserve of 42 hours and beats at 28,800vph. The watch is 30m water-resistant and is worn on a brown vintage leather strap with stitching by the lugs. It is priced at EUR 2,950.

The Vuelo Emilio Carranza Bicompax Calendar

The Bicompax model is offered in the same case as the Vuelo reference mentioned above, with the same presentation, construction and water-proofing characteristics. The black dial has a different layout, with two black “counters” and no date window. Instead, the date is indicated by a small hand on the subdial at 3 o’clock, and the seconds are running small at 9.

The image of an aeroplane is present to distinguish the series, and the caseback is engraved. The minute track has been marked with SuperLumiNova, something not present in the three-hand model. This reference is equipped with a CYS5160, Sellita SW295-based automatic movement, providing decent 38 hours of power reserve. It is priced at EUR 3,450.

The Vuelo Emilio Carranza Chronógrafo

The top offer in the Vuelo line is the chronograph with centre hours and minutes, centre hand GMT indication, chronograph centre seconds, chronograph counter at 3 o’clock and small seconds at 9, and a date. The date is visible through the small aperture above 6; this time, the digit is presented in full. The 24-hour ring for the GMT indication is interrupted by the subdials, the one at 3 is for the small seconds, and the chronograph minutes counter is at 9. The dial, again, is black, the numerals, hands and markings on the minutes’ track are Super-LumiNova treated, and the colour scheme applies to all three new Vuelo models. The aeroplane is flying low above the date window. The Cronógrafo bezel is engraved with a tachymeter scale, while the Bicompax and the time and date models have a bezel with markings corresponding to hour indices.

The watch is slightly thicker than the other Emilio Carranza models, 13.80mm. The movement used is CYS8120, base Dubois Dépraz 30342 automatic; the same movement powered an earlier Cuervo y Sobrinos reference, Historiador Vuelo Crono. CYS8120 is built with 51 jewels, beats at 28,800vph, provides 40 hours of power reserve and has a skeletonized rotor. However, the movement is hidden from view by the solid caseback engraved with the image of a legendary Mexican aviation pioneer, Emilio Carranza. It is priced at EUR 4,950.

Cuervo y Sobrinos offers these new Vuelo watches with a clear message that you will not find any model similar to these references in the company’s archives. While certain design elements point out the sources of inspiration, the Vuelo timepieces are very modern. They are emotional enough and honour the person that made his country proud. With this, Cuervo y Sobrinos prove the brand stays true to its principles and clientele. For more, please visit CuervoySobrinos.com.