The New Time-and-Date Dan Henry 1972 Maverick Automatic

Behind the Dan Henry Watches brand is a man known as… Dan Henry. An avid collector with great taste in vintage watches, he has used some of his favourite models to create a collection of timepieces inspired by the past but with an excellent price/quality ratio. Following a couple of cool automatic dive watches – the 1970 Compressor and the 1975 Skin Diver (there are multiple other collections, yet with quartz movements) – the brand is now presenting an automatic time-and-date version of the Dan Henry 1972 Maverick. A watch that many will immediately recognize as an hommage to a famed 1972 Chronograph connected to Porsche, it has now been imagined with a more straightforward display and a rotating inner bezel. 

Dan Henry has never hidden the connection with emblematic vintage watches when it came to creating his own accessible contemporary models. With the original 1972 Maverick chronograph, the connection with the Chronograph 1 from Porsche Design was pretty clear, but with a very different price tag. With the new model, which gets rid of the chronograph complication, Dan Henry is proposing something different, which has never been done in the past (at least, not in a masculine version – Porsche Design once had a 29mm no-chronograph version with Orfina). And the clean, utilitarian look certainly has its own appeal.

The case, available in black PVD-coated or non-coated steel, has the classic matte blasted finishing of the 1972 collection. Measuring 41mm in diameter, with a slightly prominent thickness of 12.9mm, it’ll retain the comfort of the original model with its short case. Equipped with a sapphire crystal on top and a screwed back with an embossed F-14 Tomcat fighter jet medal, it also has a screw-down crown and the water-resistance is rated at a comfortable 100m. But besides the change of display, there’s something on the left side of the case that is new, too.

Framing the matte black dial is an angled inner flange with a 12-hour scale. Combined with the additional (screwed) crown at 10 o’clock, this inner bezel rotates and can be used to track a second time zone. Just like the chronograph version, the dial of the Dan Henry 1972 Maverick Automatic uses a sandwich construction, with the lower plate coated in white Super-LumiNova and the top black plate featuring cutouts to create the hour markers. A tone-on-tone date is placed at 3 o’clock and, depending on the edition, the seconds hand is either blue- or red-coloured. Surprisingly, this minimalist design works exceptionally well with the utilitarian shape of the case.

Inside this version of the Dan Henry 1972 Maverick is a simple yet robust automatic movement from Miyota, the calibre 8215 with a 3Hz frequency, a 40h power reserve and a stop-seconds device. These two time-and-date versions are worn on steel (PVD coated or not) bracelets with a folding clasp and quick-release spring bars. The 20mm lug width will make it easy to swap for a leather or rubber strap.

Now available from the brand’s website, the new Dan Henry 1972 Maverick Automatic comes yet again at a highly attractive price: USD 360. Quite a bargain for a good-looking vintage-inspired watch that should have always existed…

More details at danhenrywatches.com.