Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The Ollech & Wajs Rallychron, a Racing Chronograph to Time the Perfect Lap
A racing chronograph meant to time hypothetical historic ‘perfect lap’ times for 11 emblematic race tracks.
Brought back from the ashes a few years ago, OW Watches or Ollech & Wajs has slowly but steadily been expanding its collection of sports instruments, including pilot’s watches, diving tools, chronographs and even an ultra-robust take on the watch with integrated bracelet. For its latest release, the brand takes a closer look at the golden era of motorsport (the mid- and late-1960s, if you’re wondering) by introducing a new racing chronograph that’s meant to be a timer for hypothetical perfect laps… Sounds intriguing, right? Let’s talk about the new Ollech & Wajs Rallychron.
On the principle, this new Rallychron is yet another racing chronograph. However, there are a few things to be said, a few points of differentiation that need to be explained. First and foremost, like all OW Watches, the Rallychron is well above average when it comes to robustness. Despite relatively compact dimensions, it is one of the rare racing chronographs with such robustness, including a 300m water-resistance. Second, there are some strange markings on its bezel, yellow accents that make a difference.
Conceived with Hervé Charbonneaux – classic car collector, rally driver, historical rally promoter and author – Ollech & Wajs has hypothesised perfect lap times for 11 of the most emblematic race tracks around the world – Monaco, Silverstone, Monza, Daytona, Linas Montlhery, Sebring, Spa, Le Mans, Nurburgring, Goodwood and Zandvoort). It involved a lengthy analysis of the race seasons 1965–69, four years that also saw the introduction of some of the most cherished Ollech & Wajs racing chronographs. Tapping into Charbonneaux’s extensive archives, the lap times and other data from a cross-section of period Grand Prix cars – amongst them the Ferrari 312, Cooper Maserati, McLaren M4B – and the performance of various drivers were taken into consideration. The result is a black PVD bidirectional friction bezel with 11 hypothetical perfect lap times and a tachymetric scale (of course, being a racing chronograph…)
For the rest, we have classic design cues from OW Watches, with a heritage case measuring 39.5mm and an unmistakable thickness of 15.3mm – certainly not thin, but it’s a 300m automatic chronograph after all. A large screw-down crown and pushers sit on the right, a diving-resistant date corrector is placed at 10 o’clock and the whole case is brushed for an instrumental look. A sapphire crystal protects the dial while the back is solid steel and screwed.
The dial of the Rallychron is also classic racing style, with a matte grey base and black sub-counters. Originality is found in the hours and minutes hands, with their checkered look (the white sections being coated in SLN) and the central seconds and 30-minute counter have luminous, orange-tipped hands. The date at 6 o’clock might be slightly odd in this vintage context but its integration is pretty well done.
Under the hood is a tried-and-tested automatic chronograph movement, the Valjoux 7753. Running at 4Hz, with a cam-lever architecture, it needs no introduction anymore. The Ollech & Wajs Rallychron is available either on a black racing-style, perforated leather strap or a solid mesh-style steel bracelet with thorn buckle.
A cool and rather unique take on the concept, the Ollech & Wajs Rallychron racing chronograph is priced at CHF 2,356 on a leather strap and CHF 2,482 on a steel bracelet. For more details, please visit ow-watch.ch.
