Hot Take: The Vintage-Valjoux-Powered Singer Heritage Collection Chronograph

One of last year’s biggest horological surprises for me was the Singer Divetrack, an incredible piece of engineering and design by Singer Reimagined founder Marco Borraccino. But I also quickly realized that its price of CHF 85,000 meant I could only admire it from a distance. That’s fine; I don’t need to own everything I like. This year, though, Singer Reimagined is making me calculate my watch budget. Meet the Singer Heritage Collection chronograph, housing a movement based on a vintage (1974) Valjoux 236 column-wheel chronograph caliber. As you can see, this new Singer Reimagined is a two-register chronograph.

The Singer Heritage Collection chronograph

Borraccino and his team were able to source some Valjoux 236 calibers in New Old Stock condition. This means that watchmakers had never touched or used these movements before, and they were simply “forgotten” or stored by their previous owner(s) for whatever reason. The Valjoux 236 — in this case, dubbed the SR2361 — is the faster-beating successor of the iconic Valjoux 23.

Caliber SR2361 / Valjoux 236

Singer Reimagined’s team carefully disassembled these movements, refinished them, and assembled them again. Singer’s finishing consists of frosted bridges, hand-polished chamfers, and rhodium plating. The watchmakers also made some small tweaks for better performance. As you can see in the picture, the movements are engraved with “Restored by Singer,” which sums it up pretty nicely. Caliber SR2361 offers a 48-hour power reserve and has running seconds at 9 o’clock and a 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock.

Singer design elements

Looking at this new Singer Heritage Collection chronograph, we see several of the brand’s signature design elements. How about the sunray satin finish on the stainless steel case and the toothed golden flange? We’ve also seen these design elements on the Track1 (sunray finish) and the 1969 (toothed flange). Not to mention, the circular-brushed metal cabochon topping the chronograph seconds hand unmistakably makes this Heritage Collection chronograph a true Singer Reimagined watch.

For this watch, Singer uses a 38.8mm case with a nice 11.75mm thickness. If I am not mistaken, this is the smallest watch from the brand. The steel case has a sunray satin finish, as mentioned above, along with mirror-polished chamfers and a box-type sapphire crystal with a double antireflective coating. Furthermore, the sapphire window in the case back provides a great opportunity for owners to admire the Valjoux-based SR2361 movement.

Empire green and black lacquered dials

Singer offers two dial options for its Heritage Collection chronograph. There’s a green lacquered dial in reference SR602 and a black lacquered dial in reference SR601. Singer refers to the green shade as “Empire green,” and it might be my preferred option. It certainly draws the eye, but if you want something more classic, the black lacquered dial is excellent too, of course. Both dials have the toothed golden flange, applied faceted hour markers, and an applied Singer logo at 12 o’clock. Singer gave the sword-style hands an application of orange Super-LumiNova for better readability under low-light conditions. All the printing on the dial is ecru, offering great contrast regardless of whether you pick the Empire green or black dial. Both watches also have the orange chronograph seconds hand.

The Singer Heritage Collection chronographs each come with a dial-matching strap: a grained leather black strap for the SR601 and a khaki-green strap for the SR602. A grained leather green strap is optional. These straps taper from 20mm to 18mm at the Singer-signed stainless steel buckle.

Pricing and availability

I started this article with a comment about how much I like the Singer Divetrack but also how its CHF 85,000 price greatly exceeded my watch budget. This new Heritage Collection chronograph has a comparatively accessible retail price of CHF 16,700 (ex. VAT), and Singer limited the two variants to just 100 pieces total. The latter is due to the number of NOS Valjoux 236 movements that Singer was able to source. I am smitten by the watch, even though I have only seen it in images for now. This Heritage Collection chronograph is the most affordable watch in Singer’s catalog, and using a NOS Valjoux movement was undoubtedly a key factor in determining the price.

Caliber SR2361

Although some might debate whether admiring a Singer without a Singer movement is a good idea, it does fit Singer’s concept. The company’s three pillars are “reimagined,” “restored,” and “reborn.” These Valjoux-based column-wheel chronograph movements are restored and reborn inside this new Singer Heritage Collection.

Some more thoughts on the Singer Heritage Collection

I am incredibly excited about this new Singer project and can’t wait to try it on my wrist. For me, this watch is not about cutting corners but about offering something “restored” in the best way possible with the typical Singer Reimagined design. As I said, the Empire green one ticks the boxes for me, but perhaps when I see the watches in real life, this preference will change. I don’t believe the Singer Heritage Collection will be easy to get at this price and quantity, but I bet the 100 pieces will quickly sell out. Well, I’m still excited to have the chance to try one on my wrist at least once next week.

The Singer Heritage Collection SR601 and SR602 come with a three-year warranty and will only be available in selected boutiques. Each watch comes in a custom-designed leather case with a “Restored by Singer” certificate. Additionally, it includes a booklet with all the details about the movement’s history and restoration process.

Visit the Singer Reimagined website for more information, and let us know what you think of these Heritage Collection chronographs in the comments below!